What is "blue law"

n. 1 (context legal English) A law that prohibits or restricts commercial activity on Sunday. 2 (context historical legal English) Any of the highly restrictive and rigorously enforced laws governing morality and conduct in colonial New England.

n. a statute regulating work on Sundays

Blue laws, also known as Sunday laws, are laws designed to restrict or ban some or all Sunday activities for religious reasons, particularly to promote the observance of a day of worship or rest. Blue laws may also restrict shopping or ban sale of certain items on specific days, most often on Sundays in the western world. Some Islamic nations may ban certain activities on Fridays. Blue laws are enforced in parts of the United States and Canada as well as some European countries, particularly in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and Norway, keeping most stores closed on Sundays.

In the United States, the U.S. Supreme Court has held blue laws as constitutional numerous times, citing secular basis, even though the origin of the blue laws was for religious purposes. Blue laws are technically classed as " mala prohibita" or "wrong [as or because] prohibited" (as opposed to " mala in se" or "wrong or evil in itself"). Most blue laws have been repealed in the United States, although many states still ban the sale of alcoholic beverages or cars on Sundays. Bergen County, New Jersey is notable for their blue laws banning the sale of clothing, shoes, furniture, home supplies and appliances on Sundays kept through county-wide referendum.