A law from the 1600s will keep retail shops closed on Sundays
The history of the blue laws dates back nearly 2,000 years, when Roman Emperor Constantine in A.D. 321 wanted to set aside Sunday as a day for rest.
Until the 1990s, blue laws prohibiting the sale of clothes, home goods, appliances and other goods were much more common nationwide. The name “blue laws,” according to historians, comes from the fact that the Puritans tended to write their laws on blue paper.
New Jersey’s blue laws, prohibiting work on Sundays, have been on the books since the 1600s....
Dr. Alan Cairns | 4/13/2009
