Liquor stores, retail stores, and many grocery stores will be closed on Thanksgiving in Massachusetts, due to a series of “blue laws” that originated 400 years ago during Colonial times.
“Blue laws go way, way back,” Jon Hurst, the president of the Massachusetts Retailers Association, said Wednesday. “Blue laws have been chipped away at for decades, but … Thanksgiving, Christmas never went any further.”
Blue laws were originally meant to insure that people went to church on Sunday and observed the Sabbath. And many remain on the books because lawmakers and stores aren’t in a hurry to change them.
“There’s not a whole lot of pressure from our members, from the stores, to be open,” Hurst said. “The retail industry really hasn’t made it a priority to change the law.”
The last time blue laws were rolled back was 1994, when voters approved a ballot initiative to allow stores to open on Sunday mornings and on three holidays: Memorial Day, July 4, and Labor Day, Hurst said.
Since then, there have been bills “out there” that the retailers association has supported, but they haven’t made it through the Legislature, Hurst said.
This year, State Representative David Linsky of Natick introduced a bill to allow stores to sell alcohol on Thanksgiving. It has not been brought up for a vote.
Hurst cited an increase in online shopping, especially during the pandemic, as a reason why stores aren’t supporting more holiday openings.
“Increasingly, the consumer is deciding with their feet and dollars right through their smartphone,” he said.
Online shopping can hurt local retailers and brick and mortar stores, Hurst said.
“It isn’t the same thing as far as local investment in the local economy,” he said.
According to their websites, stores that will be closed on Thursday include Star Market, Market Basket, Stop & Shop, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe’s.
Some smaller convenience stores and farm stands will be open on Thanksgiving, Hurst said.
“That raises some consternation of some of their competitors, why they can be open and others can’t,” he said. “But again, it hasn’t been as controversial in recent years as it used to be because of, frankly, changing consumer patterns.”
Truman Dickerson can be reached at truman.dickerson@globe.com.
