Are Holidays a thing of the past?

[tvguy]

My wife work in an industry where a holiday has almost never meant "day off", but I can't believe how many other businesses were open today that COULD have been closed and used to close on holidays. I wonder if holidays as a day off are in danger of becoming extinct.

Open today here that used to be closed on Thanksgiving:

> 4 of the 5 major grocery store chains (with shortened hours)
> McDonalds, Burger King and Taco Bell.
> The Gym. (shortened hours)
> Sears (the first time in the company's 117 years in business, limited hours)
> K-Mart (limited hours)

 

[mhsjax]

My wife work in an industry where a holiday has almost never meant "day off", but I can't believe how many other businesses were open today that COULD have been closed and used to close on holidays. I wonder if holidays as a day off are in danger of becoming extinct.

Open today here that used to be closed on Thanksgiving:

> 4 of the 5 major grocery store chains (with shortened hours)
> McDonalds, Burger King and Taco Bell.
> The Gym. (shortened hours)
> Sears (the first time in the company's 117 years in business, limited hours)
> K-Mart (limited hours)

There are more stores opened in my area than when I was growing up, but our Fast food restaurant are still all closed. our grocery stores are closed as well.

I bet some of the FF are open because of the stores being open, they have to get in on the pre BF money grab. I think holidays are still in, just Thanksgiving is going away somewhat in order to get ready for Christmas.

 

[golfgal]

DH and I were commenting about this on the way home today. I have to agree, there are just some days you should not be open. People shopping today will shop tomorrow.

 

[LuLuO]

If people didn't go to those places on Thanksgiving or other holidays then they wouldn't be open. They make money so they are open. If they didn't make any money then they'd be closed.

 

[smb6]

I can see atleast one local gas station and one pharmacy type store being open- but I agree, that is all that is necessary..... I have also noticed more and more places being open on Holidays- it use to be next to impossible to find an open gas station on Thanksgiving and Christmas- now there are several open....

 

[Happy Mom2]

Nothing but Walmart is open in my area.

 

[acejka]

Thank God the stores were open! I hate thanksgiving so I was able to get out and about and shop!

 

[Missy1961]

Supermarkets in my area have been open for years, but they've always had reduced hours (maybe 7 AM - 1 PM). It's nice to be able to run to the store to get the 1 thing you thought someone was bringing for dinner, but they either forgot or couldn't get it.

 

[DisneyWhirled]

I am so sad to see that holidays are becoming less and less important in our country. There are PLENTY of days to shop and then there is also online! How about some family time!!!!

 

[cm8]

DH and I were commenting about this on the way home today. I have to agree, there are just some days you should not be open. People shopping today will shop tomorrow.

. I find it really sad too. I know at the hospital we had no choice, but everywhere else, like retail stores and other things can wait

 

[kirbsam]

but i wanted to go to a moviee today. and you only hang with your family for a few hours anyway.

 

[worm761]

I don't care how good the deal is, I REFUSE to shop on holidays. I don't go to movies or restaurants either. I hated working holidays so I refuse to be the reason someone else has to work. I have to say, a lot of people would mention what a shame it was that I was working and my only thought was always nasty. People don't have to work if other people would not shop on holidays. I hate this trend.

 

[Jennasis]

Grocery stores should be open. What if you're cooking and realize you forgot something or run out of something? Department stores and the like...mmmm...no.

 

[kidzmom3]

I am so sad to see that holidays are becoming less and less important in our country. There are PLENTY of days to shop and then there is also online! How about some family time!!!!

Not everyone celebrates Thanksgiving. Some think it is wrong to celebrate the domination of indigenous people. I think the traditional American holidays are falling to the wayside because of the current mix of cultures and ideas. We are moving away from white, christian families that all celebrate the same thing.

 

[minkydog]

Businesses of all sorts are open because they have a market that demands it. Money is a great motivator. A lot of people don't want to spend a whole afternoon watching football or visiting with difficult relatives. And some have no family to share the holidays with. I don't thnk that holiday celebrations will go away, but they are definitely changing

I feel sorry for the workers in those industries who are forced to work on the holidays. It does seem unnecessary on the surface. But I have to say, I'm grateful they do. If you've ever had to take a long road trip on Christmas or Thanksgiving Day, you know how hard it is to find gas stations open, especially in the early morning hours. And I have certainly seen my share of movies on Thanksgiving afternoon.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I think it is regional. All of our fast food and grocery stores are closed. Now there are some restaurants that do service but that is a small number.

 

[bumbershoot]

I am so sad to see that holidays are becoming less and less important in our country. There are PLENTY of days to shop and then there is also online! How about some family time!!!!

The logic just got lost there. You shop online, you have problems, you call....wait, what? Call who?



I am SO GLAD that some places are open today! Speaking as someone who willingly, happily worked on quite a few holidays when I was working, speaking as the wife of someone who willingly and maybe not SO happily worked and works holidays until perhaps this current job, there will ALWAYS be people who either need the money enough OR have no plans OR don't celebrate OR would just rather be at work than at home. The people working are *generally* not people who are crying to go home, they are *generally* people who were OK with it.

DS and I just tagged along on a work trip with hubby. And the pac NW was smacked with unusual snow, which isn't easy to deal with here b/c the snow is different (verified just yesterday when we were on the east side of the state) than in western WA/OR AND the terrain is very hilly. So anyway, thankfully we were prepared with a rental car (our car is rear wheel drive) and chains just in case and a stocked car etc etc, but the going was SLOW. So we had to stay over last night instead of getting home. Then we got out slowly today, and hubby and son had something they had to do with MIL (I'm invited but refuse to go) that didn't have anything to do with Thanksgiving....so anyway, we had no Thanksgiving today. No Field Roast (we're vegetarian and that tastes better than Tofurkey), no potatoes, no etc etc etc, because I hadn't shopped for that last week.

So I am tremendously glad that Safeway and Top Foods are both open today, because hubby and son are out getting something nummy for tonight while I make an easy pumpkin pie (from a cooks.com recipe). We'll have a more special meal tomorrow (hubby will be working from home) but this is good for tonight.

I'm glad it's different now. And if hubby is told on 12/24 that he needs to go on a work trip really soon, we'll be cool with it, just like we were last year (he left 12/26 though we would have been fine with the 25th), because in this huge diverse world, not everyone celebrates everything....

 

[scrapquitler]

If people didn't go to those places on Thanksgiving or other holidays then they wouldn't be open. They make money so they are open. If they didn't make any money then they'd be closed.

Exactly. Entrepreneurs...these businesses see that there is a demand for them to be open, so they open. If nobody shopped today, then the stores wouldn't open.

 

[tvguy]

Interesting regional differences. I didn't include gas stations, because, at least here in Northern California, I can't remember ANY gas station being closed on a holiday in the last 20 years. I just lumped them in with Police, Fire, Hosptials and other "essential" services.
Gas stations could be a whole other thread.......while there are plenty....when I was a kid, there was a SERVICE station on all four corners of every major intersection. Now there might be one left, and in a lot of cases, the three other corners still have the service station buildings there, but they are now used for something else. Just in my area one is a hamburger place, another is a travel agency, and a third is a blood bank location.

 

[mjantz]

My hubby liked working holidays in college (service station) because it meant time & a half as far as pay. There were many Thanksgivings we either drove to family that morning (because he had worked the night before) or left early so he could work Thanksgiving night.
I would hope no one would be forced to work on a holiday. However, if they're willing & they're not missing family time I see no problem.