Righto Folks...hold onto your hats and find a place to sit down. The Mark of the Beast is well on the way!

Berliners told Xmas Sunday shopping illegal

Ruling on a complaint by the Protestant and Catholic churches, the court said Berlin’s policy of letting shops trade on the four Advent Sundays up to Christmas and on six more Sundays through the year was in breach of the constitution. The laws should “as a rule, preserve Sundays and holidays as days of rest”, said Hans-Jürgen Papier, president of the court.

German court tightens Sunday shopping rules

Catholic and Protestant church officials had complained that opening stores on Sundays made it harder for people - especially those working in the retail industry - to attend church, and harmed the fabric of society...

Across the border in devoutly Catholic Poland, churchgoing and Sunday shopping appear to co-exist peacefully. But both Germany's Catholic and Protestant churches are happy that their church bells will have less competition from the ringing of cash tills in the run-up to Christmas.

"In Berlin, the whole Advent period was being completely commercialized. This was impinging on our religious freedom. Services do not just take place in the morning. There are also church activities in the afternoon," said Heike Krohn, deputy press spokeswoman for the Protestant church in Berlin and Brandenburg.

But she also stressed that it was important for society as a whole for one day to remain sacrosanct -- as a time out from the stresses and strains of everyday life.

"We don't want to dictate to anyone how they spend their Sundays, but it is important for everyone to have this free space in their week," she added.

"Of course, certain groups of people have to work so that society can continue to function at a basic level, but if shopkeepers also have to work on Sundays, this will have a knock-on effect," she said. "Soon there will be no difference between Sunday and the other days of the week."

Ahead of the decision, the head of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), Alois Glueck said the court was dealing with a "fundamental cultural question." The CSU politician said it was a question of whether communal rhythms of life should be given precedence over the non-stop demands of consumer culture.