STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Did you know, the term "Black Friday" has a big history with a number of origins and harkens back to a simpler time?
In today's world we all know "Black Friday" refers to the single day of the year when crowds of shoppers descend on stores all over the country to take advantage of super sales and the holiday season's biggest bargains.
Literally speaking, the term means to go "into the black," a time when businesses profit as opposed to being in "the red," when accountants write in red to show losses.
And it's even more complicated than that.
According to "History in the Headlines," the first recorded use of the term "Black Friday" wasn't a holiday shopping day at all, but referred to a financial crisis being the crash of the U.S. gold market on Sept. 24, 1869 -- a time when two Wall Street financiers, Jay Gould and Jim Fisk, worked together to buy up as much of the nation's gold as they could, hoping to drive the price sky-high and sell it for astonishing profits.
On that infamous Friday in September, the stock market went into free-fall and bankrupted everyone from Wall Street tycoons to farmers.
Then in recent years, another sad myth surfaced that claims back in the 1800's Southern plantation owners could buy slaves at a discount on the day after Thanksgiving.
And because of that unfortunate version of "Black Friday," some have chosen to boycott the day -- even though it doesn't have that much validity.
But 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 crowds of shoppers and tourists flooded into the city in advance of the big Army-Navy football game held on that Saturday every year.
It was a time when Philadelphia police officers could not take the day off and were required to work long shifts.
What's more, shoplifters would also take advantage of the bedlam and make steal valuable merchandise, making the situation even more of a nightmare.
By 1961 as a result, city's merchants tried unsuccessfully to change the name to "Big Friday" to dispel any negativity attached to the day.
Sometime during the late 1980s retailers chose to reinvent "Black Friday" into something positive.
Stores now open earlier and earlier on that Friday -- with some fervent shoppers even opting to venture out right after the traditional Thanksgiving feast.
So, because "Black Friday" photos didn't start showing up in the Advance archive until 1997, here's our latest illustrious photo gallery from that year forward for all to enjoy!
Do you have vintage photos of Staten Island? Share them in the comment section below or email them to benanti@siadvance.com.