Anyone remember when everything was closed on Sundays?

[barnacler]

I kinda liked it. There was more socializing, no work, no errands, no shopping, it very much had a different feel to it from Saturday, more like a holiday.

Where the phrase "Sunday Afternoon Driver" came from- you'd just go for a leisurely drive to enjoy the day.

 

[Shaquille Oatmeal]

Yeah, very depressing.
Am happy that is not the case these days.

 

[oakvilleguy]

Yes, my dad had a store in a shopping mall. When Sunday shopping became the norm, he worked every day except for statutory holidays. I don’t know how he did it except his need to provide for his family.

 

[tml]

Poor Paul Magder fought valiantly for the right to be open on Sundays.

 

[Butler1000]

I kinda liked it. There was more socializing, no work, no errands, no shopping, it very much had a different feel to it from Saturday, more like a holiday.

Where the phrase "Sunday Afternoon Driver" came from- you'd just go for a leisurely drive to enjoy the day.

Except for all the people in restaurants, tourist areas, various city services, movie theatres and obviously more.

There was more socializing because of less screen time, church, and it was a smaller world for most people.

 

[Ponderling]

Can you recall lining up at a bank after work on Friday afternoon to cash the summer job etc. pay check?
Because it was the weekend, and all the places I liked to haunt did not really do credit cards.
And there were no ATMs or debit, Apple pay,etc. Hell no cel phones either.

 

[bazokajoe]

As a former 12 hour shift worker stores being open on Sindays is great.
I didn't have to rush to get things done during the week.
After a 12 hour shift it was nap time, then get up and make breakfest, meals to take to work and not much time left before I head out to work again.

 

[chuckaction]

I remember the beer store lineups on Saturday just before closing time!

 

[LTO_3]

Oh yes, the "good ol' days" when life was a bit slower & easier and not in a rush to have (most) things done right now or yesterday. Miss those days.

LTO_3

 

[Dave in Phoenix]

Oh yes, the "good ol' days" when life was a bit slower & easier and not in a rush to have (most) things done right now or yesterday. Miss those days. LTO_3

I believe the Sunday closing had more to do with the larger Christian influence than we have today. Sunday was family time (good) and going to Church, at least in the US.

Heck, I was a Billy Graham usher in mass crowds when I lived in Minneapolis, where BG is/was headquartered. Then I became serious about biblical/religious history and no longer interested in traditional institutional religion. I believe in a God, but not man's attempt to define him into all the narrow boxes of a religion.

 

[Robert Mugabe]

I arrived in Calgary in January of 1969. No movies on Sundays. Through google I discovered they started allowing them in July of that year. The drinking age was 21 I was 19. They dropped the drinking age to 18 in 1971 around the time I turned 21.
I remember I saw the comedian Dave Broadfoot at the Calgary Stamped around that time. He said something to the effect that you aren't a Canadian until you have experienced the great silence of Edmonton on a Sunday. True.

 

[eddie kerr]

I remember way back in the day when this city was known as TORONTO THE GOOD Nothing was open on Sundays, the pubs all closed at 11pm every night, and drinking age was 21 which forced my friends and I would drive to Buffalo on Friday nights to go to the pubs as the drinking age there was 18.

 

[mburner]

In 'burbed-to-the-max Bergen County NJ, blue laws, dating from 1704, still exist.

Why does Bergen County cling to blue laws? Is the practice, established in 1704, outdated?

Decades after the rest of New Jersey ended the practice, Bergen County continues to enforce blue laws that ban most retail activity on Sundays.

www.northjersey.com

 

[unassuming]

And there were no ATMs or debit, Apple pay,etc. Hell no cel phones either.

we all walked around with $$$$ in our wallets, more muggings back then

 

[K Douglas]

I was surprised to learn that it was banned until 1992. I thought it had changed around 1987. I think there was mass support for the change and I liked the reduced hours. Usually 11-5. Still gets workers home to their families for Sunday supper.

 

[onomatopoeia]

Ontario had Conservative party premiers continuously from August, 1943 until the June, 1985 election. Pretty much everyone in a power position in business and politics during that period was from a pre-boomer generation. These were the 'old school' conservatives who believed that government had an obligation to impose morality on the general public. All of them are now dead.

Older guys on this board will remember that Ontario strip clubs were 'topless only' in 1985, and possibly into early 1986.

Ontario population growth chart:



Religion in Ontario, 1981 - 2021:



The number of people who identify as Christian declined by only 4%, but Christianity's 'market share' dropped by 41.6%. Irreligion has increased by 714%. My guess is that the majority of this group is people who have abandoned Christianity for themselves, and those who have not imposed Christianity on their Children, with a smaller chunk of 'ham-eating Jews'. There probably aren't that many atheistic Muslims.

 

[canada-man]

The Lord's Day Act was a federal law to regulate and prohibit activities on Sundays in Canada. It was in force from 1907 until 1985, when it was found to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada. Campaigned for by members of the Presbyterian Church in Canada, it was passed in 1906. Notably, the Act allowed that it would not supersede any provincial or municipal laws made for the same purpose.

Lord's Day Act (Canada) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[unassuming]

Older guys on this board will remember that Ontario strip clubs were 'topless only' in 1985, and possibly into early 19

To circumvent this, the strippers would wear g-strings that were see through knitting (large gaps between the knitting)

 

[xmontrealer]

When I first moved to Montreal from Winnipeg in 1972, stores would close at 6 pm every day except Thursdays and Fridays.

As we neared Christmas in early December they would finally be open every week night until 9 pm.

 

[Shaquille Oatmeal]

The number of people who identify as Christian declined by only 4%, but Christianity's 'market share' dropped by 41.6%. Irreligion has increased by 714%. My guess is that the majority of this group is people who have abandoned Christianity for themselves, and those who have not imposed Christianity on their Children, with a smaller chunk of 'ham-eating Jews'. There probably aren't that many atheistic Muslims.

Am actually really happy that Irreligion has actually increased and in my opinion will continue to rise.
In my opinion less religious influence, better your quality of life and more freedoms.