I said this yesterday on another thread yesterday. The Friday after Thanksgiving is called Black Friday. The meaning of the this Black Friday is that a lot of retail stores go into profit during the Christmas season. If the Christmas shopping extravaganza did not exist mom and pop operations everywhere would be in big trouble.
Yes, I remember blue laws, in Kentucky the first things that opened were grocery stores, pharmacies and gas stations. It felt rather naughty to go to church and then slip into Kroger's for newness of it.
You're right about grocery stores and gas stations. There were only two gas stations in our town. The owner of one of them went to our church. He resisted staying open on Sundays for as long as he could, but finally had to give in. He and his wife ran the station together. She was very active and never missed a Sunday at service. He stopped coming because of business. Sad. I wonder how many other people would rather shop than go to church? (:0(
P.S. I often felt a little giddy shopping on Sunday. Forbidden fruit or something like that? LOL! (:O)