The notion of a weekly rest is ancient. Christian religions celebrate a day of rest known as the Sabbath, also called the Lord’s Day. It is on Sunday. The weekend as a holiday is a rather modern invention. Before the industrial revolution the wage labor force was a small fraction of the population. The day of the Sabbath was viewed as one dedicated to God, not one ofrelaxation.
The early industrial period in Europe saw a six-day work week with only Sunday off, but some workers had no days off at all. Only the workers’ rights movements in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century saw a five-day work week introduced as Saturday became a day of rest and relaxation. This movement began in England.
In many ways this has been a great boon to the economy as it leads to a great increase in consumer spending on Saturdays as restaurant visits, motorcar journeys, or trips to the movies became common on Saturday. Many jurisdictions continued to enforce strict Lord’s Day laws on Sunday, which meant that most places of recreation, such as stores and theaters, were forced to close on that day. These regulations began to weaken in the years after the Second World War, and Sunday also became a day of recreation for many.
After centuries of development, the weekend is now a part of the week usually lasting two days in which most paid workers do not work. This is a time for leisure and recreation, and for religious activities.
