An old engraving of people ‘celebrating’ Sundays, England, UK It is from a Victorian history book of Sunday was a day away from work, prescribed by the church and based on the Christian calendar. However, the contrast between strict observance of the religious nature of the Sabbath (left) and using the day for having fun (right) is illustrated. People were brought to court for not attending church (‘Sabbath-breaking’). The use of any building or room for public entertainment or debate on a Sunday was prohibited by law from the 18th century until relatively recently.
An old engraving of people ‘celebrating’ Sundays, England, UK It is from a Victorian history book of Sunday was a day away from work, prescribed by the church and based on the Christian calendar. However, the contrast between strict observance of the religious nature of the Sabbath (left) and using the day for having fun (right) is illustrated. The church authorities in the Middle Ages, and afterwards, demanded that people refrain from work on Sundays and ecclesiastical feast days, and attend church instead. People were brought to court for ‘Sabbath-breaking’ in the 17th century. Elements of pagan celebration were adopted by the church authorities and merged with Catholic festivals. The most well-known example is Christmas, or Yuletide. Other festivals included Midsummer, celebrated with feasting and bonfires. However, the use of any building or room for public entertainment or debate on a Sunday was prohibited by law from the 18th century until relatively recently.
Size: 3780px × 2950px
Location: England, UK
Photo credit: © M&N / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1500s, 1600s, 16th, 17th, attend, attendance, black, breaking, britain, british, celebrate, celebration, century, christian, church, clothing, custom, customs, day, dress, early, england, english, engraving, entertainment, faith, fifteen, fun, historical, hundreds, illustration, observance, observe, observence, pagan, religion, religious, rest, sabbath, seventeenth, sixteen, sixteenth, strict, sunday, uk, white
