Christmas Day (Trading) Act 2004

Christmas Day (Trading) Act 2004

The Christmas Day (Trading) Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that prevents shops over 280 m²/3,000 sq ft from opening on Christmas Day. The Act only applies in England and Wales. Shops smaller than the limit are not affected.

The Act was introduced to the House of Commons by Kevan Jones, MP for North Durham as a Private Member's Bill on 7 January 2004. The Act was passed by both the Commons and the House of Lords, and received Royal Assent on 28 October, coming into force on 9 December 2004.

The aim of the Act was to keep Christmas Day a "special" day, whereby all major retailers would be closed. Although it was traditional for major retailers to close on 25 December, some retailers, such as Woolworths, began to open some stores in the late 1990s. Both religious groups and shop worker unions were against the idea of Christmas openings, leading to pressure on the Government to pass legislation to prevent the practice.

In 2006, the Scottish Parliament debated a similar law that would apply to shops in Scotland. A key difference was the proposal for the Scottish law to apply on New Year's Day too.

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Christmas Day (disambiguation) — Christmas Day is a widely celebrated holiday that falls on December 25. It can also refer to: Music Christmas Day (song), released by Squeeze in 1979 Christmas Day (Beach Boys song) Christmas Day (Michael W. Smith song) Christmas Day , a song by… …   Wikipedia

  • NBA on Christmas Day — The National Basketball Association s Christmas Day Games is a series of games played on Christmas Day. It has been an annual occurrence since the league s inception in 1946. Unlike with the NFL on Thanksgiving, there are no fixed opponents for… …   Wikipedia

  • Christmas — Day redirects here. For other uses, see Christmas (disambiguation) and Christmas Day (disambiguation). Christmas …   Wikipedia

  • Christmas and holiday season — Christmas season redirects here. For other uses, see Christmas season (disambiguation). Christmas and holiday season Christmas tree in Japan Also called Christmas season …   Wikipedia

  • Christmas worldwide — Christmas around the world redirects here. For other uses, see Christmas Around the World (Bradley Joseph album). The Christmas season is celebrated in different ways around the world, varying by country and region. Elements common to many areas… …   Wikipedia

  • Christmas Time (Is Here Again) — (Lennon/McCartney/Harrison/Starkey) is a Christmas song recorded by The Beatles for their 1967 fan club Christmas record. After being slated for inclusion in the planned (but ultimately scrapped) Sessions compilation album in 1985, the song… …   Wikipedia

  • Christmas by medium — Christmas themes have long been an inspiration to artists, writers, and weavers of folklore.[neutrality is disputed]Moviemakers have picked up on this wealth of material, with both adaptations of literary classics and new stories. Contents 1… …   Wikipedia

  • Christmas in Ireland — is the largest celebration of the year[citation needed] and lasts from December 24 to January 6,[citation needed] although December 8 is traditionally viewed as the start of Christmas[citation needed] with many putting up their decorations and… …   Wikipedia

  • Christmas creep — is a merchandising phenomenon in which merchants and retailers exploit the commercialized status of Christmas by moving up the start of the holiday shopping season.[1] The term was first used in the mid 1980s.[2] The Christmas season begins with… …   Wikipedia

  • Christmas in Nazi Germany — Christmas presents for the poor in 1935 The Christian festival of Christmas was celebrated in Nazi Germany, although with variations from traditional practice. It was referred to as Julfest …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”