Since the weather has finally taken an upturn (for now), I can finally dig out my cherry-red Chanel from storage. This was the first Chanel which was all mine – no borrowing from my mother after this.I had originally gone into the store after a black version in caviar leather, but it was Christmas, and I was on the last for the last one in the US behind someone on Rodeo Drive. They took the bag, Who wouldn’t? Anyhoo, it ended up working out for me too – this was the store’s only flap bag, and after alot of ahhing and oohing I went for it.

I just adore the colour – red is such a surprising neutral – I love it paired with jeans and a grey or camel sweater. The lambskin has such a pretty sheen which really dresses up an outfit. The silver hardware is also different for me – all my other bags (bar one) have gold, but I think it suits it.

Ingredients

• 70g brown sugar, soft
• 50g butter
• 150g self raising flour
• 1 egg
• splosh of rum or whiskey, or whatever tipple you fancy
• 100g mincemeat (you can add more depending on consistency of cake mixture)

Method

Preheat oven to 160°C

Mix the butter, sugar and rum (or alternative) together.

Add the flour and egg, and then finally add the mincemeat. Add more mincemeat so the mixture is firm but still sticky.

Add to a greased tin or silicone container.

Spread a thin layer of mincemeat over the top.

Bake for 30 mins. (But keep checking, might need more or less, depending on your oven).

Mmmm. Enjoy.

Wish I could still believe

In the dreams of childhood

When everything was fantasy

And Mickey Mouse came to play

Wish I could believe

That tomorrow I could fly

Or dance among the clouds

Perhaps take a magic carpet ride

Wish I could still believe

In the things that made me laugh

The imaginary friends

Who taught me funny things

The animals that could talk and sing

Wish I could still believe

In a simpler way of life

When a lollypop was the greatest joy

And a popsicle could make me smile

Wish I could still believe

In all those childhood joys

When Disney was a way of life

And Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck were friends

Wish I could still believe

In all the things I once did

Cuddling up to sweet dreams

With a teddy bear

Perhaps I’ll ask Santa Clause

Next Christmas

If it’s alright to still believe

This has me stumped!

I don’t think I have a traditions! I’m terrible at keeping a routine (ask the toddler) so I’m struggling to think what I actually do over and over.

Nope. Blank.

I don’t even have a Christmas tradition unless that includes over eating, falling asleep on the sofa and fighting for the remote control? Lol

We’re rubbish at anniversaries in this house too so none there.

Help! I must have one lol

What about you lot?!

L

X

Sadly, there is a reality in life that most folks are loathe to contemplate.  The reality is that there are evil forces at work in the world and those forces are behind every negative thing that ever happened to you or to someone that you love.  Now that doesn’t mean that you are evil; had it coming or were punished for being a sinner.  What it means is that evil makes no allowances for anyone and if it can get involved to bring about disaster, it will.  Have you ever noticed how many people are tragically killed or kill themselves at Christmas or some other treasured family time?  Evil seeks to multiply its effects and bring hurt to not just one, but many people at once.  Evil has been functioning in the world almost since the world began and in order to be successful relies not on what you do know, but on what you don’t know.  Like the great line in the movie, “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he didn’t exist!”

So you have to ask yourself, what do you really know about God?  I don’t mean what your church says, or grandma says or what your friends say.  What do you know for sure?  For example, did you know that in order for God to get involved in your personal life that He requires belief on your part?  Did you know that God will never overstep anyone’s freedom of will in any situation, ever?  Did you know that God is love and light and in Him is no darkness at all?  Did you know that God not only saw that “big negative event” coming, but also had a solution for it if you (or whoever was involved) would have believed that He did and acted on it.  Believing isn’t some casual thing we throw around when events are going well, yet abandon when we are confronted with a disaster!  Believing comes from having a clear understanding of Who God is; what He can and will do; and what His good desires are for our lives, as well as understanding what evil is doing to try and stop those good things from coming to pass.  Belief in God is not some casual thing that takes place in the back of our minds and the back of our lives.  Belief is an active thing that we carry into every situation.  Belief is in the front of our minds, consistently present, here right now to see us through the obstacles and trials of life.  No evil force can begin to stand against God’s power, but in order to see God’s powerful solutions we must convince our minds of His goodness and not allow the negatives of the world to talk us out of it.

You see, what really happened to you when “that thing” occurred was that evil plotted and planned and schemed and proceeded to punch the living crap out of you with the intent that you would abandon your beliefs and opt for some other philosophy that promised you well-being and peace and love, yet would be void of any real power when you needed it most.  Evil is no joke folks.  People, in some cases, spend the entire rest of their lives suffering the pain of that one thing and never recover.  Pretty treacherous, wouldn’t you say?  Hit someone with a hay-maker they never saw coming, then get them to abandon their beliefs that could serve to protect them from getting hit by evil again.

My friends, don’t let that describe you.  Don’t let that negative, painful scenario dictate anymore of the moves you make in your life.  Accept the truth that you, like all of the rest of us, got deceived and set up and maybe lacked the believing necessary to receive God’s miraculous solution in the situation.  That’s not God’s fault, it’s our fault because what we didn’t  know did hurt us, but it doesn’t have to keep hurting us!  We need to get to the place where we can say what Job said as he recovered from his own disaster:

I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.  ~ Job 42:5

You can live out the rest of your days with joyful expectation of deliverance from any dreadful scenario that ever held you back.  “God is always the victor over evil, but it is up to you to make His will, your will.”  It’s time to draw a new conclusion folks, that God is only good, always and that He is never going to change!  That’s something you can bank on for a lifetime; the rest of your lifetime…

Just some good thoughts…

Click the Photo to Zoom In:

How to Photograph Light Art:

1. Once you have set up your camera start messing with your manual settings. Here are my recommendations.
   1. ISO: 100
   2. Aperture: f/22
   3. Shutter Speed: 30″ – 5″ (meaning 30 to 5 seconds)
      1. **Shutter speed will depend on the affect you want to achieve and how long your arm can last painting.
   4. Switch your lens to manual focus and to infinity.
   5. Change your release mode to “Quick Response Remote,” which will enable you to use your remote if you are using one.
2. Turn off all of the lights and turn on your light source.
3. Stand in front of your camera and using your remote click it and start making random shapes.
4. As you take photos look through them and change your manual settings if needed.
5. This type of photography is not perfect the first time around, but keep experimenting and you will get results!

Examples of My Light Art:

Other Sources of Inspiration:

city by on goodsanha

Time travel by Images

At the Street of Light by Anna Jenkins Photography

Long Exposure Photography Tutorial (Light trails) on YouTube by photoblazr

How to Shoot Light Trails by by Darren Rowse on Digital Photography School

- Take a look at my Etsy shop to solve all your science card needs!

Feedback

Please do give feedback on both my website and the shop. Can you find what you need? Is the website easy to navigate? Does the shop look enticing? Do you have any ideas for more cards?

Thanks again for all your support.

World Class in every aspect except….

Arsenal supporters throughout the universe trust your captain and take my advice, RELAX, today’s match result will have no impact on anything of significance. What! I can hear your outrage fellow gooners. Has our captain gone mad? No, far from it, it’s just that being of sound mind and logic (even if that is my own layman’s opinion) has enabled me to reach the above conclusion based on the following:

We finish 4th and qualify for the Champions League:

• So what? Does anyone really believe we will win it next season? Not me.
• We get additional monies the competition generates. What does that mean to us supporters? Nothing, ticket prices stay sky-high and the monies are not properly reinvested into the team. From what I can make out it goes on the Manager, the CEO and a few privileged share holders.
• We can attract better players, players of Champions League quality. Problem with that is that any player valued over 15 million is immediately out of our price range. What player of champions league quality is going to be worth less and going to make any real difference? For those that need help, no fcuker!
• 4th place is a trophy! Only in the deluded mind of those desperate enough to excuse their failure, certainly not for one of the richest clubs in the world.
• Finish above the Spuds. How sad that our standards have fallen so low that our success is measured on how well we do against them. Of course its good for the banter but yet so sad that for some our season comes down to this.

Therefore dear gooners, I put it to you that if we finish 5th it will make no real difference, if anything it might be a bonus as we will enter a European tournament that we might be good enough to win. As for the Manager, he will not be sacked for finishing 5th, nor will he resign. In fact, come what may, it would not surprise me if he is awarded an extended contract in the off-season.

Now get to the bar or your fridge and get the beers flowing. Try to enjoy the game and resign yourself to the mediocrity that now plagues Arsenal Football Club.

Probably not, it was three months ago, after all.

In the end, I chose edging #3, which I figured would lie flat better and not have points that would be difficult to keep pointy after a washing.

The edging is for a new Christmas tree skirt I’m making for my parents. This past Christmas when they were out of the country and we borrowed their Christmas decorations, I was reminded how little I like their current one:

I laid it out on a large piece of felt and cut out a new circle with the same dimensions.

The edging was simple enough although slightly unclear thanks to its early terminology. I fudged a bit on the last row because it didn’t seem as if the instructions were suggesting something that would stay balanced. The picture ended up being a bigger help than the text.

I decided to make twelve granny stars for the 12 days of Christmas to embellish the surface.

Just last week, I finished the twelfth star (although I seem to have misplaced it!) and now I can block them a little, stitch them to the felt, and this project will be complete!

See, over this past Christmas, I got it into my brilliant mind to cross stitch cards for everyone in lieu of buying gifts.  One card takes about a day or so, just to stitch it on the fabric, never mind adhering it to the card.  And like a nert I put it off till the last minute, doing almost 20 cards in a month.

Lot of wrist action there.  Heh.

As a result, predictably, I wrecked my wrist but thought nothing of it.  I figured I just stressed it and with enough rest it would get better on its own.

Alas, it did not.

A few weeks ago it got really bad, to the point where I had to stop typing and writing and doing most other things I enjoy to do with my hands (heh), so I stopped the Sunday posts as those are more my own creative writings and stick to my reviews.  I read faster than I write, so I can read two to three books in a week, and over the course of several days write the reviews for them and set them to post.

Again, I thought this was just temporary.  I stopped posting and made plans to go to the doctor, figuring to catch up in a week or so and just post backwards.  So I went to the doctor figuring he’d say “yeah, week off work, DO NOT USE IT AT ALL, and you’ll be fine.”

But an xray, a steel wrist brace, and prescription for anti inflammatory painkillers later, here we are.

And now I’ve been hit with some sort of throat/ear infection that makes everything from sight and sound to balance and perception a little wonky.  Fun times!

Long story short, I’m stuck in this wrist brace for another 2-3 weeks until my next appointment, making typing especially hard.  Sunday creative writings and what not will be suspended until I get this figured out.  I will try and keep up my other posting schedule of Wednesdays and Saturday with reviews and ramblings as much as I can.

So for now I beg forgivness and understanding as I attempt to not cripple myself, and I thank you for your patience and not abandoning me in my time of need. (hint hint. )

Being the oversensitive, melodramatic soul that I am, it probably won’t surprise you to hear that I used to get mildly worked up about the subject of Tradition. Christmases, birthdays, Easter egg hunts… for me, the essence of family – yes, maybe even Life Itself – was doing the exact same thing, over and over, year on year. To mess with my established world order, as my mother so often inexplicably threatened, would be to invite CHAOS and DISORDER into our cosy domestic sphere.

Having Christmas dinner at ours rather than my grandmother’s? Unthinkable. Spending my birthday abroad rather than at home? Inconceivable. Dispensing with annual easter egg hunts once the average age of her children inched its way over 20? ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME, WOMAN?

I realise my natural impulse is to obsess about the past. I also realise this impulse is far from healthy. Weeping over old home videos is no way for anyone to spend their Saturday nights, let alone a London-dwelling twenty-five year old man. The obvious irony is that I get nostalgic for events I actually barely acknowledged at the time – I’d have been too busy brooding about something else from the year previously to pay any attention.

Life has forced me to grow up and accept things cannot stay the same, no matter how much I’d like to lock everyone in my grandmother’s living room and force them to recreate the Christmases of my early childhood. People change. Houses get sold. What made sense in 1994 doesn’t necessarily translate to life in 2013, as Whigfield knows too well. I myself hammered the final nail in the Haig Family Easter Egg Hunt’s coffin by moving two hundred miles away, and that’s okay.

That said, if anyone tries to tell me I can’t watch Eurovision every year with scorecards and bunting I’ll TEAR THEIR FUCKING EYES OUT.

This is all part of my ridiculously ill-judged attempt to Blog Every Day in May. This is not a tradition I plan on repeating.

To be honest I don’t have many of my own traditions.Perhaps I need to make some. Meanwhile I have often gatecrashed other peoples traditions.

One of the nicest ones was egg rolling down Pendle Hill. Quite a few Easters ago a few of us walked to the top of our local mountain. Ok it is actually a hill. All hills seem like mountains to me.:)
We took with us a picnic….and some hard boiled eggs we had decorated with felt pens.Once we got to the top we ate our sandwiches and attempted to roll our eggs down the slope. As I recall mine didn’t get very far! The tradition of rolling Easter eggs is meant to be symbolic of the rolling away of the rocks from Jesus’s tomb.

Jo and I nearing the top of Pendle Hill.

Suranjan and I with our decorated eggs.

Another Easter custom I have joined in with is our friend Darrell’s Good Friday walk.This one doesn’t have any religious significance. His family have simply planned a long walk every Good Friday for years and years.Over time more and more of their friends have joined them.Often with dogs.And now the walks have been adapted to include prams and push chairs.Its a great family tradition.

The Good Friday walk usually includes a stop off at a beer garden.

Ooooh I do recall a tradition I myself like to keep up with.When we go away I always like to buy a Christmas decoration to bring back for the tree. This can be a challenge in the middle of summer. But I usually spot something.In fact on holiday in Sorrento, Italy there was a shop devoted to Christmas, in the middle of July. So I came home with some bright Bon Natalie Bells. I also ask my friends to keep a look out.

What traditions do you like to follow? X

Poached peaches with Rosemary

Fasting for tests tomorrow,decide to clear photos from my phone..

Why do i take pictures of food i have made..now even though i am actually full…i feel hungry.

Fasting is the slowest thing to do to a food loving munchkin such as myself…

Oh dear…note to self no more food pictures…;)

Three layer white chocolate cheesecake

Christmas cake…..loaded with brandy

Hot cross buns

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The couple was a sweet as honey, whenever we saw them strolling on Saturday nights to Seafood Paradise (a local seafood delicacy restaurant, serving everything from mint marinated crabs, lobsters to grilled octopus!)
We would wave them a Hi! and it was always returned with a refined gesture of some nice dishes or chocolate puddings. Always ready to offer their support in words and kind.
Kids had got so fond of their humble and soft demeanour that hardly anybody could notice what was brewing inside this honey-coated love.

They were wild cats from within to each other. Courageous and loving.
The husband would generally turn up home late on weekdays due to undesirous work load he suffered. It was like a plague. The plague of economic crisis and miscommunication.They both got caught into it. The plague spread its poison ivy climbing into their tv room and spreading till their rest room. The flashes of unpleasant words started lingering on their curtains. And the silence and dismay ran as current in their light bulbs at night.

When the home became merely an altar laden with venomed thorn-like words and deeds; the winds of God threw them far apart. And now both were living with a distance. In different cities. In different countries.

This is a couple who I have witnessed with my own bare eyes, sobbing and bawling like babies whenever they had to live away!And so, I truly couldn’t believe my eyes when this time they had to part for a span of time, whose deadline they both weren’t aware of!

Lover of public display of affection(PDA), they were missed both by close friends and far-away relatives. And more so, they missed each. We never had a loving neighbour like that ever in our life. They were a true gem for us and each other. We prayed for them always.

Days passed by and we all eventually forgot about them, until one day, when I was transiting at Dubai airport and saw them together once in each other’s arm caressing.
This was a profound moment for me. My fatigue from the long journey faxed away in jiffy and I wondered, “If true love leads to bliss like this, could God love me better?!”

In a way, this passage illustrates the phrase “faith seeking understanding.” The magi are wealthy, educated and foreign. Yet, these men–whether three or thirty in number–are compelled to follow a star for a journey that may well have lasted months or even years. While the magi’s quest could have been prompted simply by academic curiosity, their persistence in this quest suggests that more than a scholarly interest sparked this desire for truth. As Gentiles, the magi likely did not identify with the Jewish faith. What, then, compelled them to follow a star to find “the newborn king of the Jews”?

badgercatholic.blogspot.com

We got our first dog when I was only 6 years old. She was a big puppy, with gigantic floppy ears, paws the size of baseballs, and a strange little waffle marking on her tail. We picked her out of the litter because she was the first to come and sniff my dad’s hand. (Which, in hindsight might have meant that she was the dumbest because my father is a rather intimidating man.) Although I barely remember it, my dad tells me that she was a pain in the butt to train. She would pee in the house and was far too energetic to sit or lay down on command. She grew to be a hulking 85 pound beast… a beast that really only cared about walks, eating, and – most importantly – her family.

She was a silly dog. After we remodeled our house, she didn’t realize that we had changed the location of our back door. Year after year, she would stand where our door used to be, waiting to go outside. If chipmunks teased her, she would chase after them, bashing her face into the little crevasses that a tiny chipmunk can squeeze through, but an 85 pound dog certainly cannot. She loved to rip the squeeker out of doggie toys.

She loved Christmas. Above all other things, that dog loved Christmas. I have never in my left seen any creature – human or otherwise – love Christmas the way that this dog did. She would wait at the top of the stairs, wagging her whole body in excitement.

When our first dog turned 12 we started to witness some of the typical “large breed” health concerns. Her hips became weaker and she developed a strange, hacking cough. We were certain that it wouldn’t be long before we would have to do the unthinkable. Around Thanksgiving, things took a turn for the worst. She became frail and almost entirely lost her appetite.

Then, the unimaginable! December rolled around and there was a newfound pep in her step. She had restored her vivacious wag and her sloppy kisses. Christmas proved to be a miracle. We sat in amazement as our elderly dog acted like a puppy again, tearing through wrapping paper to reveal the toys we bought her.

She lived for another happy year before we had to say goodbye.

I remember the day I found out. I was a sophomore in college and my parents came to help me move into my summer housing. It was a beautiful day outside. The sky was that bright neon blue – the one that’s almost painful. We decided to have dinner at a nice little restaurant about 30 minutes off of campus. It was going to be a fifteen minute wait for our table so we walked casually along the pier nearby.

Any college student knows that you have terrible dog envy when you’re stuck on campus. Of course, I reached over to pet a sweet little basset hound that was bumbling along. Something was strange. My parents’ didn’t pet the dog.

“Wait, who’s taking care of the dog?” I asked.

My mom broke down in tears. I followed. My dad followed.

There are no words for the hurt that you feel when you lose a dog. Pardon the clichés, but she was unquestionably a member of our family. After a hard day’s work, my mom would sit on the floor and our dog would put her smelly ten pound head right in my mom’s lap and sit for hours. Our dog loved to sit next to the piano when my brother played jazz piano. She loved to lick my feet under the dinner table until I subsided in a fit of laughter. She just loved everything about my dad.

We buried her under a pine tree in our backyard and we decorate it every year at Christmas time… because she would love that.

So this is not a sad story. I promise you.

It has been almost exactly two years since she left and every day I came home I still expected her snout to greet me before I fully opened the door. We are dog people. Our lives are just empty without one. Rescuing a dog seemed like the right thing to do.

After a long struggle, we finally adopted a little boy puppy today. He doesn’t have gigantic floppy ears, or paws the size of baseball mitts, but he does have a little waffle marking on his tail.

Welcome home, sweet puppy… you are already so loved.

My Mum has a ginormous Marshmallow fetish!. This is a favourite recipe that we both have adapted over the years – usually featured at Christmas as gifts for family and friends.

What truly makes this special is the quality of the ingredients used. Firstly, you need the best, and freshest turkish delight that you can find, add fresh roasted Pistachios, moist coconut, and Pascal Marshmallows (the cheap cooking ones just wont do!) After these ingredients, you can get creative and add anything you like.  Using melted good quality, European white chocolate, smother the chopped ingredients and coat. Squish the mixture into a pan and cover with toasted coconut. Let set and….. O.M.G!!

We have made white, milk and dark chocolate varieties and played around with the ingredients, using different nuts and candy additions….

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.

Australia

Store trading hours in Australia are regulated by individual states and territories.
The Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory and the states of New South Wales, Victoria andTasmania, totally or almost totally deregulate shopping hours. All retail businesses in the two territories, regardless of size or product offer are able to stipulate their trading hours to suit their individual customer demand.

Shops in the three states are required to remain closed on Christmas Day and Good Friday, and (in Tasmania and NSW only) on Easter Sunday. Shops in the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory, can remain open on any public holiday. The two main supermarket operators Woolworths and Coles generally trade between 6 am and midnight ever day, although some inner-city stores in Sydney and Melbourne operate 24 h. Melbourne generally has the most relaxed rules. Almost all shopping centres in Melbourne now trade late on Thursdays and Fridays as well as being open longer hours on Sundays. Melbourne is also famous for beginning the trend of 36 h in the leadup to Christmas. Some of the larger shopping centres will open from 8 am until 6 pm on Christmas Eve. Trading hours in the Australian Capital Territory have been deregulated since the repeal of the Trading Hours Act 1996 [ACT] on 29 May 1997.
Shopping Hours in South Australia are still regulated but the state government has passed numerous changes to relax the laws. Despite these changes retailers still face complicated and confusing trading laws, which stipulate trading hours based on size and product offer. Supermarkets that trade with fewer than 7 workers and with a trading floor less than 500 m are exempt from the laws. Larger supermarkets are required by law to close at 9 pm on weekdays, 5 pm on Saturdays and are permitted to trade only between 11 am and 5 pm on Sundays.
In all areas of Queensland, trading hours with major supermarkets are 8 am-9 pm Mon-Fri, 8am-5:30 on Saturdays and Sundays trade on 9 am-6 pm. Most major shopping centres close at 5 pm every day, with the exception of one night a week with what is so named ‘late night shopping.’ If a supermarket is in a major shopping center, it must still cease trading at 9 pm, with special access for just the supermarket.
In rural areas of Western Australia below the 27th parallel, local governments nominate shop closing hours to the State government, which, if accepted, are implemented by ministerial order. Shopping hours in the state’s capital, Perth, are regulated by laws similar to South Australia’s. Trading hours are stipulated in law, and are based on size and product offer. As in South Australia, smaller, independently-operated supermarket retailers are exempted. Chain supermarkets are required to close at 9 pm on weekdays, 5 pm on Saturdays, and are permitted to trade only between 11 am and 5 pm on Sundays.

Austria

A convenience store at a Vienna train station selling Reiseproviant (Travel Provisions), the usual code for expanded opening hours
With the exception of the country being predominantly Catholic rather than Protestant, the German situation very much applies for Austria, too. Until the 1990s, all shops closed on Saturday noon (mostly at 12) and not reopened until Monday morning. Entrepreneurs such as Richard Lugner lobbied for an expansion of shopping hours, and laws are gradually being changed, and more and more exceptions granted. Meanwhile, as in Germany, outside regular shopping hours gas stationsand train stations of big cities have taken on the role of Nahversorger(supplying the local population with groceries).

Canada

Store hours in Canada are regulated by each province or territory and, in some provinces, individual municipalities as well.
As a general rule, there is little regulation of shopping hours across the country. In the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, as well as all three territories (Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut), there are no restrictions at all and stores can open 24/7 every day. As well, Nova Scotia permits any store to open every day of the year except Remembrance Day (November 11).

The remaining provinces (Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador) require stores to close on most major holidays. Furthermore, three provinces have further restrictions on Sunday openings. In Manitoba, stores may open on Sundays only with municipal approval and only between 12pm – 6 pm. New Brunswick allows Sunday opening all year only with both municipal and provincial approval; otherwise it is permitted only from August until the New Year. Some communities in New Brunswick (such as Fredericton, Woodstock, Saint John, Bathurst, Campbellton, Grand Bay–Westfield,Miramichi, Rothesay, Sussex) restrict Sunday hours of operation to 12pm – 5pm.
The province of Quebec is the only province in Canada that regulates shopping hours outside of Sundays and Holidays. As a general rule, stores are permitted to open only between 8am and 9pm weekdays and 8am – 5pm weekends, excluding holidays. However there are several exceptions, notably with several supermarkets in Montreal, which are open later hours or 24 h.
In practice, few stores in Canada (outside of a small number of grocery stores) remain open 24 h. Most shopping centres open from 10am-9pm Monday to Friday, 9:30am – 6pm (or in some cases 9pm) on Saturday and 12pm – 5pm or 6pm on Sunday. Many larger stores, such as Wal-Mart Canada and most major grocery stores remain open 8am – 10pm Monday to Saturday and 10am – 6pm (in some provinces 8 am-10 pm) on Sunday, except in provinces where further restrictions apply. The Sobeys chain stays open from 7am – 11pm on weekdays and Saturdays.

China

Trading hours in China, including Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions, are commercial decisions and not regulated. Most shops open on public holidays. Some convenience stores open 24 h and every day in the year, but few large supermarkets are open 24 h.

Croatia

Shopping hours in Croatia are currently unregulated after the Constitutional Court struck down a ban on Sunday shopping, which had been in effect from mid-2008 until mid-2009.
Most large out-of-town supermarkets are open between 07:30/08:00-21:00/22:00, Monday to Sunday. Shopping malls usually open at 09:00 and also close at 22:00, every day. Smaller supermarkets close earlier on Sundays, typically at 13:00. Other shops in urban areas are generally closed on Sundays.
Bakeries and newspaper kiosks often open very early in the morning, at 05:30 or 06:00, and open every day but not 24 h. Gas stations and convenience stores along major roads as well as some pharmacies (at least one in each major city, five in Zagreb) operate 24 h.

Finland

Outside of public holidays, the current law, that went into effect in December 2009 permits all retailing venues regardless of size to stay open on weekdays between 07:00–21:00, on Saturdays between 07:00–18:00 and on Sundays between 12:00–18:00. During the Christmas shopping season from the third Sunday of November to 23 December, the Sunday closing hours are extended until 21:00.
Opening hours for stores with a commercial floor area of less than 400 m are unregulated, except on public holidays.
On Finnish public holidays, all stores with a commercial floor area of more than 100 m are closed. On April 30 (Vappu) and the New Year’s Eve, the same retailers are permitted to stay open until 18:00, and on the Christmas Eve and the Midsummer eve (juhannusaatto) until 12:00.
There is no closing hour legislation for shops smaller than 100 m (“kiosks“).
The local Regional State Administrative Agency (aluehallintovirasto) may exempt any retailer in its area from the shopping hour regulations. Therefore, in Helsinki for example, retail shops located in the central Asematunneli and Kamppi shopping centres near city’s main traffic hubs are specially permitted to stay open even on public holidays.
Sunday shopping was first introduced in 1994.

Germany

Shopping days and opening hours in Germany were previously regulated by a federal law, the “Shop Closing Law“(Ladenschlussgesetz), first enacted in 1956 and last revised on March 13, 2003. The federal government, however, handed over the authority to regulate shopping hours to the sixteen states on 7 July 2006. Since then, states have been allowed to pass their own laws regulating opening hours. The federal Ladenschlussgesetz continues to be valid within states that have not passed their own laws.

Under the old Ladenschlussgesetz, which currently applies only in the states of Bavaria and the Saarland, the general rule was that from Monday to Saturday, shops may not open prior to 6 a.m. and may not stay open later than 8 p.m. Shops were also obliged to close all day on Sundays and public holidays (both federal and state), and special rules applied concerning Christmas Eve (December 24) should that day fall on a weekday. But there were several exceptions. For example, petrol stations (Tankstellen) and shops located in railway stations and airports may stay open past the normal hours; most petrol stations in larger cities and all situated on Autobahnsare open 4 h.

Shops in so-called “tourist zones” may also open outside the normal hours, although restricted to selling souvenirs, handcrafted articles and similar tourist items. In connection with fairs and public market days, communities are allowed four days per year (normally Sundays) when shops may be open outside the normal restrictions; however, such shop openings may not take place during primary church services and must close by 6 pm. Bakeries may open for business at 5:30 am and may also open for a limited time on Sundays. Restaurants, bars, theatres, and cultural establishments are generally unaffected by the shop opening time restrictions. As most public holidays in Germany are religiously based, and since the religious holidays (Protestant and Catholic) are not uniform across Germany, shops may be closed due to a public holiday in one state, and open in a neighbouring state. Bavaria even differentiates between cities with Protestant or Catholic majorities.

The law was the subject of controversy in recent years, as larger stores (and many of their customers) would prefer to have fewer restrictions on their hours of operation, while trade unions, small shop owners and the church are opposed to a further loosening of the rules. On June 9, 2004, the German Supreme Court(Bundesverfassungsgericht) rejected a claim by the German department store chain Kaufhof AG that the shop-closing law was unconstitutional. Among other things, the court cited Article 140 of the German constitution(Grundgesetz) (which in turn invokes Article 139 of the 1919 Weimar Constitution) protecting Sundays and public holidays as days of rest and recuperation. However, the court in effect invited the Federal parliament (Bundestag)to reconsider whether the states (Länder) and not the federal government should regulate hours.

No state has, so far, passed regulation that allows for general store opening on Sundays.

Monday to Saturday, there is no restriction; regulation for Sunday varies in different states:

• Baden-Württemberg
• Berlin
• Brandenburg
• Bremen
• Hamburg
• Hesse
• Lower Saxony
• North Rhine-Westphalia
• Schleswig-Holstein

Monday-Friday: no time restriction; regulation for Saturday, Sunday varies in different states:

• Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
• Saxony-Anhalt
• Thuringia

Monday-Saturday: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., regulation for Sunday varies in different states:

• Rhineland-Palatinate
• Saxony

States with no liberalisation of opening hours that exceeds the federal law:

• Bavaria
• Saarland

Greece

According to Greek law (Articles 12 and 13 of 3377/2005) shops can open at any time after 05:00. From Monday to Friday, shops may operate until 21:00 and on Saturdays until 20:00. During these hours shop owners may operate (or not) their business as they please. Shops are closed on Sundays. Most local traders associations define common shopping hours for the region, usually:

Monday and Wednesday:

• 09:00-14:00

Tuesday, Thursday and Friday:

• 09:00-14:00 & 17:00-20:00

Saturday:

• 09:00-14:00

Usually most shops follow this schedule, with the exception of big stores and malls that operate during the whole permitted time by law.

These opening hours do not apply to nightclubs and related establishments, gasoline filling stations, restaurants, patisseries, florist shops, kiosks and shops in the same class as kiosks, photographic studios, retail shops selling only dried fruit and nuts: there, special regulations apply (Article 42 of Law 1892/1990 and Article 14 of Law 2194/1994).

In (strictly designated) tourist areas, the (respective) prefecture may extend the opening hours for certain shops. The Ministry of Tourism must approve the designation of an area as “tourist”. Local workers and employers organizations must be consulted before any decision to extend of opening hours, but their approval is not required. The decisions must be published in the local daily press.

In practice, shops are also permitted to operate two Sundays in December by order of the prefecture. urthermore, as the majority of Greece is designated as an “tourist area”, most prefectures have the ability to extend the opening hours.

Ireland

Shops in Ireland may, with few exceptions (such as those involved in the sale of alcohol), open whenever they want, including Sundays and public holidays.

Here are typical hours:

Monday – Wednesday, Friday, Saturday:

• 8:00/9:00/10:00 – 17:00/18:00/19:00

Thursday:

• 8:00/9:00/10:00 – 20:00/21:00/22:00

Sunday:

• 9:00/10:00/11:00 – 17:00/18:00/19:00

Many supermarkets are open 24 h or have longer opening hours (like 8:00 – 22:00) everyday.

Large shopping centres and out-of-town (suburban) centres are typically open longer hours everyday (e.g. 09:00 – 21:00/22:00 weekdays, 09:00 – 19:00 Saturdays, 10:00 – 19:00 Sundays).

In the two weeks running up to Christmas, it is common for many shops to have extended opening hours; some may operate 24 h until midnight on Christmas Eve.

Most shops (other than petrol stations or convenience stores) in smaller towns and villages don’t open at all on Sundays. Almost all shops (again, petrol stations, convenience stores, etc. excepted) are closed on Christmas Day, though most are open on all other holidays.

Convenience stores, petrol stations and some chemists (drugstores) are normally open from early morning (05:00/06:00/07:00) to the late night (22:00/23:00/00:00), or often 24 h, and New Year’s Day is also Sunday hours.

In rural areas or in traditional trades, Wednesdays may be a half-day for businesses, closing at 12:30, but this practice has long passed in urban areas.

Alcohol is allowed to be sold only between 10:30 and 22:00 from Monday to Saturday and 12:30 to 22:00 on Sundays, but this does not affect opening hours (supermarkets will often block access to alcoholic products outside of these times). Alcohol cannot be sold at all on Good Friday.

Netherlands

Regular opening hours: Monday 11:00 – 18:00; Tuesday-Friday: 09:30 – 18:00; Saturday: 09:30 – 17:00; Sunday (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Almere, Leiden and smaller tourist towns): 12 noon – 18:00. In many other towns shops are open every first Sunday of the month (koopzondag).

Shops are allowed to stay open until 22:00 from Monday to Saturday, however most close at 18:00h on weekdays, and 17:00 on Saturdays. Many supermarkets (including outlets from the market leader Albert Heijn, several DIY-stores and IKEA) stay open until 20:00, 21:00 or 22:00. Most towns have their weekly shopping evening (koopavond), when shops stay open until 21:00, on Thursday or Friday. In touristic towns (like Amsterdam’s city centre) supermarkets are allowed to be open on Sundays between 07:00 and 22:00. Many towns have one or more supermarkets (avondwinkels) that are open until later in the evening, occasionally all night. Convenience stores also have longer shopping hours; they are at many larger railway stations (“Albert Heijnto go”) and some busy streets.

A regular size supermarket that is open until midnight seven days a week is the Food Village at Schiphol Airportnear Amsterdam (in the area of the airport before ticket checks, not only for air travellers).

Shops that close on Sundays are usually also closed on public holidays, and other shops tend to have opening hours then like on Sundays. However, on Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve almost all shops are closed.

For specific opening hours (“openingstijden”) in the Netherlands there are several websites.

Serbia

Shopping hours in Serbia are unregulated. Large supermarkets are usually open from 07:00/07:30/08:00 to 22:00 from Monday to Sunday. Shopping malls open at 09:00 or 10:00 and also stay open until 22:00. Smaller supermarkets close earlier on Sundays, at 15:00 or 16:00.

Unlike neighbouring Croatia, many fast food outlets, bakeries, kiosks and convenience stores in urban areas operate 24 h. Even some hypermarkets, like Tempo and Metro, are open 24 h.

Singapore

Shopping hours for Shopping malls are usually from 10:00 to 22:00 from Monday to Sunday. Automotive shops like tire outlets are usually from 09.30 to 19:00. Some supermarkets are open 24 h. For more information, patrons can find current available services/shops from an online web service in Singapore, which is an Opening Hours Directory called WhereOpen.com.[1]

Sweden

In Sweden there is no law regarding shopping hours except for the nationally-owned Systembolaget alcohol shops, which close at 18:00 and are closed all day on Sundays. Shopping centres and food shops are generally open every day, often fairly late. Usually, they are closed on New Year’s Day, Midsummer’s Day and Christmas Day, but some are open even those days.

Switzerland

Shopping hours are governed by cantonal law and vary accordingly, the only federally mandated store holiday being August 1 (the national holiday), as per article 110 III of the Swiss Constitution. Most often, stores will be open from 8 or 9 am to 7 or 8 pm, 10 pm one day a week. On Saturday and the day before public holidays, most stores close at around 4 or 5 pm. Stores are also generally closed on Sundays; see Sunday shopping in Switzerland.

United Kingdom

In Great Britain, many retail stores are open every day. Some large supermarkets are open for 24 h, (except on Sundays in England and Wales). Most stores do not open on Easter Sunday or Christmas Day and have reduced hours on other public and bank holidays.

Typical shopping hours

Mondays - Saturdays: 9:00 am to 5:30pm, or 10:00 am to 8:00 pm/10:00 pm.

Sundays: - 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, or 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, or 12 noon to 6:00 pm.

Sunday shopping has become more popular, and most but not all shops in towns and cities are open for business. Shops 280 m² and larger in England and Wales are allowed to trade for only 6 h on Sundays, shops in Northern Ireland may open from 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm. In Scotland, in theory, Sunday is considered the same as any other day, and there are no restrictions. However, in practice, some shops do not open on Sunday or open for only 4 h in smaller towns. In some Free Church dominated areas – for example Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis, Sunday is considered a day of rest and consequently very few if any shops open at all.

United States

In the U.S., the various levels of government generally do not regulate the hours of the vast majority of retailers (though there are exceptions, such as blue law), and with the main exception being shops licensed to sell spirits and other alcoholic beverages (for shopping hours, see alcohol sale hours by state) and car dealership. Shopping hours vary widely based on management considerations and customer needs. Key variables are the size of the metropolitan area, the type of store, and the size of the store.

Las Vegas, Nevada is the notable exception to all the traditions just described. Las Vegas is world-famous for its 24 h local culture since it is an area with large gaming and tourism industries that operate 24 h, every day. Since many of the employees in the city’s primary industries work overnight shifts — and because Nevada has few laws in regards to operating hours for any type of commercial activity — many businesses cater to such workers. Thus, Las Vegas is home to many 24-hour car dealerships, dental clinics, auto mechanics, computer shops, and even some smaller clothing stores.

Typical store shopping hours:

• Monday – Saturday 9 – 10 a.m. to 8 – 10 p.m. (9:00 – 10:00 to 20:00 – 22:00)
• Sunday 11 – 12 noon to 5 – 7 p.m. (11:00 – 12:00 to 17:00 – 19:00)

- Supermarkets stay open for longer hours, usually between 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. (8:00 – 22:00) every day.

- Boutiques and smaller shops often close early at 5 or 6 p.m. (17:00 or 18:00), and usually close once or twice a week, most often on Sunday.

- Nearly all stores are closed on Easter, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

- Early closing (half days) on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Some stores might have reduced hours on other major holidays.

- All malls and department stores, as well as most other stores remain open longer hours between Thanksgiving weekend and Christmas Eve for Christmas and Holiday shopping. Many are open until 11 p.m. (23:00), and a few even longer.

- Few stores remain open 24 h; the main exceptions to this rule are most Walmarts throughout the country (especially Supercenters, which combine a discount store and full supermarket) and some drug stores like CVS, especially in larger cities like New York City and Las Vegas.

- Some stores, especially in suburban and rural areas, might remain closed on Sundays for any reason (such as most retail in Bergen County, New Jersey due to blue law, which is next to New York City, and home to four major malls and has the largest retail in the nation).

References

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