Shops open SUNDAY ("extraordinarily" like before XMas)

In my local free paper it was announced that the local shops will be open on 11 and 18 December.
And, of course, the Gouden Kruispunt shopping centre (one of the biggest in the country) is open every Sunday of the year. On the last time that Christmas Day was on a Sunday, there was even a supermarket there open until mid-day.

I was truly shocked that places like Docks Bruxsel were closed yesterday

Much of Antwerp was open and they were doing a roaring trade. The fact that a place like Docks feel no need to open, or cannot, is telling.

Actually Mike, what it tells you is that the law controls Sunday opening in Belgium for shops of over a certain size. Larger shops can only open if the area has formal tourist status which confers the right to open on Sundays if the shops wishes. Parts of central Brussels now have such status but presumably Docks doesn't.

Why does anyone need stores to open on Sunday. It's really too bad that they are changing this...