Many Canadian retailers, desperate to get people in the door, are advertising Black Friday sales. Besides the ugly name, Black Friday has no relevance to Canadians. In the USA it is the first day after Thanksgiving. Doesn’t it cheapen Thanksgiving to make it the day of preparation for Black Friday? Thanksgiving in Canada came almost six weeks ago.
Yesterday I went looking for a new winter coat. I found one I liked at the Hudson’s Bay Company, who were having a “Warming up to Black Friday” sale. I held my nose and bought it. It wasn’t the coat’s fault the store used an idea I found obnoxious as a pretense for their sale.
Walking out of the mall, I passed RW & Co. and saw that they were having a “Bright Friday” sale. I almost wished I had shopped there first. Then I noticed some other stores have also adopted the Bright Friday name for their sales. I find that more appealing, a brighter idea.
Flatlander Faith 
I don’t know if my earlier comment was posted — but I learned yesterday that “Black Friday” came from the fact that many retailers’ businesses are operating at a loss — in the red — until the weekend after Thanksgiving when things improve and their ledgers are in the black again.