Black Friday is, of course, the retail extravaganza of the year, faithfully taking place on the day after Thanksgiving celebrations in the US. What started as an American phenomenon has since spilled into other nations around the world, and the UK is now Black Friday mad - with customers no less than expecting their favourite retailer to offer crazy discounts and offers, and to be left in a state of shock and confusion if not.

As far as Raffolux is concerned, our loyal customers are not to fear - we’ve got a SITE-WIDE 20% discount for everyone to use to enjoy their favourite raffles today! And don’t miss out on the £20,000 Black Friday instant win, which is in town for one day and one day only and has hundreds of insane prizes within!

However, what you might not know about Black Friday is the relatively sinister way in which it begun.

The first mentions of the term ‘Black Friday’ in the retail context are understood as occurring in the 1950s and 60s in Philadelphia, coined by traffic police who dreaded its arrival every year.

In the words of Emmy-winning stylist David Zyla, “the Philadelphia police department used the term to describe the traffic jams and intense crowding of the downtown retail stores”. It was most certainly not a term of endearment to them - ‘Black Friday’ marked the opening of the Christmas shopping season in the centre of the city, which brought on huge traffic jams and over-crowded sidewalks as stores would be mobbed from opening to closing.

So, it’s a great day for retailers, but frenzied crowds over the years clambering over each other for discounted products has been the cause of much suffering, resulting in 17 deaths and 125 injuries so far.

Luckily, these days it’s more possible than ever to do your Black Friday shopping from the comfort of your own home, so there’s hope that the ongoing concerns around the retail holiday will be allayed with time!