Thanksgiving and Black Friday weekend at the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Tracy, California
Workers prepare orders for customers at the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Tracy, California, November 29, 2015. U.S. holiday shopping is on track for a modest 3.7 percent rise this year after strong turnout during the Thanksgiving and Black Friday weekend and thanks to strong online sales, the National Retail Federation said on Sunday after releasing an annual consumer poll. (Representational image)REUTERS/Fred Greaves

The shopping extravaganza called Black Friday is here. Retailers make their products available with attractive discounts during the occasion, enticing customers to throng shops both online and offline to check out the best deals on varied products. Black Friday 2016 date is November 25 (Friday).

Origin of Black Friday

Black Friday has turned into a shopping event today with companies and retailers using the occasion to sell their products by offering huge discounts and consumers wait to buy them as Christmas season sets in.

[READ: Best Buy Black Friday 2016 sale]

However, the name Black Friday is said to have originated on September 24, 1869, when the US gold market crashed, and the name has since been given to several other ill-fated incidences. It is said that many employees called in sick on Friday after Thanksgiving in 1951 to avail themselves a four-day weekend, causing trouble to the employers. It made a US labour market newsletter to call the day Black Friday.

Retailers later used the occasion to sell their products by attracting customers with tempting deals and even tried to change the name Black Friday to Big Friday but didn't succeed in doing so.

What is Black Friday?

The day after Thanksgiving is called Black Friday. It was an American tradition that takes place on the last Friday of November every year but today it has spread to several countries with retailers over-hyping the occasion and turning it into one of the biggest sales event. Retailers persuade the public to buy their products by offering massive discounts.

When will the best deals begin?

Traditionally, retailers offer discounts only for one day, on Black Friday, but it has changed over the years. Some retailers start Black Friday sales early, and this year, Amazon kicked it off on November 14 with its Lightning Deals. Almost all the retailers will give some sort of offer on the occasion and a wide variety of products from smartphones to electronics to home appliances to apparels will be available for purchase.