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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#3479139 8-Apr-2026 12:36

openmedia:

I personally can't go shopping in the week. Even with late night shopping on a Thursday and/or Friday I'd struggle without weekend shopping.

I do know people who've moved to alternative work weeks, eg Sunday -> Thursday or Tuesday -> Saturday so we're no longer in a traditional 5 day week environment.

I'm similar. Between exercising, pets, work, cooking etc I don't get to any shops on weekdays as a general rule. If weekend trading was to be banned or limited, I'd click and collect groceries, rarely buy anything else and almost never eat or drink out. I'd probably save a lot of money. However, that money wouldn't be circulating within the economy.

Mike

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#3479282 8-Apr-2026 17:30

I've got quite a different memory of my childhood.

In the UK there was no late-night opening. Saturday was open all day for shopping because it was the only day you could do it if you worked in an office, at school or in a factory.

Pubs and restaurants were open at lunchtime and in the evenings, cafes were generally open all day, including Sunday.

The only day with restrictions was Sunday where most shops did not open, but you could sell newspapers, milk and bread. After church you could happily go to the pub as the good lord intended.

TwoSeven

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#3479306 8-Apr-2026 18:13

In all of the countries I have lived in, I enjoyed the ones that shut down for traditional holidays, whatever the reason. Whether it be a Sunday or a particular holiday I think it allows people to take the opportunity to be a community in some fashion.

A hundred or so years ago, there was no concept of a weekend, or a day off. It was introduced that workers could have Sunday afternoon off from 2pm. Then came the introduction of 8 hour days, followed by 5 day work weeks. I think NZ got the 40hr week around 1936 and from 1945 to about 1980 was the tradition of late night Friday as shops were shut on Saturday, although I do remember in Christchurch that Brighton mall was open on Saturdays.

As mentioned by others, people celebrate holidays for different reasons, for example, it is now easter, for some it is a chance to mow the lawns or get some chores done, for others an opportunity to eat chocolate, and for others part of their religion.

It is also the holiday called Pesach (passover) - one might call it the holiday of freedom. Freedom can be considered a responsibility - to have a family, form a community, to be oneself, to live life as one wants.

When I see people wanting to take away those holidays, effectively take away others freedoms, I have to wonder what is the motivation.

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MikeAqua

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#3479412 9-Apr-2026 10:30

TwoSeven:

It is also the holiday called Pesach (passover) - one might call it the holiday of freedom. Freedom can be considered a responsibility - to have a family, form a community, to be oneself, to live life as one wants.

When I see people wanting to take away those holidays, effectively take away others freedoms, I have to wonder what is the motivation.

Interesting about Passover, I didn't realise it aligns with Easter every year, given one is calculated from the Hebrew lunar calendar and the other from an ecclesiastical full moon in the Gregorian calendar.

I support religious freedom (although I don't see religion as freeing), from a pragmatic standpoint because attempts to curb it end in disorder and violence. But one particular religion doesn't need to be codified in public holidays. The most accurate way to describe the religious disposition of NZ is majority-non-religious, followed closely by pluralist (Source: 2023 census).

With or without public holidays religious people are still free to do religious things on religious days. They would just need to take time off to do so or do their thing before or after work.

My argument for removing holidays in favour of more annual leave is about choice and also demand smoothing (transport, hospitality, traffic etc).

Mike

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#3479422 9-Apr-2026 11:12

Historically, religious belief has been given an undeserved preponderance of influence in the norms and laws of society. Why someone should be accorded special status just because he wears a religious uniform is something I have never understood. Nor do I understand why I should be prohibited from going shopping on the 23rd day of the third lunar month just because my neighbour worships the goddess Mazu.

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Earbanean

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#3479424 9-Apr-2026 11:35

Probably just me, but personally I find evangelical atheists just as annoying as evangelical Christians, Muslims, etc

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#3479427 9-Apr-2026 11:49

Earbanean:

Probably just me, but personally I find evangelical atheists just as annoying as evangelical Christians, Muslims, etc

You probably are not referring to me, but just to avoid any doubt, I most certainly am not an atheist. I find atheism as absurd as religion. It is, of course, a form of belief akin to religion. Anyone arrogant enough to think they can know whether a god of any kind does or does not exist in this infinite cosmos which is infinitely beyond our meat brain capacity to grasp, suffers not just from astonishing ignorance, but also a pretty serious lack of insight!

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#3479447 9-Apr-2026 12:37

Earbanean:

Probably just me, but personally I find evangelical atheists just as annoying as evangelical Christians, Muslims, etc

Yeah, but I have not seen any of them calling for the elimination of others tho.

Richard rich.ms

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#3479450 9-Apr-2026 12:40

Rikkitic:

You probably are not referring to me, but just to avoid any doubt, I most certainly am not an atheist. I find atheism as absurd as religion. It is, of course, a form of belief akin to religion. Anyone arrogant enough to think they can know whether a god of any kind does or does not exist in this infinite cosmos which is infinitely beyond our meat brain capacity to grasp, suffers not just from astonishing ignorance, but also a pretty serious lack of insight!

I'm an atheist. It's not a belief for me. Literally means without religion, which is the state you're in until you become religion. Under the epistemological system I follow (modern science) .... without adequate proof, the assumption is that gods don't exist. Further, extraordinary claims require ... extraordinary evidence. Therefore, gods are theorised but not proven. Therefore, I can assume validly they don't exist. But, no, I don't know for sure.

If gods do exist I'd be skeptical about them and their preferences being as described by religious texts. If you rely on some half-mad ascetic living in the desert to do your dictation, there are going to be more than a few transcription errors. Never mind the many subsequent reinterpretations, political interference, inclusions and exclusions and marketability updates.

Mike

Earbanean

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#3479460 9-Apr-2026 13:13

richms:

Earbanean:

Probably just me, but personally I find evangelical atheists just as annoying as evangelical Christians, Muslims, etc

Yeah, but I have not seen any of them calling for the elimination of others tho.

What, Stalin, Hitler, etc don't count?

MikeAqua

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#3479464 9-Apr-2026 13:24

Earbanean:

What, Stalin, Hitler, etc don't count?

I'd characterise those two as anti-theists - actively opposed to religion rather than simply not having one. But certainly, your point is valid that you don't need to adhere to any religion to institutionalise murder. Mao would be another example.

Mike

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#3479517 9-Apr-2026 13:48

MikeAqua:

I'm an atheist. It's not a belief for me. Literally means without religion, which is the state you're in until you become religion. Under the epistemological system I follow (modern science) .... without adequate proof, the assumption is that gods don't exist. Further, extraordinary claims require ... extraordinary evidence. Therefore, gods are theorised but not proven. Therefore, I can assume validly they don't exist. But, no, I don't know for sure.

If gods do exist I'd be skeptical about them and their preferences being as described by religious texts. If you rely on some half-mad ascetic living in the desert to do your dictation, there are going to be more than a few transcription errors. Never mind the many subsequent reinterpretations, political interference, inclusions and exclusions and marketability updates.

Fair enough. In the common parlance atheism tends to be presented as a belief system and I am a committed non-believer. I don't know and I don't believe I have the capacity to know. Maybe that makes me more of an agnostic because I am not prepared to say either way. I simply do not consider myself qualified to pass judgement on this issue. I don't think that makes me an atheist but if it does I am okay with that.

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richms

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#3479523 9-Apr-2026 14:31

MikeAqua:

Earbanean:

What, Stalin, Hitler, etc don't count?

I'd characterise those two as anti-theists - actively opposed to religion rather than simply not having one. But certainly, your point is valid that you don't need to adhere to any religion to institutionalise murder. Mao would be another example.

They are also dead, so not a current threat.

Richard rich.ms

MikeAqua

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#3479527 9-Apr-2026 14:43

richms:

They are also dead, so not a current threat.

True, but the ideologies they adopted live on and are just as dangerous.

Mike

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#3479529 9-Apr-2026 14:49

MikeAqua:

I'm an atheist. It's not a belief for me. Literally means without religion, which is the state you're in until you become religion. Under the epistemological system I follow (modern science) .... without adequate proof, the assumption is that gods don't exist. Further, extraordinary claims require ... extraordinary evidence. Therefore, gods are theorised but not proven. Therefore, I can assume validly they don't exist. But, no, I don't know for sure.

If gods do exist I'd be skeptical about them and their preferences being as described by religious texts. If you rely on some half-mad ascetic living in the desert to do your dictation, there are going to be more than a few transcription errors. Never mind the many subsequent reinterpretations, political interference, inclusions and exclusions and marketability updates.

Ditto for me. God, Father Christmas, Easter Bunny, and the tooth fairy are all in the same category, though less harm is done in the names of the last three.

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