Blue Thursday is the new name for Thanksgiving Day for retail workers nationwide.

Many stores are posting Black Friday hours beginning at midnight or as early as Thanksgiving evening to compete with each other in an effort to get customers in their doors first. In the past year or two we have seen the opening hours move closer to midnight, and this year retailers will attempt to beat that mark.

Openings at 4 and 5 a.m. have been a longtime standard — a standard the retail world has become accustomed to along with long hours and restricted time off for family celebrations through the new year.

But I believe encroaching on the day of thanks, a national holiday meant for us to come together with our loved ones, is not only a display of greed, it is a display of disrespect for family values. Corporate competition matters more than people.

Perhaps folks won’t fall for the dangling carrot on Thanksgiving Day. Or should I say, Blue Thursday? But if you can’t resist the carrot, at least show appreciation for those who may have had to miss their family gathering and who will likely be worked to exhaustion by the end of the big weekend.

Have a safe holiday. And thank you to all those in the human service realm, such as police and medics, who have sacrificed their celebrations year after year for our safety and well-being.

Stephanie Stapleton

Aaronsburg