Strange. I don't ever recall Sunday being used as the start of the week in the UK. I asked a few people here and they all said Monday. The two printed calendars I was able to find (a diary and a wallplanner) all use Monday. ISO 8601 also starts the week on Monday [1].
You are correct that the Wikipedia article I cited says that in the Judeo-Christian tradition the week starts on Sunday, but that is clearly for religious purposes. Since the UK is home to people of many religions and none, I'm not sure why you think that Sunday is normative.
Serious question: does it feel different if your week starts on Sunday? Do you feel like your week is bracketed by a non-work day at each end?
I've tried to set up my calendars to start on Monday, over the years. It makes sense, because the two major segments of my life, the work week and the weekend, are each displayed contiguously.
And yet I get confused. Probably because I've grown up with Sunday to Saturday calendars, and almost no one else does a Monday start calendar in the US.
And while thinking about this post, I wondered, would it make sense to display calendars with both? An eight day display, showing last Sunday, this week, and the coming weekend.
To answer your serious question: only if I stop to really think about it.
Sunday in my youth was a quiet day. Shops were closed. TV was dreadful. I did chores and prepared for the coming week. Saturday was a day off for fun, Sunday was a sort of day off, but for quiet preparation.
Now Saturday and Sunday are days off for fun; tv is better; shops are open. So, it feels as if the week starts on Monday.
You are correct that the Wikipedia article I cited says that in the Judeo-Christian tradition the week starts on Sunday, but that is clearly for religious purposes. Since the UK is home to people of many religions and none, I'm not sure why you think that Sunday is normative.
Serious question: does it feel different if your week starts on Sunday? Do you feel like your week is bracketed by a non-work day at each end?
[1] http://www.npl.co.uk/science-technology/time-frequency/time/...