Except for Christmas and Easter Sunday, there isn't a lot of everyday recognition of the Christian liturgical calendar in our post-Christian culture. But this is a new phenomenon. Our kids might not believe us, but not only did most businesses used to close on Sundays, but other Christian observances were commonly honored as well.

McDonald's came out with it's Filet-O-Fish sandwich in the 1960s not out of some kind of early health consciousness, but so that on Fridays observant Catholics could still drop by the fast food restaurant for a quick bite. Within memory of many here, it was routine for businesses to shut down on Good Friday between the hours of noon and three o'clock the hours Christian tradition declares Jesus hung on the cross allowing employees and customers to attend Good Fr…