The Exeter Flying Post (17 April 1800) protested in its columns :
"Whilst the London and most of the country newspapers record the strict observance of Good Friday, we cannot but lament that in this city it receives very little attention, some few shops indeed are shut, and though the tolling bells remind us of our duty, the churches are very thinly attended.
"The serge-market, which is usually held on a Friday, is not even altered to the Thursday or Saturday, being, perhaps, considered to be of more importance than the attending to any Divine Ordinance; added to this the numerous carts, market horses, and carriers, which fill the streets, give this day more the appearance of a high holiday or festival, than of fasting and humiliation."
Good Friday, even in my childhood, was a day when levity and jollity were widely frowned upon. It would seem that, in 1800, Exeter was leading the pack in not taking too much notice of the Church's decrees that people gloom, go to church and eat fish. Nowadays, I suspect, not one in ten citizens within the city walls, can tell you the significance of Good Friday for 'good' Christians.
There's no logic to it, at least I don't think so, but I really dislike the word 'whilst'!
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