ABSTRACT
Leisure is a creation of industrial society, the result of the introduction of measured and disciplined work time. Before industrialization the proportion of time spent on work and ‘leisure’ was determined by the agricultural and religious calendar, not bv the clock. Weeks and years were punctuated by the Sabbath, holidays and festivals. With the coming of the factory system, however, sirens signalled the beginning and end of the working day. This is not to say that the working day did not have its official and impromptu breaks, but to speak of leisure in the modern sense is to talk of significant periods of time sufficient to spend in doing something.
