Hilda's
Homily
I
Wonder . . .
by Hilda Maston
Have you noticed lately that every holiday is an
occasion for a big sale? Memorial Day used to mean that
the family went to the cemetery to decorate the graves.
Now, on that day we grab a handful of credit cards and
head for the mall. Same with President’s Day.
Big sales this time, with virtually no mention of the
presidents whom we are supposed to be honoring.
Halloween is one of the holidays on which we spend
almost as much money as we do on Christmas shopping.
Then there is Labor Day which finds the clerks laboring
to sell goods, instead of celebrating themselves.
On good old Columbus Day, some of the biggest sales of
the year are in evidence.
Easter
sales are good ones for the clothing industry.
Everyone wants new clothes. Junior has outgrown
his Sunday suit, his shirt, his shoes and everything
else. Easter sales are there to fill the gap. Why
are stores open on holidays?
Is it
because we are a “consuming people’ and if the stores
are open we will shop? I wonder if the same amount
of goods would be sold if the stores were open only
Monday through Saturday. Maybe we need the
holidays for bargain-hunting because so many women work
full time and those extra days are needed for shopping.
It’s quite apparent that women do most of the shopping
for family.
I’m old enough to remember the “Blue Laws” that some
cities tried to enforce. These laws were designed
to prevent stores from opening on Sunday or holidays.
I don’t remember being for or against those laws, but I
do remember how nice it was to have the deli open on
Sundays. We could stop after church for picnic
stuff or ice cream for dessert.
We are so used to instant service that we really feel
inconvenienced if a store we want to patronize happens
to be closed. Whether we like it or not, the 24/7
opening of some local stores is already here, and the
future will surely bring more. Will we buy more if
the stores are always open?
I wonder...
