L'histoire de Black Friday aux USA, le dernier vendredi de novembre après Thanksgiving

1 Décembre 2015 , Rédigé par Laurence B Publié dans #Histoire

What’s the Real History of Black Friday?

It makes sense that the term “Black Friday” might refer to the single day of the year when retail companies finally go “into the black” (i.e. make a profit). The day after Thanksgiving is, of course, when crowds of turkey-stuffed shoppers descend on stores all over the country to take advantage of the season’s biggest holiday bargains. But the real story behind Black Friday is a bit more complicated—and darker—than that.
Single = seul et unique
Retail companies = les entreprises de vente au détail
To make a profit = faire des recettes
A crowd = une foule
Turkey-stuffed = à l'estomac rempli/ garni de dinde
To descend on = déferler sur, débarquer
A bargain = une bonne affaire, une occasion, des soldes
Darker = plus sombre

The first recorded use of the term “Black Friday” was applied not to holiday shopping but to financial crisis: specifically, the crash of the U.S. gold market on September 24, 1869. Two notoriously ruthless Wall Street financiers, Jay Gould and Jim Fisk, worked together to buy up as much as they could of the nation’s gold, hoping to drive the price sky-high and sell it for astonishing profits. On that Friday in September, the conspiracy finally unraveled, sending the stock market into free-fall and bankrupting everyone from Wall Street barons to farmers.
The first recorded use = la première utilisation enregistrée
the crash of the US gold market = la chute du marché de l’or
ruthless = impitoyable
as much as = autant que
sky-high = , jusqu’au ciel, aussi haut que le ciel
astonishing = étonnant, stupéfiant
to unravel = échouer
the stock market = marché boursier
free-fall = chute libre

The most commonly repeated story behind the post-Thanksgiving shopping-related Black Friday tradition links it to retailers. As the story goes, after an entire year of operating at a loss (“in the red”) stores would supposedly earn a profit (“went into the black”) on the day after Thanksgiving, because holiday shoppers blew so much money on discounted merchandise. Though it’s true that retail companies used to record losses in red and profits in black when doing their accounting, this version of Black Friday’s origin is the officially sanctioned—but inaccurate—story behind the tradition.
To link = relier, être connecté
A retailer = un détaillant
At a loss = à perte
To earn a profit = faire des bénéfices
To blow money = dépenser, dilapider de l’argent
Discounted = soldé, à prix réduit
Losses = les pertes
Their accounting = leur comptabilité
Inaccurate = inexact, imprécis

In recent years, another myth has surfaced that gives a particularly ugly twist to the tradition, claiming that back in the 1800s Southern plantation owners could buy slaves at a discount on the day after Thanksgiving. Though this version of Black Friday’s roots has understandably led some to call for a boycott of the retail holiday, it has no basis in fact.
A twist = un nœud
Ugly = horrible, laid
An owner = un propriétaire
A slave = un esclave
Roots = les racines

The true story behind Black Friday, however, is not as sunny as retailers might have you believe. Back in the 1950s, police in the city of Philadelphia used the term to describe the chaos that ensued on the day after Thanksgiving, when hordes of suburban shoppers and tourists flooded into the city in advance of the big Army-Navy football game held on that Saturday every year. Not only would Philly cops not be able to take the day off, but they would have to work extra-long shifts dealing with the additional crowds and traffic. Shoplifters would also take advantage of the bedlam in stores to make off with merchandise, adding to the law enforcement headache.
To ensue = s’ensuivre, résulter de
To flood = inonder
A football game = un match de football
Philly cops = les « flics » de Philadelphia
To take a day off = prendre un jour de congé
Traffic = la circulation
A shoplifter = un voleur à l’étalage
The bedlam = vacarme, pagaille, chahut
To make off with = prendre la fuite avec
Law enforcement = la police

By 1961, “Black Friday” had caught on in Philadelphia, to the extent that the city’s merchants and boosters tried unsuccessfully to change it to “Big Friday” in order to remove the negative connotations. The term didn’t spread to the rest of the country until much later, however, and as recently as 1985 it wasn’t in common use nationwide. Sometime in the late 1980s, however, retailers found a way to reinvent Black Friday and turn it into something that reflected positively, rather than negatively, on them and their customers. The result was the “red to black” concept of the holiday mentioned earlier, and the notion that the day after Thanksgiving marked the occasion when America’s stores finally turned a profit. (In fact, stores traditionally see bigger sales on the Saturday before Christmas.)
To catch on = devenir à la mode
To remove = enlever
To spread = s’étendre
In common use = couramment utilisé, d’usage courant
A way to = un moyen de
To turn into = transformer
A customer = un client
To turn a profit = faire recette

The Black Friday story stuck, and pretty soon the term’s darker roots in Philadelphia were largely forgotten. Since then, the one-day sales bonanza has morphed into a four-day event, and spawned other “retail holidays” such as Small Business Saturday/Sunday and Cyber Monday. Stores started opening earlier and earlier on that Friday, and now the most dedicated shoppers can head out right after their Thanksgiving meal. According to a pre-holiday survey this year by the National Retail Federation, an estimated 135.8 million Americans definitely plan to shop over the Thanksgiving weekend (58.7 percent of those surveyed), though even more (183.8 million, or 79.6 percent) said they would or might take advantage of the online deals offered on Cyber Monday.
To stick – I stuck- stuck = coller, afficher
Since then = depuis lors, depuis ce temps
Bonanza = une aubaine
To morph into = se transformer
An event = un événement
To spawn = engendrer, entrainer
Earlier and earlier = de plus en plus tôt
Dedicated = dévoué, consacré
To head out =partir
Right after = juste après
According to = selon
A survey = un sondage, une enquête
The online deals = les bonnes affaires en ligne
Cyber Monday = is always the Monday after Black Friday