While the rest of the country turned Thanksgiving into Thanksgetting, three New England states – including Yours Rhody – never left the table to go to the mall. One of the few Colonial-era blue laws still on the books preventing merchants from operating their business on the holiday meant itchy shoppers in Rhode Island, Maine and Massachusetts had to crank up the hard drive or drive to New Hampshire to go bargain hunting while they were still digesting their turkey.
Score one for the Puritans.
This particular blue law, like most of the others, will likely not stand the test of time. One way or another Americans are going to demand to exercise their right to stand in line in the cold on a sacred day to save $50 on the latest iThingamabob instead of spending a few hours sharing stories with family and friends and expressing gratitude for their lives. So be it, but it was nice to enjoy a consumer-free Thanksgiving for at least one more year.
For one glorious late-autumn Thursday in three New England states, Thanksgiving was as it should be. Here’s hoping Puritan Rhody, Maine and Massachusetts can find a way to keep this blue law on the books. Otherwise, we’ll be like every other state in America, wishing people a “Happy Walmartgiving” every November.
This week’s question: Should Rhode Island change the blue law preventing retailers from conducting business on Thanksgiving?
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2 comments:
Good question! I didn't know about that law, and I'm not sure how I feel about it.
I feel guilty when I do shop on Thanksgiving, because I'm taking someone else away from their celebration. But it was awfully convenient to have the store open when we ran out of something.
In theory, it's preferable to spend Thanksgiving evening sharing time with family and/or friends. At the same time, shouldn't that be up to the individual?
Actually, I agree that it should be up to the individual. But if the individual is an employee, who wants to spend the day at home with family instead of working on Thanksgiving, it wouldn't be up to him or her. It would be up to the employer. Not saying that makes the blue law right. Just saying I like the idea of having a few days that don't feel like every other day on the calendar.
On the other hand, the old Rhody blue law about not eating pickles on the trolley...I could go either way on that one.
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