The day after Thanksgiving is known as Black Friday, which officially starts the shopping season for the Christmas holiday season. It is also madness.

The earliest known use of “Black Friday“ to refer to the day after Thanksgiving occurs in the journal, Factory Management and Maintenance, for November 1951, and again in 1952.

Even before this people used called in sick the Friday after Thanksgiving too get a four-day weekend.

Black Friday was coined by the Philadelphia Police Department, which is not a term of endearment.Black Friday usually brings in massive traffic jams and stores are mobbed from before they open until closing.

Black Friday means profitable Friday to retailing and to the economy. Retail and consumer spending  almost 70% of U.S. gross domestic product between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Retailers adopted the name, but this time to reflect their success.

To encourage more people to shop, they offered deep discounts only available on that day. While Black Friday is good for business it’s not too good for people who want to calmly shop.

The states with the most chaotic shopping experience are Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, and Nevada.On the other hand, the safest holiday shopping is in the Midwest, Pacific Northwest and New England.

The place where most Black Friday incidents happen is at Walmart. It was the site of 57.1% of Black Friday incidents within the last decade. The next most violent locations — shopping malls — were the scene of 17.9% of the incidents. Trampling occurred at 30% of the incidents while 26.7% of the violence involved shootings.

Retailers want to make Black Friday a positive event. But shoppers, intent on getting good deals, have turned it into Black-Eye Friday. You must weigh the rewards of saving money with the risk of getting hurt. It’s a great way to save money for the Holiday season but beware of crowds.

On that note — let the shopping wars begin.