Sunday shopping

But as long ago as 1899,[4] even US Christian churchgoers were calling for a reform of the laws in the US, because the result was not more people going to Church but "enforced idleness": George Orwell uses the term in Down and out in Paris and London to remark that the worst problem of the underclass is being made to wait.

[citation needed] Arguments in favour of regulation of shop opening hours usually emanate from trade unions and industry federations, as well as socialist and Christian democratic parties.

In its enactment, the legislature has given the sanction of law to a rule of conduct, which the entire civilized world recognizes as essential to the physical and moral well-being of society.

The prohibition of secular business on Sunday is advocated on the ground that by it the general welfare is advanced, labor protected, and the moral and physical well-being of society promoted.

(Hennington v. Georgia, 163 U.S. 299 [1896])[7]Erwin Fahlbusch and Geoffrey William Bromiley write that throughout their existence, organizations advocating first-day Sabbatarianism, such as the Lord's Day Alliance in North America and the Lord's Day Observance Society in the British Isles, were supported by labor unions in lobbying "to prevent secular and commercial interests from hampering freedom of worship and from exploiting workers.

"[10] In Canada, the Ligue du Dimanche, a Roman Catholic Sunday league, supported the Lord's Day Act in 1923 and promoted first-day Sabbatarian legislation.

[11][12] Dies Domini, written by Pope John Paul II in 1998, advocates Sunday legislation in that it protects civil servants and workers; the North Dakota Catholic Conference in 2011 likewise maintained that blue laws, in accordance with the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, "ensure that, for reasons of economic productivity, citizens are not denied time for rest and divine worship.

For the European Commission, "the choice of a closing day of shopping involves historical, cultural, touristic, social and religious considerations within the discretion of each Member State".

[14] The following European Union countries currently allow all shops to open for at least part of every Sunday: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden.

Although it had worked for some time, the Croatian Constitutional Court declared banning Sunday shopping to be unconstitutional, and on 28 April 2004 issued a decision making it legal.

[22][23] However, on 15 July 2008, the Croatian Parliament, again under pressure from the Catholic Church; passed a new-old law banning Sunday shopping effective 1 January 2009.

[33] In 2004, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled against lifting restrictions on Sunday opening, which is still confined to some small bakeries and convenience stores inside railway stations and airports.

The new regulation only allowed trading by shops with an area no greater than 200 square metres (2,200 sq ft), and even then only if they are operated by the owner or a close family member related by blood or marriage.

However, the act itself is largely inoperative – a 1938 Statutory Instrument made the entire State an 'Exempted Area' under the legislation[37] – and as a result most shops and businesses may open whenever they please, including on Sundays and public holidays.

Supermarkets, convenience stores and petrol stations are open longer hours than other shops on Sundays, typically from early morning (06:00-10:00) to late evening (20:00-00:00).

The days of restricted shopping are: In 2014, the Sejm rejected a civil law bill amending the Labour Code, which prohibits stores closing on Sundays.

The only exception to this rule is the government-owned liquor store monopoly Systembolaget, which is not allowed to open on Sundays, and have to close at 20:00 on weekdays and 15:00 on Saturdays.

[1] In Norway only petrol stations, flower nurseries and grocery shops that are smaller than 100 square metres (1,100 sq ft) are allowed to operate on Sundays.

This led to the formation of the Keep Sunday Special campaign, backed by church groups and USDAW, the trade union representing shop workers.

The Enterprise Bill 2015–16 introduced in September 2015 included a provision for major towns and cities to decide how long shops could open for on Sundays.

Large shops within holiday resorts (designated by the district council) may opt for unrestricted trading hours on up to 18 Sundays (but not on Easter Day) per calendar year between the dates of 1 March and 30 September.

Sunday shopping is generally allowed in the predominantly Catholic Philippines, where families go out to major retailers, and even hear Mass at purpose-built mall chapels.

During Holy Week, the three days preceding Easter Sunday see stores closed or operating on shorter hours, as with many television and radio stations.

On June 23, 2006, the Premier of Nova Scotia, Rodney MacDonald, announced new limits on Sunday shopping as a means to honour the wishes of voters in the 2004 plebiscite.

Pete's Frootique had taken the provincial government to court seven years earlier and won the right to open on Sundays with its separate operating divisions, thus it was "grandfathered" in the new regulations announced by Premier MacDonald.

Bowing to public pressure, the Rae government amended the Retail Business Holidays Act in June 1992 to permit Sunday shopping in Ontario.

In New Brunswick, the decisions require dual approval from municipal and provincial officials (although that is in the process of being changed), otherwise it is only permitted from August to the first Sunday in January.

There was discussion in the Georgia legislature in the late 2000s (decade) to repeal the state's blue laws regarding Sunday retail alcohol sales in a measure to increase tax revenue.

In this way, the combination of state-enforced monopoly and state-sanctioned authority to set hours results in a de facto prohibition on Sunday hard liquor sales in Virginia.

Most shopping malls and supermarkets stay open every Sunday in Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia etc.