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Blue laws (also known as Sunday laws, Sunday trade laws, and Sunday closing laws) are laws restricting or banning certain activities on specified days, usually
Sunday Sunday (Latin: ''dies solis'' meaning "day of the sun") is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. Sunday is a Christian sabbath, day of rest in most Western countries and a part of the Workweek and weekend, weekend. In some Middle Ea ...
s in the
western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and state (polity), states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also const ...
. The laws were adopted originally for
religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...
reasons, specifically to promote the observance of the
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
day of
worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity or God. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition of a God. An act of worship may be performed individually, in an informal or formal group, ...
. Since then, they have come to serve
secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...
purposes as well. Blue laws commonly ban certain business and recreational activities on Sundays, and impose restrictions on the retail sale of
hard goods In economics, a durable good or a hard good or consumer durable is a good that does not quickly wear out or, more specifically, one that yields utility over time rather than being completely consumed in one use. Items like bricks could be conside ...
and
consumables Consumables (also known as consumable goods, non-durable goods, or soft goods) are goods that are intended to be consumed. People have, for example, always consumed food and water. Consumables are in contrast to durable goods. Disposable product ...
, particularly
alcoholic beverages Drinks containing alcohol are typically divided into three classes—beers, wines, and spirits—with alcohol content typically between 3% and 50%. Drinks with less than 0.5% are sometimes considered non-alcoholic. Many societies have a di ...
. The laws also place limitations on a range of other endeavors—including
travel Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical Location (geography), locations. Travel can be done by Pedestrian, foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without Baggage, luggage, a ...
,
fashion Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...
s,
hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...
,
professional sports In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larger a ...
, stage performances, movie showings, and gambling. While less prevalent today, blue laws continue to be enforced in parts of the United States and
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
as well as in European countries, such as
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
, and
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, where most stores are required to close on Sundays. In the United States, the
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
has upheld blue laws as
constitutional A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...
despite their religious origins if supported by secular justifications. This has resulted to the provision of a day of rest for the general population. Meanwhile, various state courts have struck down the laws as either unenforceable or in violation of their states' constitutions. In response, state legislators have re-enacted certain Sunday laws to satisfy the rulings while allowing some of the other statutes to remain on the books with no intention to enforce them.


History

The Roman Emperor
Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I * Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine g ...
promulgated the first known law regarding prohibition of Sunday labour for apparent religion-associated reasons in A.D. 321: The earliest laws in North America addressing Sunday activities and public behavior were enacted in the
Jamestown Colony The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. It was located on the northeast bank of the James River, about southwest of present-day Williamsburg. It was established by the L ...
in 1619 by the first
General Assembly of Virginia The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, and the first elected legislative assembly in the New World. It was established on July 30, ...
. Among the 70 laws passed by the assembly was a mandate requiring attendance by all colonists at both morning and afternoon worship services on Sundays. The laws adopted that year also included provisions addressing idleness, gambling, drunkenness, and excessive apparel. Similar laws aimed at keeping the Sabbath holy and regulating morals were soon adopted throughout the colonies. The first known example of the phrase "blue laws" in print was in the March 3, 1755, edition of the ''New-York Mercury'', in which the writer imagines a future newspaper praising the revival of "our onnecticut's old Blue Laws". In his 1781 book ''General History of Connecticut'', the Reverend
Samuel Peters Samuel Peters may refer to: * Samuel Peters (clergyman) (1735–1826), Connecticut Anglican clergyman and historian * Samuel R. Peters (1842–1910), U.S. Representative from Kansas * Samuel Jarvis Peters (1801–1855), American businessman and ...
(1735–1826) used the phrase to describe numerous laws adopted by 17th-century Puritans that prohibited various activities on Sunday, recreational as well as commercial. Beyond that, Peters' book is regarded as an unreliable account of the laws and probably was written to satirize their puritanical nature. While the historical roots of Sunday trade laws in the United States are generally known, the origin of the term "blue laws" remains a mystery. According to a ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine editorial in 1961, the year the Supreme Court heard four cases on the issue, the color blue came to be associated with colonial laws in opposition to the red emblem of British royalty. Other explanations have been offered. One of the most widely circulated is that early blue laws adopted in
Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...
were printed on blue paper. However, no copies have been found that would support this claim and it is not deemed credible. A more plausible explanation, one that is gaining general acceptance, is that the laws adopted by Puritans were aimed at enforcing morality and thus were "blue-nosed", though the term "blue" may have been used in the vernacular of the times as a synonym for puritanism itself, in effect, overly strict. As Protestant moral reformers organized the
Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, Ten Commandments, commanded by God to be kept as a Holid ...
reform in 19th-century America, calls for the enactment and enforcement of stricter Sunday laws developed. Numerous Americans were arrested for working, keeping an open shop, drinking alcohol, traveling, and engaging in recreational activities on Sundays. Erwin Fahlbusch and Geoffrey William Bromiley write that throughout their existence, organizations advocating
first-day Sabbatarianism Sabbatarianism advocates the observation of the Sabbath in Christianity, in keeping with the Ten Commandments. The observance of Sunday as a day of worship and rest is a form of first-day Sabbatarianism, a view which was historically heralded ...
, such as the
Lord's Day Alliance The Lord's Day Alliance (formerly known as the American Sabbath Union) is an ecumenical Christian first-day Sabbatarian organization. Based in the United States and Canada, the organization was founded in 1888 by mainstream Christian denominatio ...
in North America and the
Lord's Day Observance Society Day One Christian Ministries, formerly known as the Lord's Day Observance Society (LDOS), is a Christian organisation based in the United Kingdom that lobbies for no work on Sunday, the day that many Christians celebrate as the Sabbath, a day of r ...
in the British Isles, were supported by
labor unions A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
in lobbying "to prevent secular and commercial interests from hampering freedom of worship and from exploiting workers". 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. Beginning in the 1840s, workers, Jews,
Seventh Day Baptists Seventh Day Baptists are Baptists who observe the Sabbath as the seventh day of the week, Saturday, as a holy day to God. They adopt a theology common to Baptists, profess the Bible as the only rule of faith and practice, perform the conscious b ...
, freethinkers, and other groups began to organize opposition. Throughout the century, Sunday laws fueled churchstate controversy, and as an issue that contributed to the emergence of modern American minority-rights politics. On the other hand, the more recent ''
Dies Domini ''Dies Domini'' is an apostolic letter promulgated by Pope John Paul II on July 30, 1998, that encourages Catholics to 'rediscover the meaning' behind keeping Sunday holy. It says: Speaking of the various dimensions of the Christian celebr ...
'', written by
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
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 The ''Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church'' is a document issued by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace in 2004 to offer "a complete overview of the fundamental framework of the doctrinal corpus of Catholic social teaching". T ...
'', "ensure that, for reasons of economic productivity, citizens are not denied time for rest and divine worship". Similarly, Chief Justice
Earl Warren Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 30th governor of California from 1943 to 1953 and as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. The Warren Court presid ...
, while recognizing the partial religious origin of blue laws, acknowledged the "secular purpose they served by providing a benefit to workers at the same time that they enhanced labor productivity".


Laws by jurisdiction


Europe


Germany

The ("shop closing law") on Sundays and public holidays have been in effect since 1956.


Denmark

In
Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
the closing laws restricting retail trade on Sundays were effectively abolished on October 1, 2012. Retail trade is only restricted on public holidays (
New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...
,
Maundy Thursday Maundy Thursday, also referred to as Holy Thursday, or Thursday of the Lord's Supper, among other names,The day is also known as Great and Holy Thursday, Holy and Great Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries. is ...
,
Good Friday Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...
,
Easter Sunday Easter, also called Pascha (Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek language, Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, de ...
,
Easter Monday Easter Monday is the second day of Eastertide and a public holiday in more than 50 predominantly Christian countries. In Western Christianity it marks the second day of the Octave of Easter; in Eastern Christianity it marks the second day of Br ...
, Day of Prayer,
Ascension Day The Feast of the Ascension of Jesus Christ (also called the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, Ascension Day, Ascension Thursday, or sometimes Holy Thursday) commemorates the Christian belief of the bodily Ascension of Jesus into Heaven. It ...
,
Whit Sunday Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian holy day of Pentecost. It falls on the seventh Sunday after Easter and commemorates the descent of the Ho ...
,
Whit Monday Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday, also known as Monday of the Holy Spirit, is the holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost, a moveable feast in the Christian liturgical calendar. It is moveable because it is determined by the date of Easter. In ...
,
Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...
and
Boxing Day Boxing Day, also called as Offering Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Boxing Day was once a day to donate gifts to those in need, but it has evolved to become a part ...
) and on
Constitution Day Constitution Day is a holiday to honour the constitution of a country. Constitution Day is often celebrated on the anniversary of the signing, promulgation or adoption of the constitution, or in some cases, to commemorate the change to constitut ...
,
Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...
and
New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...
(on New Year's Eve from 3 pm only). On these days almost all shops will remain closed. Exempt are bakeries, DIYs, garden centres, gas stations and smaller supermarkets.


England and Wales


= Before 1994

= Prior to 1994, trading laws forbade sale of certain products on a Sunday; the distinction between those that could and could not be sold was increasingly seen as arbitrary, and the laws were inadequately enforced and widely flouted. For example, some supermarkets would treat the relatively modest fines arising as a business cost and open nonetheless.


= Since 1994

= The
Sunday Trading Act 1994 The Sunday Trading Act 1994 (c. 20) is an Act of Parliament (UK), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom governing the right of Retailing, shops in England and Wales to trade on a Sunday. Buying and selling on Sunday had previously been ille ...
relaxed restrictions on Sunday trading. This produced vocal opposition from bodies such as the
Keep Sunday Special Keep Sunday Special is a British campaign group set up in 1985 by Michael Schluter to oppose plans to introduce Sunday trading in England and Wales (there are different arrangements in Scotland and Northern Ireland). The Keep Sunday Special camp ...
campaign, and the
Lord's Day Observance Society Day One Christian Ministries, formerly known as the Lord's Day Observance Society (LDOS), is a Christian organisation based in the United Kingdom that lobbies for no work on Sunday, the day that many Christians celebrate as the Sabbath, a day of r ...
: on religious grounds, on the grounds that it would increase consumerism, and that it would reduce shop assistants' weekend leisure time. The legislation permits large shops (those with a relevant floor area in excess of 280 square metres; 3000 sq. ft.) to open for up to six hours on Sunday. Small shops, those with an area of below 280 square metres (3000 sq. ft.), are free to set their own Sunday trading times. Some large shops, such as off-licences, service stations and garages, are exempt from the restrictions. Some very large shops (e.g. department stores) open for longer than six hours on a Sunday by allowing customers in to browse 30 minutes prior to allowing them to make a purchase, since the six-hour restriction only applies to time during which the shop may make sales. Christmas Day and Easter Sunday are non-trading days. This applies even to garden centres, which earlier had been trading over Easter, but not to small shops (those with an area of below 280 square metres; 3000 sq. ft.).


Netherlands

Prior to 1996, shops were generally closed on Sundays. A new law () regarding opening times changed that and leaves that decision mostly up to local municipalities. This law was changed several times since. The ''Zondagswet'' (“”), a law on
Sabbath desecration Sabbath desecration is the failure to observe the Biblical Sabbath and is usually considered a sin and a breach of a holy day in relation to either the Jewish ''Shabbat'' (Friday sunset to Saturday nightfall), the Sabbath in seventh-day church ...
, is mainly to ensure that church services remain undisturbed on Sundays and Christian holidays. It forbids public festivities on a Sunday before 13:00, as well as making noise that carries farther than , but activities that are unlikely to disturb church services are exempt.


Northern Ireland

Prior to 2008, no football was permitted to be played on Sundays by clubs affiliated to the
Irish Football Association The Irish Football Association (IFA) is the governing body for association football in Northern Ireland. It organised the Ireland national football team (1882–1950), Ireland national football team from 1880 to 1950, which after 1954, became t ...
in Northern Ireland. Shops with a floor area of over may only open from 1 to 6pm on Sundays. In
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
, public playgrounds were closed on Sundays until 1965. Swings in public parks were tied up and padlocked to prevent their use. Similar laws formerly applied to cinemas, pubs and parks.


Poland

Since 2007, blue laws were enacted and resulted in stores closing on the 13 state holidays in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
– these are both religious and secular days of rest. In 2014, an initiative by the
Law and Justice Law and Justice ( , PiS) is a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative List of political parties in Poland, political party in Poland. The party is a member of European Conservatives and Refo ...
party failed to pass the reading in the
Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...
to ban trading on Sundays and state holidays. However, since 2018, the ruling government and the President of Poland has signed a law that restricts store trading from March 1, 2018, to the first and last Sunday of the month,
Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is the Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Its name originates from the palm bran ...
, the 3rd and 4th
Advent Advent is a season observed in most Christian denominations as a time of waiting and preparation for both the celebration of Jesus's birth at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Chri ...
Sundays, as well as trading until 14.00 for
Easter Saturday Easter Saturday, on the Christian calendar, is the seventh day of Eastertide, being the Saturday of Easter or Bright Week. In the kalendar of Western Christianity it is the last day of Easter Week, sometimes referred to as the Saturday o ...
and Christmas Eve. In 2019, the restriction was extended, and trading was permitted solely on the last Sunday of the month, as well as
Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is the Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Its name originates from the palm bran ...
, the 3rd and 4th
Advent Advent is a season observed in most Christian denominations as a time of waiting and preparation for both the celebration of Jesus's birth at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Chri ...
Sundays, as well as trading until 14.00 for
Easter Saturday Easter Saturday, on the Christian calendar, is the seventh day of Eastertide, being the Saturday of Easter or Bright Week. In the kalendar of Western Christianity it is the last day of Easter Week, sometimes referred to as the Saturday o ...
and Christmas Eve. From 2020, stores may only be open on seven Sundays in the year:
Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is the Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Its name originates from the palm bran ...
, the 3rd and 4th
Advent Advent is a season observed in most Christian denominations as a time of waiting and preparation for both the celebration of Jesus's birth at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Chri ...
Sundays, the last Sunday of January, April, June and August as well as trading until 14.00 for
Easter Saturday Easter Saturday, on the Christian calendar, is the seventh day of Eastertide, being the Saturday of Easter or Bright Week. In the kalendar of Western Christianity it is the last day of Easter Week, sometimes referred to as the Saturday o ...
and Christmas Eve. As a result of restrictions in connection with the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, the 2nd Advent Sunday was later added as a shopping day.


North America


Canada

The ''Lord's Day Act'', which since 1906 had prohibited business transactions from taking place on Sundays, was declared unconstitutional in the 1985 case '' R. v. Big M Drug Mart Ltd.'' Calgary police officers witnessed several transactions at the Big M Drug Mart, all of which occurred on a Sunday. Big M was charged with a violation of the ''Lord's Day Act''. A provincial court ruled that the ''Lord's Day Act'' was unconstitutional, but the Crown proceeded to appeal all the way to the
Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...
. In a unanimous 6–0 decision, the ''Lord's Day Act'' was ruled an infringement of the freedom of conscience and religion defined in section 2(a) of the
Charter of Rights and Freedoms The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part of the '' Constitution Act, 1982''. The ''Char ...
. A Toronto referendum in 1950 allowed only team sports to be played professionally on Sunday. Theatre performances, movie screenings, and horse racing were not permitted until the 1960s. The Supreme Court later concluded, in ''
R. v. Edwards Books and Art Ltd. ''R v Edwards Books and Art Ltd'' 9862 SCR 713 is a leading Supreme Court of Canada decision on the constitutional validity of an Ontario provincial Sunday closing law. The Court found that the legislation was within the power of the province to ...
''
986 Year 986 ( CMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * August 17 – Battle of the Gates of Trajan: Emperor Basil II leads a Byzantine expeditionary force (30,000 me ...
(2 S.C.R. 713), that Ontario's ''Retail Business Holiday Act'', which required some Sunday closings, did not violate the Charter because it did not have a religious purpose. Nonetheless, as of today, virtually all provincial Sunday closing laws have ceased to exist. Some were struck down by provincial courts, but most were simply abrogated, often due to competitive reasons where out-of-province or foreign merchants were open.


United States

In the United States, judges have defended blue laws "in terms of their secular benefit to workers", holding that "the laws were essential to social well-being". In 1896, Supreme Court Justice
Stephen Johnson Field Stephen Johnson Field (November 4, 1816 – April 9, 1899) was an American jurist. He was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from May 20, 1863, to December 1, 1897, the second longest tenure of any justice. Prior to this ap ...
, opined with regard to Sunday blue laws: Many states prohibit selling
alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...
for on and off-premises sales in one form or another on Sundays at some restricted time, under the idea that people should be in church on Sunday morning, or at least not drinking. Many blue laws in the United States restrict the purchase of particular items on Sundays. Some of these laws restrict the ability to buy cars, groceries, office supplies, and housewares among other things. Though most of these laws have been relaxed or repealed in most states, they are still enforced in some other states. In Texas, for example, blue laws prohibited selling housewares such as pots, pans, and washing machines on Sunday until 1985. In
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
,
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
,
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
,
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
,
Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
,
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
,
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
,
Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
,
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
,
North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, and
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
, car dealerships continue to operate under blue-law prohibitions in which an automobile may not be purchased or traded on a Sunday.
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
permits Sunday automobile sales only in the counties of
Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...
, Prince George's, Montgomery, and
Howard Howard is a masculine given name derived from the English surname Howard. ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names'' notes that "the use of this surname as a christian name is quite recent and there seems to be no particular reason for ...
; similarly,
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
restricts Sunday sales to only those counties with a population of less than 130,000. Texas and
Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
prohibit car dealerships from operating over consecutive weekend days. In some cases, these laws were created or retained with the support of those whom they affected, to allow them a day off each week without fear of their competitors still being open. Blue laws may also prohibit retail activity on days other than Sunday. In
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
,
Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...
, and
Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
, for example, blue laws prohibit most retail stores, including grocery stores, from opening on
Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...
and Christmas. Research regarding the effect of the repeal of blue laws has been conducted, with Professor Elesha Coffman of
Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...
writing:


= Court cases

= Beginning in the mid-19th century, religious and ethno-cultural minorities arrested for violating state and local blue laws appealed their convictions to state supreme courts. In ''Specht v. Commonwealth'' (Pa. 1848), for example, German
Seventh Day Baptists Seventh Day Baptists are Baptists who observe the Sabbath as the seventh day of the week, Saturday, as a holy day to God. They adopt a theology common to Baptists, profess the Bible as the only rule of faith and practice, perform the conscious b ...
in Pennsylvania employed attorney
Thaddeus Stevens Thaddeus Stevens (April 4, 1792August 11, 1868) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania, being one of the leaders of the Radical Republican faction of the Histo ...
to challenge the constitutionality of Pennsylvania's Sunday law. As in cases in other states, litigants pointed to the provisions of state constitutions protecting religious liberty and maintained that Sunday laws were a blatant violation. Though typically unsuccessful (most state supreme courts upheld the constitutionality of Sunday laws), these constitutional challenges helped set a pattern by which subsequent minorities would seek to protect religious freedom and minority rights. The
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...
held in its landmark case, ''
McGowan v. Maryland ''McGowan v. Maryland'', 366 U.S. 420 (1961), was a United States Supreme Court case that affirmed the Maryland State Supreme Court's decision that the state's Sunday closing laws did not have a religious purpose to aid religion and that the se ...
'' (1961), that
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
's blue laws violated neither the
Free Exercise Clause The Free Exercise Clause accompanies the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The ''Establishment Clause'' and the ''Free Exercise Clause'' together read: Free exercise is the liberty of persons to r ...
nor the
Establishment Clause In United States law, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, together with that Amendment's Free Exercise Clause, form the constitutional right of freedom of religion. The ''Establishment Clause'' an ...
of the
First Amendment to the United States Constitution The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prevents Federal government of the United States, Congress from making laws respecting an Establishment Clause, establishment of religion; prohibiting the Free Exercise Cla ...
. It approved the state's blue law restricting commercial activities on Sunday, noting that while such laws originated to encourage attendance at Christian churches, the contemporary Maryland laws were intended to serve "to provide a uniform day of rest for all citizens" on a secular basis and to promote the secular values of "health, safety, recreation, and general well-being" through a common day of rest. That this day coincides with
Christian Sabbath Many Christians observe a weekly day set apart for rest and worship called a Sabbath in obedience to God's commandment to remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Early Christians, at first mainly Jewish, observed the seventh-day (Saturday) S ...
is not a bar to the state's secular goals; it neither reduces its effectiveness for secular purposes nor prevents adherents of other religions from observing their own holy days. ''McGowan'' was but one of four Sunday closing cases decided together by the Court in May 1961. In ''
Gallagher v. Crown Kosher Super Market of Mass., Inc. ''Gallagher v. Crown Kosher Super Market of Massachusetts, Inc.'', 366 U.S. 617 (1961), is a United States Supreme Court case that declared that a kosher butcher store had to abide by the state laws that banned them from selling on Sunday. Backg ...
'', the Court ruled against a Kosher deli that closed on Saturday but was open on Sunday. The other two cases were ''
Braunfeld v. Brown ''Braunfeld v. Brown'', 366 U.S. 599 (1961), was a landmark case on the issue of religious and economic liberty decided by the United States Supreme Court. In a 6–3 decision, the Court held that a Pennsylvania blue law forbidding the sale of ...
'', and '' Two Guys from Harrison-Allentown, Inc. v. McGinley''.The LANDMARK Cases
National Sunday Law Crisis. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
Chief Justice
Earl Warren Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 30th governor of California from 1943 to 1953 and as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. The Warren Court presid ...
declared that "the State seeks to set one day apart from all others as a day of rest, repose, recreation and tranquility--a day which all members of the family and community have the opportunity to spend and enjoy together, a day on which there exists relative quiet and disassociation from the everyday intensity of commercial activities, a day on which people may visit friends and relatives who are not available during working days". In March 2006, Texas judges upheld the state blue law that requires car dealerships to close either Saturday or Sunday each weekend."'Blue Law' for car sales upheld by Judge"
, KVIA, March 22, 2006. Retrieved May 28, 2008. "A Texas judge has upheld an old law that requires car dealerships in the Lone Star state to close one day each weekend. They must now choose to open either Saturday or Sunday."


Oceania


Cook Islands and Niue

Blue laws also exist in the Polynesian islands of
Cook Islands The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...
and
Niue Niue is a self-governing island country in free association with New Zealand. It is situated in the South Pacific Ocean and is part of Polynesia, and predominantly inhabited by Polynesians. One of the world's largest coral islands, Niue is c ...
. In the Cook Islands, these were the first written legislation, enacted by the
London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed tradition, Reformed in outlook, with ...
in 1827, with the consent of the ''
ariki An ariki (New Zealand, Cook Islands), ꞌariki ( Easter Island), aliki (Tokelau, Tuvalu), ali‘i (Samoa, Hawai‘i), ari'i (Society Islands, Tahiti), Rotuma) aiki or hakaiki ( Marquesas Islands), akariki (Gambier Islands) or ‘eiki (Tonga) is o ...
'' (chiefs). Laws in Niue ban certain activities on Sunday, reflecting the country's history of observing the Christian Sabbath tradition.


Tonga

In the
Kingdom of Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. according ...
, the
Vavaʻu Code The Vavaʻu Code was instituted in Vavaʻu, Tonga in 1839, by King George Tupou I. It contained the country's first ever written laws, and formed the bases of the first constitution of the Kingdom. It delineated an ordered society where the monarch ...
(1839) was a form of blue law inspired by the teachings of
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...
. With the inauguration of the Tongan Constitution on June 4, 1875, the sixth clause stipulates: "The Sabbath Day shall be kept holy in Tonga and no person shall practise his trade or profession or conduct any commercial undertaking on the Sabbath Day except according to law; and any agreement made or witnessed on that day shall be null and void and of no legal effect."


See also

*
Desuetude In law, desuetude (; , ) is a doctrine that causes statutes, similar legislation, or legal principles to lapse and become unenforceable by a long habit of non-enforcement or lapse of time. It is what happens to laws that are not repealed when t ...
*
Dry county In the United States, a dry county is a county whose local government forbids the sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. The vast majority of counties n ...
*
Neo-prohibitionism Neo-prohibitionism (also spelled neoprohibitionism and neo-Prohibitionism) is a current movement to attempt to stop consumption of alcohol in society through legislation and policies which further restrict the sale, possession, and marketing of alc ...
*
Raines law The New York State liquor tax law of 1896, also known as the Raines law, was authored by the New York State Senator John Raines and adopted in the New York State Legislature on March 23, 1896. It took effect on April 1, 1896, was amended in 1917 a ...
*
Religious law Religious law includes ethical and moral codes taught by religious traditions. Examples of religiously derived legal codes include Christian canon law (applicable within a wider theological conception in the church, but in modern times distin ...
*
Sunday shopping Sunday shopping or Sunday trading refers to the ability of retailers to operate stores on Sunday, a day that Christian tradition typically recognises as a day of rest, though the rationale for Sunday trade bans often includes secular reasoning. ...


References


Bibliography

* Algeo, Matthew (2006). ''Last Team Standing''. Philadelphia: Da Capo Press. * Ruck, Rob; with Patterson, Maggie Jones and Weber, Michael P. (2010). ''Rooney: A Sporting Life''. Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska Press. * Sarna, Jonathan D. and Dalin, David G. (1997). ''Religion and State in the American Jewish Experience''. Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press. * Volk, Kyle G. (2014). ''Minorities and the Making of American Democracy''. New York: Oxford University Press. . * Westcott, Rich (2001). ''A Century of Philadelphia Sports''. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.


External links


Red, White, but Mostly Blue: The Validity of Modern Sunday Closing Laws Under the Establishment Clause - Vanderbilt Law Review (2007)



The Massachusetts Blue Laws


(Bloomington, Illinois newspaper) {{DEFAULTSORT:Blue Law Political terminology of the United States Religion and law Sunday shopping Sabbath in Christianity Social conservatism Sabbatarianism