Sunday still runs to different rules from the rest of the British week, and not only by custom. The Sunday Trading Act limits shops over 280 square metres in England and Wales to six hours of trading, so the large supermarkets open at ten or eleven and shut again in the late afternoon. Scotland has no such restriction, and Northern Ireland works to its own separate rules.
The rest of the day is habit rather than legislation: a roast at some point after midday, the papers and their supplements, Sunday league football on the parks before most of the street is awake, and a long walk if the weather holds. Church attendance has fallen a great deal over the past half-century, but the shape the church gave the day has largely stayed put.
Sunday evening is a thing of its own entirely — uniforms, packed lunches, the ironing pile, and the low hum of a week about to start. For anyone counting towards Sunday it is usually the morning that matters; for anyone counting away from it, the evening.
The countdown targets the midnight that opens the day and resets the instant it passes, so choosing it on a Sunday points at the one a week ahead rather than at the day already in progress.
Common questions
How long can large shops open on a Sunday?
Six hours in England and Wales for stores over 280 square metres. Scotland has no equivalent limit.
Is Sunday the last day of the week or the first?
The last, under the convention British calendars use — the week runs from Monday through to Sunday.
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