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In many parts of the world, every week has a day of rest from the most mundane task of living, namely, ekeing out a livelihood. That day of rest is also a day to congregate, to reflect upon one’s life, to socialise, and to indulge in play, activities that entertain and amuse, and generally relax and recharge from a working week of labour. For some it is Friday, for others it is Saturday, and for many, it is Sunday. In this piece, we digress from our usual focus on art, architecture and heritage, and ponder upon this ‘holy day’ that finds a place in almost all cultures and civilisations. We look at the origins of ‘Sunday’ as a holiday, and hope you find it interesting …

All biblical religions believe that God created the universe over six days and then took rest on the 7th day. While the oldest, the Judaic faith (the Hebraic, or Jewish religion) honours Saturday as day of the Sabbath, Islamic belief avers that Friday be more auspicious as it is believed that this be the day when (Prophet) Adam and rest of the world was created, and also considers the day to be the day of doom, which is yet to come. The Christians, however, have come to believe that the Sabbath falls on Sunday, and thus Sunday has come to be predominantly regarded in popular parlance as the Lord’s Day in Christianity influenced parts of the world. For many of us in India and abroad who have grown up with the notion that Sunday is the weekly off, a holiday to be spent at one’s leisure, it would indeed be a surprise to know that it is not so for large swathes of people who belong to other faiths, beliefs and religions. So let’s explore this ‘Sunday’ story a bit for a change…

Research into dominant societal behaviour seems to suggest that Sunday was not a ‘holy day’ or festival in the early days of the Christian era. In the earliest days, there seems to have been no fixed day of rest, and separate communities divided by geography had their own rules, and Sol Die, the Day of the Sun, or ‘Sunday’ is not even of Christian origin. Very early in the Christian era, a new form of worship surfaced and spread rapidly throughout the then Gentile world. Known as “Mithraism,” it had to do with the worship of the Sun like many forms of paganism/heathenism; but its philosophy had much more depth and was more fascinating than the cruder underpinnings of paganism, and it also held up high standards of morality. This new flavour of worship soon captured the imagination of the Caesars, and seeped into the Roman legions and the centres of learning, and was adopted and embraced widely by the upper classes of society. With Alexandria and Rome soon becoming important centres, Mithraism spread, thrived and flourished. In fact, history records that “in the middle of the third century, Mithraism seemed on the verge of becoming the universal catholic religion,” and that it “became the greatest antagonist of Christianity.” … Some of the peculiar doctrines enunciated and advocated by Mithraic priests were “the immortality of the soul, the use of the bell and candle, holy water and communion, sanctification of ‘Sunday,’ and the 25th of December.” — Encyclopaedia Britannica [11th ed.], article “Mithras.”……

The devotees of Mithra held Sunday sacred as Mithra was identified with the “invincible sun.” — The Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. …… “They held Sunday sacred, and celebrated the birth of the Sun on the 25th of December.” — The Mysteries of Mithra [1910], pp. 190,191. …

Competing for a large share of the laity, there soon set in a vicious struggle between Mithraism and Christianity, and with apostasy already rife in the Christian church, it was but a short step further for church leaders to agree upon a compromise. With many church leaders having themselves come into the church from Mithraism, they still held certain veneration for the Sun and institutions sacred to it. Thus it was agreed that in order to facilitate the conversion of the heathen and advance the cause of Christ over Mithra, the church would absorb, adapt and incorporate many of the teachings and institutions of Mithraism into Christianity, and one among these was the Sunday festival. Early Christians, who were mostly Romans, had differences of opinion as to whether the Sabbath should be observed on a Saturday or a Sunday. Then one day, this debate of the Christian Sabbath was settled via fiat, when Rome’s first Christian emperor, Constantine the First, decreed on the 7th of March, 321, that Sunday would be observed as the Roman day of rest: On the venerable Day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country, however, persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits; because it often happens that another day is not so suitable for grainsowing or vine-planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost. In 363, Canon 29 of the Council of Laodicea prohibited observance of the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday), and encouraged Christians to work on Saturdays and rest on the Lord’s Day (Sunday). The very fact that the canon had to be issued at all is an indication that adoption of Constantine’s decree of 321 was still not universal, not even among Christians.

In India, the interesting part is that Sunday was never an official holiday. Just acouple of years ago, Raman Sharma, an activist from Jammu, filed an RTI (Right to Information) petition at the Prime Minister’s Office asking: “Is there any official order/notification issued by any ministry/ department of the government declaring Sunday as holiday?” The department of Personnel and Training, Government of India, in its reply dated 18th July, 2012, signed by B Bandopadhyay, Under-secretary, stated, “As per records available in JCA section of the Department of Personnel & Training, there is no information regarding declaration of Sunday as a holiday.” However the reply gave reference to order no. 13/4/85-JCA dated 21st May, 1985, of the Department of Personnel and Training, which says that in order to improve the efficiency, “The Government of India is pleased to introduce a 5-day week in the civil administration offices of the Government of India with effect from 03rd June, 1985. Such Government offices would now work for five days a week from Monday to Friday, with all Saturdays as closed.” Even this order has no explicit mention of “Sunday” (Ref: Hindustan Times dated July 26, 2012) Yet, Sunday was being observed as a holiday much before 1985. In the 1840s, the British government after a decade long deliberation decided that their Bombay office and all subdivisions under it, will have a weekly off, just as was the practice in Britain. However, in Bombay, the move was seen as an act of imposing Christian tradition. Also, there was a lot of talk over the impact of one day off on daily wages of labour. Officers were concerned that contractors would not like to pay labour full month salary for just 26 days of work. It was later decided that Sunday be an off and all the labour will be paid half day salary for these holidays. However, this was not forced upon and even till date, not everyone, except the government offices observe Sunday as a holiday. Only the emergency services operate, where the personnel get an alternate day off based on a rotating roster.

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