Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2022 dates and how the retail holidays came to be

We all know someone who left the Thanksgiving dinner table with their eyes on the prize: Black Friday deals. Maybe it was your cousin who finished off a pile of mashed potatoes just in time to camp out in front of Best Buy all night, or maybe you’re the one in your family first in line at the mall to buy a new TV.

Sales are nearly upon us, and some have already begun. If you’re looking to mark your calendars and learn about the history of retail holidays like Black Friday, Cyber Monday and more, read on.

When is Black Friday?

Black Friday is Friday, November 25 this year. The discount-filled day happens every year on the day after Thanksgiving, which is November 24, 2022.

When does Black Friday start and end?

Black Friday technically starts when Thanksgiving ends and carries into the following week with other retail holidays like Cyber Monday.

In the past decade, Black Friday began earlier and earlier each year, with online campaigns throughout the week and shoppers lining up on Thanksgiving night. But since the pandemic forced a preference for online shopping, stores have begun shutting their doors on the holiday.

In 2020, Walmart announced it would be closing on Thanksgiving for the first time since the late 1980s, a change they kept up last year. Target announced a permanent closure on Thanksgiving the following year. In addition to the two retail giants, Apple, Best Buy, Lowe’s, REI, Home Depot, Costco, Sam’s Club, BJ’s, Aldi, Trader Joe’s, Bath & Body Works, JCPenney, Kohl’s, Nordstrom, Petco, PetSmart are among the stores closing on Thanksgiving Day.

Instead, 2022 Black Friday sales favor discounts for premium members and early bird sales. Walmart is running nearly a month of early deals for Walmart+ members. Amazon, Best Buy and Target also already have deals out. Now, most stores are getting back to basics with early start times on Friday, with many stores opening around 6 a.m.

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What is Cyber Monday?

Black Friday doesn’t just end when the clock strikes 12. The deals continue into Cyber Monday, the online extension of Black Friday deals. Whereas now Black Friday deals can be found online just as easily in person, that wasn’t the case in the early 2000s. In 2005, the National Retail Federation dubbed the Monday after Thanksgiving “one of the biggest online shopping days of the year,” citing growing sales in recent years. Cyber Monday had been thrust into the mainstream.

Cyber Monday is on November 28, 2022.

The commercial success of Black Friday and Cyber Monday drove other informal holidays like Giving Tuesday,  a movement to donate and “do good” on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving. This year, that’s November 29. American Express’ Small Business Saturday began in 2010 to encourage shoppers to stay local on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Small Business Saturday is on November 26 this year.

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Why is it called Black Friday?

The most common myth about the origins of Black Friday is that the tradition comes from retailers who, after operating at a loss (known as “in the red”) for the whole year, would earn a profit (“in the black”) the day after Thanksgiving because shoppers were spending so much money. History.com reports that while the red and black terminology is true, the story of Black Friday is a bit different.

The first recorded use of the word was in the 1800s when two crooked Wall Street financiers, Jay Gould and Jim Fisk,  bought as much of the nation’s gold as they could in hopes of driving up the price and keeping a profit. But President Grant foiled Gould and Fisk’s plan by introducing millions of dollars of gold into circulation on September 24, 1869,  causing the price of gold to plummet and resulting in mass bankruptcy.

But the actual origins of the tradition we know today, for better or for worse, began in the 1950s. According to History.com, Philadelphia police officers used the term to describe the day after Thanksgiving when tourists and shoppers flooded the city ahead of the annual Army-Navy football game on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It was shoplifters who caught the eye of law enforcement and the day of high theft became known as “Black Friday.” In the late 80s, companies found a way to reinvent the infamous day by turning it into a retail holiday with heavy discounts and deals.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: When is Black Friday 2022? How the retail holiday got its start