Holidays: Don't shame businesses that stay open

I want to address the annual store and business bashing that happens because certain people believe that all businesses should close for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

First, let me say that I celebrate these holidays with my family and have many happy family traditions that I wish to continue. I understand the feelings of family connections that come during the holidays. If a business can close for the holidays and give its staff holiday pay, I say thank you to these employers for treating their staff so well.

However, some businesses have no choice, like police, firefighters, hospitals, military, etc. These workers need to take lunch and dinner breaks and get gas for their vehicles. Closing all “non-essential” businesses hurts the staff of the businesses that have to be open.

Shaming stores into closing is not going to force families to have a loving holiday celebration. Families that don’t celebrate the holidays simply won’t, regardless of stores being open or closed.

My family has had many hospital and military workers throughout the years. Funnily enough, we still managed to have many holiday celebrations filled with love and family. We simply celebrated on a different day.

This story was originally published November 23, 2015 at 11:41 AM with the headline "Holidays: Don't shame businesses that stay open."