WASHINGTON — Black Friday, the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season, is on Friday.

Though many retailers have touted deals all month long, some are reviving the traditional in-store sales craze. Target announced that its first 100 customers when stores open will receive goodie bags with gift cards and high-priced items.

The term “Black Friday” in relation to shopping the day after Thanksgiving is most often traced to Philadelphia, where police had to deal with large crowds who thronged the streets of the city before the annual Army-Navy game and to take advantage of sales. According to the Dec. 18, 1961, issue of Public Relations News, a newsletter, it became customary for police to refer to the post-Thanksgiving shopping period as Black Friday and Black Saturday because o

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