Word of the Week: Kaufrausch

When the holiday season begins, the stores are filled with shoppers trying to collect gifts for loved ones.

Parking is difficult, stores are overcrowded, lines are long and many items are sold out. This is all due to the so-called Kaufrausch.

The German word Kaufrausch means “shopping spree”. It comes from the words kaufen (“to buy”) and Rausch (“rush”).

The word can be used in many different contexts. If, for example, someone is seeking retail therapy, that person may be on a spontaneous Kaufrausch by him-or herself on a quiet day at the mall.

In another case, someone may be fighting mobs of shoppers who are all on a Kaufrausch at the same time – like during the holiday season. During the week of Thanksgiving, Black Friday sales also instigate a Kaufrausch in shopping centers across the US. Some of you may even be participating in one this week!

© dpa / picture-alliance

A person is most likely to go on a Kaufrausch when there are good sales, but it can happen at any time. So if you’re getting ready for a Kaufrausch today, just be mindful that you may not be the only one!

By Nicole Glass, German Embassy

 

The history of Black Friday shopping – in Germany!

It’s Friday! We’re guessing many of our American friends are off work today. You may be reading this while standing in line at a shopping mall because after all, it’s Black Friday and there’s plenty of deals to steal!

But while Thanksgiving is an American holiday, Black Friday is slowly becoming a global phenomenon – and Germans are among those who are participating.

Black Friday is – and always has been – a consumer’s holiday. The Friday after Thanksgiving has always marked the start of the holiday shopping season. But the term “Black Friday” first came to use in a different context: in the 1950s, American factory works used the term because so many of their coworkers called in sick on the day after Thanksgiving. In the 1960s, Philadelphia police were struggling to deal with traffic jams, large crowds and shoplifters on that Friday, also bringing the word “Black Friday” into use. The term was used in a negative context in both of these instances.

Continue reading “The history of Black Friday shopping – in Germany!”