Sunday is the seventh day of the week. Formerly, in Britain Sunday was considered the first day of the week, and some people still consider it so. In 321 a constitution of the Roman Emperor Constantine set Sunday aside as a day of rest in the towns, though the country population were allowed to work. In Britain, Edgar in 960 ordered the Sabbath to be kept holy from 3 pm on Saturday until daybreak on the following Monday and in 1677 Britain passed the Sunday Observance Act which while almost obsolete, had still not been repealed in 1920. In Wales, an act of 1881 forced the closure of all public houses on Sunday, except for railway station bars.
In 1606 Britain made it an offence, punishable by a fine, to be absent from divine worship on a Sunday, though exceptions were made for those infirm, elderly, young, insane and sick. In 1677 an Act of Charles II forbade all work on Sunday except what was necessary or had a charitable object, and the sale of goods on a Sunday was banned except the supply of meat and milk at public houses. This act remained intact until 1871 when Jews were freed from observing Sunday as a day of rest. Research Sunday
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Matt and Leela Probert
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General Information
Research Sunday
