Sunday shopping ban

debeli

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Sunday shopping banned in Croatia - International Herald Tribune

"The Croatian parliament has passed a law forcing shops to close on Sundays in a concession to the Roman Catholic church. The church has campaigned for years for Sundays to be devoted to family or Mass in Croatia, which is almost 90 percent Roman Catholic. But Croatians have begun spending weekends in shopping malls that have flourished across the country in the past few years and remain open seven days a week.
The law adopted Tuesday and goes into effect Jan. 1. It allows Sunday shopping over the summer and Christmas holidays.
The law also allows stores in gas, bus and train stations to open on Sundays year-round, along with those in hospitals. Bakeries, newsstands and flower shops are also exempt from the ban."

I very rarely went shopping on Sunday, but this pisses me off. It shows how deeply is church politically connected with the leading party, and guess what, elections are just so many Sundays away...
Official reasons are to protect exhausted and exploited workers and to give people choice (!) to spend their Sunday better.
Personally, I find it quite insulting.
 

kalipygian

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Sunday shopping banned in Croatia - International Herald Tribune

"The Croatian parliament has passed a law forcing shops to close on Sundays in a concession to the Roman Catholic church. The church has campaigned for years for Sundays to be devoted to family or Mass in Croatia, which is almost 90 percent Roman Catholic. But Croatians have begun spending weekends in shopping malls that have flourished across the country in the past few years and remain open seven days a week.
The law adopted Tuesday and goes into effect Jan. 1. It allows Sunday shopping over the summer and Christmas holidays.
The law also allows stores in gas, bus and train stations to open on Sundays year-round, along with those in hospitals. Bakeries, newsstands and flower shops are also exempt from the ban."

I very rarely went shopping on Sunday, but this pisses me off. It shows how deeply is church politically connected with the leading party, and guess what, elections are just so many Sundays away...
Official reasons are to protect exhausted and exploited workers and to give people choice (!) to spend their Sunday better.
Personally, I find it quite insulting.

That used to be the policy in some US cities, it was very inconvenient for a lot of people.
 

Principessa

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I see where you might be initially inconveninced, but having grown up in the northeast USA Blue Laws are not uncommon. In New Jersey where I grew up supermarkets were only open from noon to 6 pm on Sundays when I was a kid. My dad remembers when they weren't open at all on Sundays. Many states don't sell alcohol or cars on Sundays.

Blue Laws were the norm here for centuries, and abbreviated forms of them still exist in many states.

A blue law is a type of law, typically found in the United States and Canada, designed to enforce moral standards, particularly the observance of Sunday as a day of worship or rest, and a restriction on Sunday shopping. Most have been repealed, declared unconstitutional or are simply unenforced, although prohibitions on the sale of alcoholic beverages, and occasionally almost all commerce, on Sundays are still enforced in many areas. Blue laws often prohibit an activity only during certain hours and there are usually exceptions to the prohibition of commerce, like grocery and drug stores. In some places blue laws may be enforced due to religious principles, but others are retained as a matter of tradition or out of convenience.[1]
Laws of this type have been found in non-Christian cultures such as Israel, where the day concerned is Saturday rather than Sunday, and Saudi Arabia, where the month of Ramadan is involved [2].
In the Cook Islands, blue laws were first written legislation, enacted by the London Missionary Society in 1827, with the consent of ariki (chiefs). In Tonga, the Vava'u Code (1839) was inspired by Methodist missionary teachings, and was a form of blue law. In Niue, certain activities remain forbidden on Sunday, reflecting the country's strong Christian heritage.
 

lipollo

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Greece is passing the same laws.

Has anyone ever asked why SUnday shopping was introduced? It was introduced to stimulate consumerism which in todays light proves it does nothing because consumerism in the last decade has decreased significantly from the 60's. All it has achieved to do is destroy the time parents can spend with their families.
 

B_starinvestor

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Greece is passing the same laws.

Has anyone ever asked why SUnday shopping was introduced? It was introduced to stimulate consumerism which in todays light proves it does nothing because consumerism in the last decade has decreased significantly from the 60's. All it has achieved to do is destroy the time parents can spend with their families.

Some places need to stay opened on Sundays just to survive. Particularly now in difficult economic times...restaurants, bars, mom & pop shops, etc.

I agree that families should spend more time together, but if you are in the food service / bar business and don't work on Sundays, your family may be living with the in-laws and eating Ramen noodles 7 days a week.
 

lipollo

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Firstly my family run a business and let me tell you that the people going on sundays will just go on a saturday night or a friday night.

Secondly, the laws being passed are for shops not for resteraunts etc.
 

houtx48

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here in texas we use to have blue laws seems strange to think back on that.... there is still some kind of law about car dealer being open on sunday i think.
 

mitchymo

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Go Croatia!!!

I'm not religious at all so i do not support the decision on those grounds but i DO agree with the idea of there being a day of rest where staff of businesses can relax and not have to worry about 'opening shop'.
I work in a retail store open 7 days a week and shifts are structured to accomodate.....it would be great to have a day that is ALWAYS a day off so you can spend quality time with friends and family.