Sunday Closing

Back in the day when your faithful correspondent was a tyke it was the usual practice for businesses near Nib Manor to close on Sunday. The only exceptions were pharmacies, service stations and the occasional liquor store. Pharmacies and service stations provided goods and service that might be needed by even the most strict Sabbath observer. I think liquor stores were open to keep the local winos from buying Sterno at the local Rexall Drug Store and drinking it when they couldn't get their daily ration of Thunderbird from The Captain's Booty package store. It was considered better to have a wino drinking booze instead of drinking canned heat.

The store closings, were not, in Los Angeles County, not a legal edict. The Sunday closings were the result of the merchants conforming to the cultural norms of the time. As far as I know, in this area, there were no violent actions taken against the odd 5 and 10 store that opened on Sundays by even the most fundamental Christian churches or bodies. The usual reaction was something like, "Did you hear that Grant's has started Sunday selling? I'll never shop there again."

Our Mohammedan friends seem to have a different viewpoint about Friday selling: Gates of Vienna: The Great Jihad in Thailand. If memory serves correctly, Thailand is a country where Theravada Buddhism is the majority religion. Islamism is second. Christianity is a distant third. But, for some reason, the Thai Mohammedans feel that the culture should bend to their norms instead of having the ability to exercise the self-discipline of having their own people not engage in Friday trading.

Meanwhile, parts of Canada flirt with Sharia law. Good luck for all those employees of Can-West wanting to get together at T.G.I. Fridays for a Molsen after work on a Friday night.