When is Black Friday? It is always the day after Thanksgiving, and the next one lands on Friday, November 27, 2026. That leaves 30 days to build a shopping list, compare prices and decide which deals are actually worth it. The countdown above runs to midnight Eastern Time, when many online sales go live.
How the date is calculated
US Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday in November, so Black Friday is the Friday that follows. That means it can land anywhere from November 23 to November 29. Because many retailers now launch early deals in the weeks before, the Friday itself is best thought of as the peak of a much longer shopping season.
Where the name comes from
The phrase was popularized in Philadelphia in the 1950s and 1960s, when police officers used it to describe the gridlock and crowds that filled the city the day after Thanksgiving, ahead of the Army-Navy football game on Saturday. Retailers later promoted a more positive story: that the holiday rush was when stores went from operating “in the red” to “in the black,” meaning profitable. The name spread nationwide in the 1980s and 1990s, and today Black Friday sales are common in the UK, Canada and many other countries.
Is Black Friday a holiday?
Black Friday is not a federal holiday. Banks, the post office and federal offices are open. Still, many employers and several state governments give the day off, so it often becomes part of a four-day Thanksgiving weekend.
The rest of the shopping weekend
- Thanksgiving Day: many big-box stores now stay closed, but online deals often start that evening.
- Small Business Saturday: launched in 2010 to encourage shopping at local independent stores.
- Cyber Monday: the online-focused sales day coined in 2005, the Monday after Thanksgiving.
- Giving Tuesday: a day for charitable donations that follows Cyber Monday.
How to shop Black Friday smarter
- Make a list with a firm budget before the ads start, and stick to it.
- Track prices on the items you want for a few weeks so you can spot a real discount.
- Check return windows and price-match policies; some stores extend returns for holiday purchases.
- Create accounts and save payment details in advance so limited deals do not sell out while you type.
- Compare the Friday deal with Cyber Monday before you buy electronics or big-ticket items.
Want a reminder? Add Black Friday to your calendar from this page, or share the countdown with the friend you always shop with. Running your own store promotion? Create a custom countdown for your sale and embed it on your site. And if you are planning the whole long weekend, keep the Thanksgiving countdown handy too.