When I was growing up, most people I knew went to church. Not everyone attended the same church, but most did attend some sort of religious service, either on Saturday or Sunday. Sunday was considered a day of rest, and one to spend with family. Most would have a large meal on Sundays, and people tended to stick close to home or visit other family members. Back then, we had what were called Blue Laws (possibly because of the color of the paper on which they were printed), which mandated that stores, liquor stores, and many other businesses be closed for at least part of the day on Sunday, and the reasoning was to preserve the day for religion, and to keep the Sabbath holy. These laws have loosened up over the years, and society has become more secularized. Most people I know don't even attend church anymore, although many do read the bible and pray. Most stores are now open on Sundays, and I believe some liquor stores are, as well. A few businesses, notably Hobby Lobby and Chick fil a are still closed on Sundays, though, so families can attend church and spend the day together. I still do some chores and work-related activities sometimes, and occasionally errands, but for the most part, I do try to take it easier on Sundays. Whether or not you practice any sort of religion, do you slow down on Sundays and consider it a day of rest?
All my days are days of rest. I do tend not to go shopping on the weekend because it's more crowded but that's about it. I do have to go to Walgreens though this morning to refill my synthroid. I forgot about it and have none for tomorrow.
I have trouble knowing which day of the week it is .....so I slow down on days when I am tired, certainly here in Russia everything operates as any other day, except the banks and the schools.
Even though I am not Jewish, I often will follow the Jewish Sabbath day of rest from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday. After reading a book on how the Jewish people observe the Sabbath, I found their rituals to be beautiful and decided that I wanted to try some of them. After doing this a few times I found I felt refreshed for the new week ahead of me.
In 1959 I was working at a sash & door plant in my town. Most stores and all the bars in my town were closed on Sunday. If you needed a drink, you had to drive across the river into Illinois. Bars were open there. Or, you could drive to the south edge of town and see Merle. Merle lived in a shack by the railroad track. During the week, he worked in the same plant and on the work place next to me. On paydays, Merle would buy as much cheap beer and cheap whiskey as he could, and sold it on Sunday, at inflated prices. That worked well for Merle, until there was a big fight in his front yard one Sunday, and someone got shot.
I'm not Jewish either but I thought this ritual was beautiful in Fiddler on the Roof (the Jews in the Russian shtetl of Anatevka in 1905)
When I was in grade school, I remember our religion teacher would ask us if we had gone to church that Sunday. She would remind us that not going to the church to attend to holy mass is a sin and that we should confess about it. Although I'm still a practicing Catholic, I don't know if missing the Sunday church service is still considered a sin. I have learned to be liberated somewhat because my husband is a very practical man. He debunks what he calls "silly practices" of the church and he is very critical of the holy mass ritual that the priests are trying to modernize. However, my husband remains a Catholic and he goes to church only on occasions. As with the rest, we take a day off more for the physical and emotional aspect of it - to unwind and take away the stress.