How is it that this happens every year, every Good Friday? Almost every shop in the country is closed. And yet there’s a continual stream of cars into the supermarket car park, driving up to see if it’s open.
It’s not open guys. Almost nothing is open on Good Friday. The empty car park should have been a clue — the lights being on are just a red herring.
It was the same last year, it’ll be the same next year. Plan ahead and live for 24 hours without spending money.
Or go to one of the few places that is open: some bakeries, convenience stores, etc. I got fresh bagels and challah at Glicks.
And have a happy Easter.
Update Sunday: Same today, Easter Sunday, though it appears more things are open today, so perhaps it’s understandable.
19 replies on “Good Friday: Closed”
I managed to get fresh croissants for breakfast from the local bakery this morning, I was very surprised they were open.
I don’t have a problem with there being two days a year where nothing is open…infact sometimes I’d be quite happy to go back to the days where shops closed at noon or so on a Saturday and didn’t reopen until Monday…But at the same time it bothers me that it’s assumed everyone is Christian and needs to keep this day especially sacred.
I do like having a long weekend though so I should probably just shut my trap!
Why should the rest of us have to suffer while some chase after fairy tales and rainbows?
I think at least Supermarkets and an AFL match should be allowed to happen on GF because Australia is multi-cultural and we should reflect the society we live in.
I bet if we could add together all the athiests, non practicing Christians (yes I’m looking at all the hypocrites that only show up in church at easter and xmas), moslems, buddhists, jewish, xenu nano worshippers etc etc.. we would be in the vast majority, so why are we made to suffer such a boring and pointless day?
It does give the shop keepers a chance to have a day off at the same time as the rest of the family – that’s good. Things will change as the older generation die; the ones who fought in WW2, love John Howard, go to church and voted for the monarchy. Easter will soon mean chocolate – just as it should be.
Not wanting to turn this excellent and good natured blog into a flame bait discussion, but if society doesn’t acknowledge any cultural touchpoints (such as Good Friday) because the majority doesn’t engage in it, then there will be very little culture. We will end up with cultural banality.
Multi-cultural should mean having many different cultures, not reducing all cultures to a commmon, and boring base.
It’s only a public holiday, not a compulsory attend church day. Seems to me the “leave me alone, but I won’t leave you alone” argument doesn’t fly.
And to complain about a public holiday? Very un-Australian (tongue firmly in cheek). Would people complain if the public holiday was for a non-religious celebration such as AFL? My wife would complain about the AFL but not the public holiday.
But apart from all that, I hope everyone enjoys their long weekend, and even possibly considers that Jesus was just a little more real than fairy tales.
In the USA Good Friday is not a public holiday. It is just another business weekday. Only a few places will be closed on Easter sunday. This seems strange because there seems to be many more religious people here than in Australia.
I’m with StichSista.
We need a few (even more and not ness to be religious) days where shops are closed to hopefully remind people that there are other things in life aside from shopping. Force us to think of doing something different, so long as it’s not sitting on the couch watching TV. :-)
The religious aspects of living in a multi-cultural society are being wrestled with the world over. I’d argue that less public displays religiousity is perhaps a way forward. But I support Richard Dawkins views on that topic.
Waaaay back when I was a whipper snapper there were days when shops were closed for various trade holidays IE butcher/bakers/bankers picnics, among others. Surprisingly people managed to read the reminder notices on the shop doors and bought ahead to tide themselves over a half or full day holiday.
Daniel, thank you for the link to Glick’s. Not only do their products look really good but they have posted job openings for a baker and a pastrycook. These two jobs are what I do for a living and it might be a good job lead for me. I will be looking at some other bakeries for job prospects too. As a kosher bakery I would guess they will close for the week of Passover.
Same here – plenty of people walking up, looking in and walking away.
I should have set up a webcam here to broadcast the comings and goings ;)
I have no problem with things being closed Friday but I find it odd that so many places are shut this Sunday. My plans certainly changed this morning. Closed, Coles, Safeway, Target, Myer, Big W, Harvey Norman. I must have worked last year and it amused me to see people arriving at closed supermarkets too.
I don’t like this holiday nonsense. Depriving people of jobs for a day in the name of some religion seems flagrantly absurd in my view. Glad we live in a nation with many religions – some of which run bakeries.
You’d rather work every single day then Reuben? :-)
Bunnings was open on Sunday.
I love the day before a public holiday, that frantic supermarket rush, watching everyone with full trollies, terrified they might run out of something on the one day the shops are closed. :)
Easter Monday was pretty frenetic in Coles, too. And count us in among the we-thought-there-was-trade-today bunch on Easter Sunday – I’m SURE our local Coles was open Easter Sunday the first year we lived here (about 4 years ago), as I shopped that day for a BBQ that night. It is a fairly recent development re-closing for the Sunday.
You think that’s bad? When I was in school, I used to be an after hours cleaner at a small supermarket. Every now and then I used to come across people who had slid the unpowered doors open, ignored the pile of cleaning equipment in front of the door, the total lack of people, and no music and were wandering the aisles with a trolley. Usually over my still wet floors.
Over here people panicked. Again. Friday we stood in line at the supermarket for 20 minutes. People buy heaps. As if the shops are closing down for good! Juice – how much juice can you drink from Thursday night til Saturday morning?
Saturday was the same yet again.
In answer to your question: No. I would not like to work everyday but I think there are many needless holidays with needless symbolism. I’m all for some more ‘free time’, but let’s just call it that rather than ‘Boxing day’ and Easter (seriously, what percentage of Australians are fervent Christians?).
Why do people panick buy before Good Friday there’s not even a feast the next day? I don’t understand that in anyway. I suspect a lot gets wasted…