Sunday Observance

Anglo-Americans and German immigrants had many growing tensions between them due to cultural differences, and one of those was the proper observance of Sunday.

Protestant, Anglo-Americans believed Sunday should be a time of rest and worship, as commanded by the bible. Both cultures attended church on Sunday, but for an Anglo-American, that was the main extent of socialization for them. While attending church was a large part of the day, afterwards was meant to be spent quietly with their families in their homes and resting for the work to come for the next week. Drinking, working, and celebrating were seen as offensive to their interpretation of the Fourth Commandment. It was not uncommon for local legislation to enact laws prohibiting the sale of alcohol during Sunday and laws prohibiting any disruption of worshipping congregations for this exact reason.

Germans, however, did not have such strict rules as to what “rest” meant. It was common for Germans to use their Sundays for entertainment and recreation, going to their local bars and gathering in big groups to socialize. They weren’t fond of regulations put into place to regulate how their Sundays were spent and increased tensions between the two communities. It also wasn’t uncommon for Germans to get some work done on Sunday to get a “leg-up” on the week, something very frowned upon by their Anglo-American neighbors.

In the excerpt below, a writer describes the necessity of observing the Sabbath as a day of rest. Presumably, this is an Anglo-American who would agree with such regulations of alcohol prohibition and anti-disruption of worship. The writer goes as far as to say those who work on Sunday are rooted in greed rather than a worry to feed their families.