Shopping Hours - Shopping Days and Impact of Holidays

Shopping Days and Impact of Holidays

Some countries, particularly those with predominantly Christian populations or histories do not allow Sunday shopping. In Islamic countries some shops are closed on Fridays for noontime prayers. In Israel many shops are sometimes closed on Friday evening and Saturday during the daytime for Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath).

Each state in Australia sets its own standard trading hours, but in most of the country the shops are open seven days a week for at least part of the day.

For some shops and other businesses in culturally Christian countries, Christmas Day is the only day in the year that they are closed.

In the United States, nearly all retail stores are open all year except for in Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and most stores also on Easter Sunday. Some suburban and smaller communities often close on Sundays. For example, Bergen County, New Jersey, next to New York City, completely bans Sunday shopping. However, nearly all stores in the United States have restricted hours on Sundays (most often 11 am or noon to 5 - 7 pm), and stores close early on important holidays, such as Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Banks, Post offices and other government offices either are closed on weekends, or close early on Saturdays. Other non-retail remain closed on weekends.

In Canada, stores are open year-round including most public holidays, with shortened hours on Sundays. Usually, the holiday hours are the same as Sunday hours.

In Islamic countries shops may have special opening hours during Ramadan.

In Israel, many shops may be closed on religious holidays other than Shabbat, especially on Yom Kippur when nearly all businesses are closed.