Shops closed for Easter - isn't it long overdue a change?

Forums › Off topic › Shops closed for Easter - isn't it long overdue a change?

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#3475854 31-Mar-2026 09:17

Earbanean:

So just to be clear, you would scrap Christmas Day as a enforced public holiday? In which case families that wanted to come together on that day, would all have to apply for leave. And if they weren't all successful with their leave applications, then they could just do it at some other time in the year more convenient to their employers. It is a 'superstitous' holiday for 'religious folks' anyway.

I'm pretty sure a dude called Grinch has already proposed this, but anyway...

Yeah I suspect that would be a nightmare. You'd have certain industries pushing everyone to use their leave up during winter, or on the other hand, say the industry I'm involved in effectively shuts down over Xmas (finance). So perhaps my work would just say, well you're taking your annual leave from mid December until Feb as we close down.

Annual events I do on long weekends, think Labour Weekend or Easter etc. All go out the window as it would rely on everyone being approved for the days off instead of it being mandatory.

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#3475857 31-Mar-2026 09:22

MikeB4: It's a handful of days out of 365. What part of the human body is harmed by a few days off?

The liver.

MikeB4

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#3475860 31-Mar-2026 09:24

Dratsab:

MikeB4: It's a handful of days out of 365. What part of the human body is harmed by a few days off?

The liver.

That's alcohol 😀

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

mudguard

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#3475869 31-Mar-2026 09:40

It seems like an age ago since I worked for a bank, but even then once someone's leave balance got above two weeks there were email reminders to start taking leave. I think if it got to a certain point then some was just flat out mandated. But I don't know if it was ever enforced.

My previous job involved so much travel that I had a lot of leave built up so I'd cash some out every year. My dilemma is that I didn't really want to have a holiday and spend it in a motel/hotel. I'd rather have a week at home!

MikeAqua

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#3475880 31-Mar-2026 09:55

mudguard:

Yeah I suspect that would be a nightmare. You'd have certain industries pushing everyone to use their leave up during winter, or on the other hand, say the industry I'm involved in effectively shuts down over Xmas (finance). So perhaps my work would just say, well you're taking your annual leave from mid December until Feb as we close down.

Employers are able to do this now, once within any twelve-month period. Many professional services businesses (lawyers, accountants, councils) have a compulsory shut down over xmas-NY. Food processing plants often have an annual maintenance shutdown (usually in winter). I've done this as a commercial vessel operator. Every winter the boat would go up on the slip and the crew would go onto shutdown. We timed it to coincide with school holidays.

Mike

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#3477347 2-Apr-2026 17:52

It’s 2 days a year , it’s not that bad put your feet up and relax

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#3477354 2-Apr-2026 18:29

I'm looking forward to a quieter day tomorrow, and Sunday.

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#3477376 2-Apr-2026 20:10

Easter Sundy is no longer a mandated holiday. IIRC there was an Act passed a few years ago that gave local bodies the choice of who was forced to close on Easter Sunday. Up here in the Far North, everything is open.

Restrictions apply to Good Friday, Christmas Day and Anzac day to 1pm. No big deal. It was always the proximity of Good Friday and Easter Sunday that was an issue, now solved locally.

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#3477386 2-Apr-2026 20:58

OldGeek:

Easter Sundy is no longer a mandated holiday. IIRC there was an Act passed a few years ago that gave local bodies the choice of who was forced to close on Easter Sunday. Up here in the Far North, everything is open.

The worst part is that it was just a restricted trading day. Being referred to as Easter Sunday, always lead to some colleagues to complain (sometimes foolishly to MBIE) that they weren't receiving holiday pay for the day off.

In parts of the country that have elected to remove the restriction, we still see some national chain supermarkets close while others opens. It's still a bit messy.

Goosey

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#3477422 3-Apr-2026 07:27

Lias:

I think we need to scrap the entire concept of public holidays.. just get rid of them all and increase everyone's annual leave by the same amount. Having everyone forced to take a holiday on the same day and effectively shutting the country down is just nuts in our always on 24x7x365 world.

that would make life more difficult for everyone who plans and organises events, gatherings and projects

e.g. Sporting fixtures and tournaments (not just competitive but also social), family events, friend events, community and culture group events (noting culture groups are not simply just religion based can be dance, art, music etc etc), with community events being gartherings, fundraising, service/give back, building and gardening/eco projects.

it allows common holidays regardless if you follow various religious books or not.

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#3477644 3-Apr-2026 15:05

We've 30 days of vacation per year plus sick days in Germany for decades, so we're keeping the additional public holidays. There must be something else behind the desire to increase efficiency. 😁

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#3477663 3-Apr-2026 16:54

Lias:

I think we need to scrap the entire concept of public holidays.. just get rid of them all and increase everyone's annual leave by the same amount. Having everyone forced to take a holiday on the same day and effectively shutting the country down is just nuts in our always on 24x7x365 world.

This entire thread, and this post in particular — it's not easy to think of a more fitting contemporary illustration of Max Weber's conclusion to his masterpiece, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, in which Weber famously argues the lightly worn cloak of economic acquisition has become an iron cage.

Tinkerisk

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#3477664 3-Apr-2026 16:58

Metamorphic:

Lias:

I think we need to scrap the entire concept of public holidays.. just get rid of them all and increase everyone's annual leave by the same amount. Having everyone forced to take a holiday on the same day and effectively shutting the country down is just nuts in our always on 24x7x365 world.

This entire thread, and this post in particular — it's not easy to think of a more fitting contemporary illustration of Max Weber's conclusion to his masterpiece, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, in which Weber famously argues the lightly worn cloak of economic acquisition has become an iron cage.

Oh, a literary person! My respect! 🙂

roobarb

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#3477857 4-Apr-2026 11:16

SATTV:

... most of our laws come from England, and most of their laws were created by the church.

I wouldn't make that claim, I don't think that England was ever counted as a theocracy, Certainly religion was used as a tool of oppression and exclusion.

A large proportion of English law comes from the pre-Christian period, eg it was not the ten commandments that made murder a crime.

That said, lets treat Easter in the same manner as Christmas, whichever way you go.

networkn

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#3477867 4-Apr-2026 12:45

gzt: So how many days a week do you work? ; ).

Underrated comment.

Do we really need to buy 365 days a year? Is it not possible, for 5 days a year, to plan ahead?

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