Easter Stocking

My wife went shopping last night & bought the last loaf of bread in Christendom.

Yes, it was the night before Good Friday, & all through the shops, everyone was busy filling their trolleys like there was an oncoming apocalypse, rather than simply a day when the supermarkets wouldn't be open.
Why do we go through this farce every year?
I ask this of myself every year, & so it's time I asked anyone who happens to read this - which is like asking myself, but without the reflective bit.

Every year, at Easter, people run off to the shops on Thursday to stock up because they won't be able to shop again until Saturday. That's just a day.
I remember when I used to shop only once a week. It wasn't on Friday. I could cope.
Am I the only person who can either plan for shopping days in advance, or else not go shopping on one particular day?

What compounds the problem is that the supermarkets will specifically understock on everything but Easter eggs. They'll make a stupendous effort to get rid of their stock of Easter eggs, & will clear shelves of food so as to promote whatever they've had stored away in warehouses since last Easter.
You can possibly understand that the perishables - bread in particular - might not proliferate on the shelves, knowing that there'd be no-one to buy stale bread the day after.
This might contribute to the rush to get the last loaf of bread on a Thursday night, but to the point where there is no bread left?
It was Thursday - late night shopping - & there were several good hours of shopping remaining when the last loaf left.

On the other side of the problem, why do we continue to close the shops on Good Friday & Sunday at all?

It's all well & good to say it's a religious celebration, but the fact remains that we don't have a state religion & there is an increasing number of people in this country who are either atheistic or practicing non-Christians.
There is no excuse for laws that impose a religious observance on the populace.
I honestly don't care who eats meat on Good Friday - that's not my problem.

There have been many arguments in the past - often from unions - that having shops open at Easter & Christmas means that staff will be expected to work & not be with their families.
I put it to you that it's time for every Muslim part-time shop assistant to put their hand up & say "I'm free!" I'll guarantee Coles & Woolies would have more than a skeleton staff on hand to cope with those who would rather shop than spend time with their family.

Obviously, this argument equally applies to penalty rates in general.
If you want people to spend time with their families, then don't encourage them to work by paying them more on weekends.

Anyway, it's Good Friday. I've had my toast for breakfast.
The shops are closed. I'm bored.
I'll go read a book until I get around to some religious observance.