欧美人文风情第340篇:黑色星期五的由来

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So the holidays are right around the corner, and with that, for most, comes holiday shopping, unless you're me. 节日就快到了，而对多数人来说，代表节日大采购要来了－－除非你是我。

I don't really need to buy things. They just kind of appear. See? 我不太需要买东西。我的东西会就那样跑出来。看到了吧？

Many people wait until Black Friday to do all of their holiday shoppingbecause that's when most of what they want is on sale. 很多人会等到黑色星期五再为节日采购，因为他们想买的大部分东西会在那时特价。

But where did this day come from? 很多人会等到黑色星期五再为节日采购，因为他们想买的大部分东西会在那时特价。

How has it gotten to be what it is today? Let's find out. 它又是怎么变成现在这样子的呢？让我们来弄清楚吧。

The Friday after Thanksgiving was coined "Black Friday" in the 1960s to kick off the holiday shopping season. 很多人会等到黑色星期五再为节日采购，因为他们想买的大部分东西会在那时特价。

In America, it's basically¹ its own holiday. 在美国，黑色星期五基本上本身就是一个节日了。

The "black" in Black Friday refers to stores moving from a loss to a profit. 黑色星期五中的“黑色”指的是店家由亏转盈。

Back in this time period, accounting² records were handwritten—red ink indicating a loss and black ink, a profit. 在当时，帐本是手写的－－红墨水代表亏损，而黑墨水则是盈利。

But who decided³ that this day was the day to kick it all off? The answer: retailers⁴. 不过是谁决定这一天就是采买季开始的那天呢？答案：零售商们。

Many retailers didn't set up holiday displays or advertise holiday sales until after Thanksgiving was over. 许多零售商要到感恩节过完后才会开始摆起节日布景或推广节日特惠活动。

It was a way to get people to immediately start spending after the turkey palooza was over. 许多零售商要到感恩节过完后才会开始摆起节日布景或推广节日特惠活动。

Store-sponsored Thanksgiving parades like the Macy's parade are still common to this day. 像梅西百货大游行那种商家赞助的感恩节游行到现在都还很常见。

Oftentimes, Santa would appear at the end of the parade, and Santa is really good at getting people in the holiday spirit. 圣诞老人常常会在游行尾声出现，而圣诞老人最会让人感染节日的精神了。

Black Friday became what it is today because we keep buying into it. 黑色星期五演变成今天这样子，因为我们不停买单。

I bet⁵ you didn't know that back in the day when FDR was president,Thanksgiving was actually the last Thursday of November. 我敢说你不知道在罗斯福当总统那时，感恩节其实是在十一月的最后一个星期四。

And since the following Friday marked the beginning of the holiday shopping season, 由于那后面的星期五代表节日购物季的开始，

there weren't as many days for people to do their spending. 人们花钱的时间并没有现在那么多天。

In 1939, President Roosevelt changed the official date of Thanksgiving to the second-to-last Thursday in November instead of the last. 1939 年，罗斯福总统将感恩节的正式日期改为十一月的倒数第二个星期四而不是最后一个星期四。

This move lengthened⁶ the holiday shopping season, 此举延长节日购物季的时间，

and his hope was that the change would boost⁷ sales for retailers while in turn, boosting⁸ the economy. 而他的期望就是这项改变能刺激零售商销量，同时从而提振经济。

Many people were stuck in their traditions,  不过很多人都无法摆脱传统的感恩节日期，

however, so Roosevelt signed a bill to officially make Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November. 所以罗斯福就签署一项法案来将感恩节正式变成十一月的第四个星期四。

Nearly 135 million people shop on Black Friday each year. 每年有将近一亿三千五百万人在黑色星期五这天购物。

Are you one of them? What are you hoping to get for Christmahanakwanzika? 你也是其中之一吗？你想要买到什么圣诞节兼光明节兼宽扎节的礼物呢？

Make sure you come back every Monday for a brand-new video. 每周一务必要回来收看全新影片。

I'm Blocko. This has been Life Noggin. Don't forget to keep on thinking. 我是宝高。这是Life Noggin频道。别忘了要持续动动脑。

 

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