So as I went to fill up on petrol Sunday, I had to stand in a LONG line at Migrolino to pay. Then I passed McDonalds and saw the line was OUT THE DOOR! Went to downtown Thun and saw many people walking around and the few cafes that were open were jammed. So my question is about some of the things (like nearly everything being closed on Sundays etc.) that happen in Switzerland. Are they really what people of today want, or are they just left over traditions that no one has united to change.? If we put opening stores and shopping on Sundays to a vote, would it pass or fail?
I understand the personal choice for not shopping on Sunday, but some people may want the option. Shouldn't they be allowed their choice? Wouldn't it ease the insanity of grocery shopping and the crowds in shops on Saturday?
Just last year, in Canton Fribourg (very traditional, very Catholic; quite outdated, but slowly catching up), we had a vote just to allow small shops attached to petrol/gas stations to be able to open on Sundays.
It passed - I don't think resoundingly, though - and they are now always well frequented ..... so the need is there.
Also (most strangely for here) a small independent supermarket in a village just outside the city opens on a Sunday morning.
Until the older generation (and some of the next) has moved on , traditional religious values for Sundays will, in the main, prevail - in this area at least.
can we change that to tuesday? you see, i have the day off on sunday, so i can get stuff done like going to the shops. i wouldn't mind if they were closed on tuesday, since i have to work that day anyway.
Some do, I guess....not others though, who want a break from running around like a headless chicken after work during the week!
When I was a student in Canada, the option of being able to work on a Sunday in order to support my studies was exceptional; if someone had told me I ''needed a break'' and took away that option...well...that would not have gone well!
Does their personal choice outweigh the personal choice of someone who doesn't want to work on a Sunday, yet is forced to, otherwise they lose/can't have the job?
I'm not opposed to Sunday shopping particularly, but there's very little that's personal choice that doesn't impinge on someone.
But .. isn`t it nice to wake up on Sunday morning .. to the non-sound of lawnmowers, leafblowers, cutting saws .... and know you HAVE to rest for that one day....?
For ONE day ... you just cannot spend any money..?
I love Sundays for that reason. It's nice to have one day a week like this but it does not have to a Sunday. It just makes sense to use that day as most other countries have businesses closed on that day too.
It's tough for people who don't have time to do their food shopping at other times because of their work hours but Swiss people must be managing somehow.
Actually, Sunday is the only day of the week I have to put my private business in order, including shopping, doing the laundry, etc. Unfortunatelly, not everyone has the possibility to do shopping on the time supermarkets are open during the week.
Same goes with restaurants. Those that don't have ruhetag on the day I come a little bit earlier from work gets my money. The others have never seen the colour of it.
I honestly miss the great weekends I had back home. "Going shopping" was actually an excuse to go all the way to the city centre to have a look not only at fashionable stuff, but also to have a drink, visit museums, sit outside with a couple of friends and such. Sunday was the most awesome day of the week, because it was so fun of promise. Now it's just... Meh...
Saturday yes, but last 2 times I tried to go to the city centre on a Sunday I felt like I should have brought a shotgun... The city was almost deserted and the shops closed. It felt like a zombie movie.
If you have to work 70-80 hour weeks (that's how long a lot of supermarkets are open for), I'm sure most people could re-arrange a couple of hours to do some shopping during the week.
Maybe you do, that's fine. But why do you want everyone else to live exactly like you? Why can't others choose how they want to live? They aren't hurting you.
Everyone does not work on Sunday in America or Canada or the U K. Where did you get this idea?
I think the reason you think this way is the PRIMARY problem.
You think there is one way to live and it must apply to everyone.
Everyone can't work or do anything or everyone must work and do everything.
Why don't you give people a choice.
I had a few low level jobs in America as a teenage, a waiter (IHOP), worked a video store, and was a bagger and cashier at a grocery store (a bagger is someone who packs the bags for you at the store, you don't have that...)
I knew a girl who was a Muslim. She never worked on Friday. Later I knew a mormon, he never worked on Sunday. All of this was arranged when they were hired. No one complained.
In reality we always had people who wanted to work Sunday or Saturday evenings for extra money, and those who did not. Some folks just wanted days off during the week for school, but were willing to work weekends. All this can be arranged and negotiated.
Allow the individual the option to choose to work at a given place and let the boss decide the hours, negotiate.
Wow, I know that is shocking, just revolutionary, oh my god. FREE MARKET. I think I invented something here...oh wait...no it is VERY VERY OLD.