CHRISTMAS 2004 could be the best yet for scores of Swindon shopworkers.
This week saw the first reading of a Private Members' Bill which would ban stores larger than 3,000 square feet opening on Christmas Day.
Current laws only ban larger stores from opening if December 25 is a Sunday.
While few of the bigger retailers have opened on Christmas Day, there is growing speculation that consumer pressure will convince some to do so soon.
Dennis Grant, chief executive of Swindon Chamber of Commerce welcomed the move.
He said: "Christmas Day should be one day of the year when shops should shut. I think we can all survive not going to shops for one day out of 365.
"The Christmas frenzy goes on for too long. By the end of it I feel like pushing tinsel down people's throats."
Usdaw, which has 330,000 members, is also throwing its weight behind the Bill.
Bill Connor, Usdaw general secretary, said: "We are rapidly adopting a 365-days-a-year, 24-hour shopping culture in this country. We should not give up everything in the name of profits."
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