It’s okay for stores to be open on Thanksgiving and Christmas

I used to be one of those people who grumble every year that stores shouldn’t be open on major holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Before I tell you the key event that shifted my thinking, here are a just a few of three reasons why I think it’s okay for stores to be open on holidays:

1. Not everybody celebrates Thanksgiving and Christmas
   As much as many diehards would like to mandate that all Americans recognize these holidays as days to spend at home with family, it’s just practical for everyone. One year, on the day before Thanksgiving, I told the one woman working at the checkout stand of our local supermarket that I hope she has Thanksgiving off. She informed me that she will be working the holiday, then quickly assured me she’s okay with it because she’s in the U.S. on a study visa and it’s not a holiday she’s used to celebrating. And since none of her family is in the United States, she wouldn’t be able to celebrate it with them any way.
2. People celebrate in different ways
   Not everyone celebrates Thanksgiving and Christmas in the same way. Given how diverse and mobile our society is these days, it’s more common than ever for family members to converge in one location from around the country in order to celebrate. In 2015, my family of four drove 13-plus hours from Phoenix to San Antonio the day before Thanksgiving to attend a reunion dinner planned for Thanksgiving day. We arrived at our hotel at 1 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning. If not one supermarket were open that day, there is no way we, or many of the other guests, would have been able to bring anything for dinner.
3. Some people enjoy working on the holidays
   Believe it or not, there are some people who actually enjoy working on holidays – especially when they can earn 1-1/2 to 2 times their normal pay. I personally know several people who count on holiday pay so they can survive the holidays financially or pay off bills. For others, it’s not so much about the money, but they’d just rather be around people than sitting home alone dwelling on the fact that they have nobody to celebrate the holiday with. This was definitely the case for the woman I mentioned earlier.

Like many people, I once thought it was sacrilegious for stores to be open on Thanksgiving or Christmas. That all changed the year my young daughter had a painful ear infection on Christmas morning. Were it not for the cheerful staff of the local Walgreens committing to be at work that day, the outcome of our holiday might have quite miserable.

Unless I hear of people being forced to work on a holiday or face consequences, I will forever support the right of businesses to open their doors on Thanksgiving and Christmas.