Sunday Shopping?

Shops at Kamppi shopping center are closed during a "normal" Sundays.

For many years there has been public discussion whether shops should be open on Sundays or not. At the moment some smaller shops can be open on Sundays all year round and this right is extended to cover larger shops during special seasons like Christmas shopping and summer. Today is the first Sunday of the summer shopping season.

Should shops be allowed to decide themselves when they are open and should people be allowed to do their shopping during any day of the week? Or should families be protected so that they can spend their Sundays together and do small companies need some protection because they are not able to do business every day?

It’s Summertime (and useless change of time)

Once again people have been tortured today thanks to daylight savings time. Photo from the National Museum.

Daylight savings time (in Finnish kesäaika = summertime) is quite useless in Finland – the sun hardly sets during our summer so minor savings can only be made during spring and autumn. For a good reason many complain the need to change our daily routines twice a year for no obvious benefit.

I can understand the reasoning in countries that are closer to the equator. For me it’s quite disappointing to spend a summer in a place where the summer nights are long and dark.