The other day, I was scrolling through a news feed and came across an article with the tagline: “Publix to close all 1,448 stores for 24 hours as it joins retail ‘blackout’.” Curious about what this blackout referred to and which other chains were joining in, I soon discovered that the retail blackout meant closing on Easter Sunday—a holiday that many businesses, including Twins Smoke Shop, have been closing for as long as I can remember. What was shocking about this?

What further surprised me was the article stating that Publix closes on Easter, Thanksgiving, and “December 25th.” You mean Christmas?! Why just say December 25th?

It amazes me that closing so employees can celebrate the holiday with friends and family is referred to as joining a “retail blackout.”

For some, Easter is about bunnies, Easter baskets, egg hunts, jelly beans, and family dinners. For others (myself included), in addition to the above, Easter is the yearly celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, not simply “the conclusion of Lent,” as stated in the article. Easter has been celebrated by the Christian Church for 2000 years—more than 300 years before the season of Lent was ever conceived by the bishops at the Council of Nicea in 325. It remains one of the biggest attendance days for Christian churches everywhere, many of which have special services leading up to Easter (Maundy Thursday—remembering Jesus’ last supper with His disciples, and Good Friday—remembering the day He was crucified), and even added services on Easter Sunday to accommodate the uptick in attendance on the holy day.

It saddens me that the spin on thousands of businesses closing for the holiday, including Twins Smoke Shop, so that families can celebrate Easter together is calling it a “retail blackout,” as if it is some political statement or in response to some disruption in the market or workforce.

So to all those businesses that chose to honor this holiday by closing so that families can be together, I thank you. Thank you for putting family first and for giving the opportunity for the Christian believers in your workforce to attend services on this special day that lies at the heart of what we believe.

And to all my fellow Christian brothers and sisters reading this, “He is risen…. He is risen indeed!”