As national retailers plan to kick off the holiday shopping season earlier than ever with hours on Thanksgiving Day, some Massachusetts merchants are starting to question whether the state’s Colonial-era blue laws, which prohibit Thanksgiving openings, are becoming outdated.

I think it’s great that we don’t enforce laws about dancing and selling liquor on Sundays. But for small businesses, it wouldn’t be fair to let pressure from big national chain stores lead to employees giving up their holidays. Let’s keep Thanksgiving a shopping-free day in Massachusetts.