Hello everyone,

Yesterday was a holiday, and I enjoyed going shopping with my son. However, when I got to the mall it was crazy! There were so many people I had had trouble finding a place to park. When I went inside I saw signs for a special sale, a “Black Friday” sale.

I can’t believe Black Friday is now in Japan. Do you understand the meaning? Usually “Black” means something is bad. For example, the “Black Plague” was a disease that killed many people in Europe long ago. However, in business, when you are “in the black” it means you are making money. (Being “in the red” means you are losing money).

For people in America and Canada, Black Friday is a chance to get good prices for Christmas presents. In America, the Thursday before is “Thanksgiving Day”, a holiday, so the Friday is a good Christmas shopping day. Many people wait outside stores all night to be the first ones to get inside to get a good deal. In this way, businesses make lots of money and go “in the black”. Black Friday.

Some people get crazy when the doors open, and dash for the best items. Every year on the news they show videos of people running, pushing, and falling. I don’t think I saw any of that at the mall yesterday, we have to wait for New Year’s Day happy bags for that!

I hope you are enjoying your weekend, see you Monday.