The holidays – Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, the Epiphany – are approaching and the shopping season is here!

It has been tradition that after Thanksgiving, folks are quick to rush to stores to go Black Friday shopping and get first dibs on deals.

Where did Black Friday get its name? It dates back to the 1950s in Philadelphia, according to “What’s the Real History of Black Friday” by Sarah Pruitt on History.com.

“In the 1950s, police in Philadelphia used the term to describe the chaos that ensued on the day after Thanksgiving,” as part of a football game.  The term spread from Philly throughout the nation and has created a tradition of shoppers going above and beyond for Black Friday deals, like gridiron players after a loose ball. And the shopping tradition has expanded expanded from just a single day to customers being able to find deals throughout the week.

Spending between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday this year broke records!

An estimated 202.9 million U.S. consumers shopped during the five-day stretch from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday, according to the National Retail Federation. That marks the largest turnout since 2017, when NRF began tracking the five-day period’s shopping total, and it topped last year’s turnout of 197 million shoppers.

In 2005 the term Cyber Monday was introduced by the NRF. People were able to find deals in the comfort of their own homes on the Internet instead of having to camp hours outside stores and deal with crazy crowds.

Evan Shemanskis, a CT State Manchester graduate, said he prefers Cyber Monday.

“I much rather the convenience of cyber Monday,” he said.

On the other hand, Jacob Quintana, a current CT State Manchester student, prefers Black Friday shopping.

“I feel that Black Friday offers more deals throughout the weekend while Cyber Monday is only for one day,” he said.

Whether you prefer Black Friday or Cyber Monday, this is the perfect time to start going shopping for the holidays before the deals run out!