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why do shops close at 4:00 on sundays?
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
apparently ive heard that they are only allowed half days on sunday becase the rest of the time people are meant to go to church. It just seems weird, however, that even nowadays when officially we are a multicultural society basically our government is christian. Personally, im not really one way or the either, guess i could be classed as a christian if u want, but, i dont know....
I just think its not fair everyone has to stop on sunday for church even if we dont go to church - and this isnt an official statistic but i think most christains dont go anyway...
I just think its not fair everyone has to stop on sunday for church even if we dont go to church - and this isnt an official statistic but i think most christains dont go anyway...
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We live a SECULAR society!!!! Few people go to church or even are religious.
Ergo, the concept that Sunday must be 'kept special' is an archaic one. Besides if you are a Muslim or a Jew, are you still supposed to adhere to 'making Sunday special' even though it is not a traditional holy day in your faith?
Shops are totally closed, not even open for half a day.
What you describe as a sunday, is a normal saturday here.
Cornershops, cafes, restaurants and cinemas are open.
But the "real" shoppings are not to be made on sundays.
I know that the christian party here, don't want to make shops become sunday-open as they are very concerned about family values/time/etc. and think that people working in stores, should have one day off, to dedicate to their families.
Really? My local co-op (who keep me supplied in vodka, God love 'em) Opens at 8am and closes at 8pm on a sunday. And there's a Spar that's open 24/7. And i'm pretty sure there's a chemist in/around Piccadilly Circus that's open 24/7
One more recent reason why shops dont stay open is because people don't like working Sundays, it is one of the few days people get to relax now, and I myself hate working on what should be a day off.
Anyway, it's good to be back, trying desperately to catch up with a lot that I've missed. Nice to see some of the old faces still around (bet nobody remembers me:( tee-hee).
Regards,
i'm a child of the fifties. sunday was the only day that your average worker was free from his toils and exploitation.
sunday meant visiting granny and or aunties. a valuable part of the family glue long gone. quiet streets. the hectic pace of city life
switched off for 24hrs. bliss.
the fact there was nothing much to do, meant the whole family would be doing it together.
you modern people have lost a lot of valubles in life in pursuit of material gains and some kind of imaginary health, beuty and fitness garbage. rest and relaxation to some of you is going to yet another building...in your cars, where you sweat on a treadmill ! that used to be a punishment in the british penal system for gods sake !
sundays now seem to be about B n Q and even more work for your material world. mcdonalds full of men having thier one day a week contact with thier offspring. highways jammed with traffic,
for what ? forget religion by all means. but forgetting spirituality
is turning us all into ever spinning, never stopping wheels in the great machine of mamon. how many families now spend an entire day together on an at least weekly basis ? how many even see it as desirable any longer ?
For one thing, at the moment most people who work Sundays get double or one and a half times pay, and if Sunday became normal, Sunday pay would also become normal. I can imagine the unions objecting to this...
Although on the other hand, the Sunday trading laws do seem to be slowly being chipped away...e.g. some places like M&S open at 10.30 to give customers half an hour's browsing time on top of the 6 hours. I suppose it's only really a matter of time.
I'm not quite sure what you're saying...
...but it seems to be along the lines of "we should be FORCED by law to consider Sunday spiritual and spend time with our families"
You might think that, I don't, so don't try and enforce your views on me!
I don't think anyone is, are they?
But Mr Roll is right on the historical basis for Sunday Trading laws and both of us can remember those Sunday's where everything was closed. Even today Sunday is still a "sacred" day for many workers, being the only day that they aren't contracted to work.
And yes, we used to spend this time with our families, and some of us still do. Perhaps when you have children of your own you will understand why...
Stracha_Khan
Christianity is thankfully dieing in this country
Is there an explanation behind this? Why should we be thankful that one of the worlds largest (certainly furthest spread) religion is fading in this country?
Its not like they are beating children on the street, or mass marketing products too disgusting for real people to buy to children, knowing that in 10 years time they will have an addicted audience.....
All in all I'd say i'm happier having the christians in this country than not having them.... They don't even cause secular problems in england, like they sometimes do in other countries (ireland, anyone?).... so why should we be thankful they are dying out?
If you think your comment is relevent to the thread, it is worth taking note that no (mainstream) christian denomination says what non christians can and cannot do on a sunday.
Even though contemporary Britain is secular, we still are a traditionally Christian country. It's understandable in that sense that some would wish for Sunday to be 'kept special'.
I (just) remember the days before Sunday trading came in. Yes it wasn't as convenient as being able to simply nip down to the supermarket for a loaf of bread or whatever else you may have run out of, but it did mean people were more organised and it was very rarely a problem.
It gave everyone a day off....which is much needed. There are people who now work 7 days a week adn that isn't good for anyone. Everyone needs to have a break and a rest at some time during a week.
As it stands now, with only 6 hours trading allowed at least staff do have some time to themselves. Although more and more places are giving an hours browsing time before openning etc, which again shortens peoples time off.
We live in a society, which has more and more broken families. A lot of this is to do with a lack of time families spend together, making the neccessary bonds to make people grow together rather than apart. At least Sunday used to be a day that families spent together helping these bonds grow.
Now families are lucky if they have an hour a day together a lot of the time, with the longer days that are being worked during the week as well.
I know there's no reversing the Sunday trading laws as they stand now, but I do believe they should stay as they are tonot put more strains on society as a whole.
Oh don't get me wrong, it's not just Christianity, I dislike most traditional religion.
Whilst I admit religion used to create great cohesion within society, this is not as relevant in contemporary Britain, seeing as our multi-cultural societies have vastly differing religions, religion no longer provides the sense of social solidarity it used to...often presenting the opposite effect.
I'll agree with you that it's not the worst thing ever, and if I had the power to change the world, religion wouldn't be the first thing to go. But having said that, I do hold religion in a pretty negative light.
From a purely personal point of view, even though I was brought up as a Christian myself (attending church weekly until about the age of 13 when I stopped going because I fell out with the vicar over the issue of gay couples adopting) I see religion in general as a con.
I know I'm going to be slated for this but.... I do support the notion that religion is the opium of the people...
*hides*
England is arguably more secularised than Ireland. Then surely the fact that there's less religious conflict here than Ireland supports my viewpoint?
Yes but it is considered a "holy day" or "the day of rest" by religions. Is this not, if we go back far enough, the original reason for there being little or no work on Sundays in this country? (Genuine question here).
However, I do agree with Morrocon Roll's comments on spirituality and the family, and it's for those reasons why I don't think Sunday hours should be changed.
it should, according to the hopes of my generation be down to about 50 by now. how long before retirement is abolished. how long before they figure out how to stick an eigth day in and have you working that as well !! people no longer know how to relax.
gardening, decorating, keep fit etc. manic i call it.
so glad i dont have to work.
I agree...I aint your generation but most of this has occured during my life time and I remember how it used to be.
Everyone needs a day off, to relax, deal with things round the home, be with family etc. In the world today we have lost that. People working every hour under the sun to make a living. That isn't life. These people don't get much free time, a few hours each evening perhaps, but that isn't enough to do everything in. They are run off their feet, no chance to relax and this causes health problems as well.
Just because people are living longer isn't any reason to make them work longer. I know it's all to do with paying pensions but it's ridiculous and I'm sure they can find away round the money shortage for pensions. We all work enough years of our life away. People should be allowed sometime to enjoy themselves in life, whether they have to wait till they are 65 or not. Theres little enough time duriung working days.
the problem these days seems to be there is so much to OWN.
as a working class kid in the 50s there wasn't realy much to own.
your dad went out to work but your mum stayed home. then came the 60s. your mum had to work as well to keep up with the ever growing number of consumables. which became neccesities.
if you have never known it any different then it probably seems a remarkable time to be alive. but the very concept of living and being alive has changed dramaticaly.
our technology and hectic way of life seems to me to be choking us. your perception of whats real and desirable is massively different than what was the norm for ....well forever beforehand.
Yes but it is considered a "holy day" or "the day of rest" by religions. Is this not, if we go back far enough, the original reason for there being little or no work on Sundays in this country? (Genuine question here).
Surely thats the fault of politicains overly considering religion, and forcing it onto the people, rather than the religion (or religious leaders) forcing themselves on the politicains.
"Religion is the opium of the people".... I don't think that is as true today as it once was... Actually i think today its fairer to say that "tv is the opium of the people"... And personally i would be happier if it was religion. At least religion encourages people to be nice to each other and think for themselves. TV rarely encourges such things.
Be aware when you are commenting on a religion or the people that are part of that religion.... You commented on a preist that disagreed with you about gay couples adopting children....
Now, my guess on what god's (real being, or divine image created by man) view on this issue is as good as yours, which in turn is as good as the preists.
There is no way of proving this one way or another. Even if the vatican makes a statement saying they are viewing things in a certain way, all they can speak for is the catholic establishment, not for christianity as a whole, and certianly not for god. After all, god is going to be different for different people.
I was lucky, which is why I suppose I realise the old fashioned ways, I had a good family life, close parents etc. We spent a lot of time with the family and did things as a family. I live in the country and so I still see the peace and tranquility offered by a farming community. Where everyone pulls together, but life is still at a slow pace.
These days I can see the strain that life puts on a lot of my friends and myself now since I'm looking to move out of home and don't have the money coming in to really manage this. It will end up me working more hours, losing a lot of my freedom and time where I can do what i want.
Life should be about having spare time and what you do in it. yes we work to be able to afford that, but work isn't life by a long way, or at least it shouldn't be.
Oh and back to the point about Sunday trading, all you people who are for it, at a guess I'd say none of you have had to work Sundays. you've not felt the disruption this causes and are purely thinking about how nice it is to have an extra day to go shopping and the convenience for youreselves.
Things have changed, for better or worse.
Work is the modern day leisure for a lot of people, they gain the satisfaction that they used to gain from making a nice meal or shelving unit from getting further ahead in business/whatever.
We are work-a-holics, I think its rather pointless in blaming "the system", there would be no "system" if we didnt all go along with it.
Plus by all accounts your retired, so shouldnt you be in a home?
That wasn't the impression I got. I felt like he recognised the good things that Sunday brought...
Later he noted that things have indeed changed, commenting that both parents need to work these days to make ends meet (which goes against your next comment) and not because they want to.
Many of us older posters will remember being told that the working week would be reduced thanks to technology and the paperless office. Both prediction are total shite of course...
I'm sorry, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that bollocks?
No-one works for "leisure" we work because we have bills to pay. We try to find something that we enjoy and it is the demands of work today that makes us work longer hours, not the love of work. The satisfaction comes from the fact that a good job means a reduction in pressure. Not sure if you've noticed but people tend to "party" harder when they do get a break.
If your theory was correct people wouldn't complain about Monday mornings or look forward to Friday afternoon so much, would they?
It's alway worth considering that there aren't many parents who prefer to work rather than spend time with their children.
Which explains the rises in suicide for work related stress.....
I know of noone who gains satisfaction from their work apart from those in the public sector who help people. And even then they don't work for the fun of it.
I work to get money to be able to buy things and go out for meals and entertainment.
If that stuff was free then I wouldn't bother working.
i do not for one moment have an idylic view of the past. i've re read what i've written and dont see how you come to that conclusion. i am making observations. WORK is the modern day liesure....your words. agreeing with me that people have forgotten...or been conned, into not haveing a clue about what relaxation is and it's benefits. theres an old saying; "the family that eats together, stays together". that is a form of relaxation in itself. divorce was for extremely wealthy people and the famous when i was a kid. now it's the norm...less security, more stress. marriage has become stressful for a lot of people because they live with the uncertainty of wether or not it will last and what effect it will have on the family members. thousands of years of common sense seems to have been thrown out the window since the end of the second world war. THOUSANDS of years of common sense values and safeguards, gone. sunday becoming yet another "normal" day is yet more of our modern madness in my view. we have lost what it is to be truly human in the sense of being social animals. the material has taken over from the spiritual. (nothing to do with religion) and i dont believe it's for the good of our species. teenage suicide. heart disease. strokes.
s.t.d's...all running rampant because we have lost sight of REALITY.
But people do still turn to religion when searching for something that'll give their lives meaning (mid-life crisis' anyone?)... Or looking to religion to answer questions such as "why are we here?", because Science cannot provide answers.
It is just my personal viewpoint, that religion cannot provide these answers either.
This I am well aware of. I didn't want to go into my personal beliefs much but codephreak asked for elaboration so I gave it.
People believe in religion because it's relatively easy to understand. Science is complicated, and this makes people afraid of it, or afraid of trusting the scientific 'authorities' that offer theories.
(I really distrust statistics but... these were interesting).
Recent(ish) survey by the beeb in Britain showed that 52% of people believed in heaven, whereas only 25% believe in hell showing that although the teachings are relatively simple, people will believe in things which make them feel better.
Science offers a rather depressing outlook, and even if people can comprehend the scientific theories, they often do not want to believe them. This is understandable.
Less than half of the people surveyed considered themselves as belonging to a particular religion. Secularisation is happenning, whether it shall be beneficial or not remains to be seen.
Regards,
Science offers us cures for our ailments, good food and drink and a mass of other things that make our lives more comfortable and most people enjoy this and want this?
Depressing?
I meant in relation to explinations of things such as what happens to us when we die, etc.
The scientific explination of that would involve decomposing to dust. The religious explination being ascendence to heaven, or reincarnation etc. Science is extremely depressing in comparison, can create a sense of the individual being meaningless.