Britain’s most important chain stores and supermarkets are putting pressure on the Trade Minister John Hutton to grant the stores longer opening hours on the Sunday before Christmas. Marketing surveys have shown that this is the day when most people will do their Christmas shopping. But Sunday opening-hours in Great Britain are regulated by law. On Sundays, smaller shops can choose their working hours while larger shops can open only from ten to six p.m. This restricted opening is the results of the campaign “Keep Sunday special”, undertaken in 1985 by the Christian Churches who want Sunday to remain a moment to be in the family and for spiritual activity. By law the most important chain stores must stay closed on Christmas and their employees can refuse to work on Sundays. “Using Christmas, which shouldn’t be marked by materialism, as an excuse to impose longer working hours is unacceptable”, said Martyn Eden, one of the promoters of the “Keep Sunday special” campaign. “We claim the need to challenge society in order to prevent excessive materialism which often leads us to work over-hours and ruins our family life”, said rev. rev. Joel Edwards, leader of the “Evangelical Alliance”, which represents many different Evangelical Churches.
