Sunday: holy day &/or holiday

Books explore the evolution of Sunday
From Sabbatarianism to shopping - and why there's no such thing as a Wednesday driver Today it floats between its religious past and its secular present.
Nov 23, 2008
Comments on this story (14) Ryan Bigge Special to the Toronto Star

"Journalistic ethics demand that I make clear my lack of objectivity when it comes to the day of the week known as Sunday. This essay about Sunday is, after all, being published on a Sunday, and should not be considered unbiased. In my defence, the publication of two recent books on the topic (The Peculiar Life of Sundays by scholar Stephen Miller and Sunday: A History of the First Day From Babylonia to the Super Bowl by Brigham Young University history professor Craig Harline) suggest I am not alone in my affinity for, and fascination with, the first day of the week.
While the trend of single-topic books like Salt or Cod is finally abating, thanks in part to Henry Petroski's 400-plus-page ode to the toothpick, published last year, Sunday's right to sustained examination is inarguable. (Whether it requires 750 pages spread across two books is a separate debate.) To put it another way, a book-length examination of any other day would be unthinkable. We might prefer Friday to Sunday, but only Sunday, with its mix of history, culture, religion, politics and emotion, could generate 750 pages of discussion." continue reading