Twas the night of Thanksgiving and no shoppers were stirring, not even Neighbor Bob who is always up to something. At least, they won’t be in three states where Black Thursday is actually against the law. In Rhode Island, Maine and Massachusetts, most big stores are barred from opening on Thanksgiving day.

What! How? Huh! Is what you’d be shouting if you love shopping so much that you can’t wait to chomp that turkey down and get out the door. It’s all due to “blue laws” from back in the day that prohibit large supermarkets, big box stores and department stores from opening up on that day, according to the Associated Press.

This makes some businesses a bit crunchy because in other states there are 24-hour shopping bonanzas bringing in the big bucks. And some shoppers are seeking solace across state borders, which means their money is also going out of state.

The vice president of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts says shoppers are border-jumping to Connecticut, Vermont, New York and New Hampshire, taking those bucks elsewhere.

“Why not give stores in Massachusetts the option?” he said. His group is siding with legislation that’s currently stuck in nowhere land to allow stores to open on holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas.

But on the other hand, is it so bad to just take a day off? Many shoppers in those three states are fine with it.

“I shop all year. People need to be with their families on Thanksgiving,” said one Rhode Island resident.

Thanksgiving Shopping Is Illegal In These 3 States [Associated Press]

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