Days of the Week
The history of the days of the week is closely intertwined with the advancement of mankind through the centuries.
It could have been six, it could have been ten. Why seven?!!!?
It is conjectured that the seven day week as we know it was developed by the Babylonians over 3000 years ago. Historians believe that the Babylonians were avid astronomers. They based many of their mathematical systems (including their calculations of time) on the movement of the heavenly bodies. The first convenient division of time to be devised (after the day) was the month because it could be tracked by observing the cycles of the moon. The big problem was that a cycle of the moon lasted about 29 and a half days. No round number of days divides evenly into 29 and a half - 4 was the best division they could find. So they went with the seven day week and worried about the loose change of extra days later.
Throughout the world various systems for the week had developed. The most popular competition for the seven day week was the 10 day week. Yet the ten day week proved to be too long for those looking forward to the weekend.
Sunday is the Lord's Day for Christians, yet it is named for the sun.
The first day of the week, Sunday, since ancient times has been designated the "day of rest". For Christians it is the holy day of the week, due to the fact that Christ was reported to have risen from the dead upon this day.
Yet the name of Sunday has nothing to do with Christianity, but everything to do with even more ancient religions. The ancient Greeks knew that the sun was the source of life on the planet and they gave it prime importance in their thinking. When the Romans later adopted the seven day week they emphasize their respect for the sun by naming the first day of the week for it..."dies solis"..."day of the sun".
The actual word "Sunday" is derived from the German word "Sonntag"
The old English work was "sunnandaeg" and it changed over time to become our current, "Sunday".
If the sun has its own day why not the moon on Monday?
If sun is honored on Sunday, it follows that the Moon should be given a place of prominence on Monday. And, indeed, the word for Monday is derived via the ancient Anglo-Saxon/Germanic tongue from the word for Moon, "monandaeg".
Monday has often been called a blue day. There is considerable speculation as to why this might be so. One theory runs that Monday (before the advent of the washing machine) was the usual day for washing and a blue dye was frequently used to keep clothes from yellowing. Blue is also frequently associated with depression. Since Monday is typically the first workday of the week and workers must look over a long depressing stretch of time until their next day-long break it has often been referred to as a blue day.
Tuesday is not named for the number. It is named for a Norse God!
Fat Tuesday is the designation generally given to the day just prior to the beginning of Lent. Lent is a 40 day time of fasting for many Christians and it always begins on a certain Wedensday prior to Easter. As the day before (always a Tuesday) is the last chance for revelry and also the last chance to use up perishables such as butter, lard and other fats that day has become known as "Mardi Gras" (French for Fat Tuesday).
The word "Tuesday", however, was derived from a wholly different religious tradition. Tyr or Tiw was the Norse God of War. When the Germanic Angles and Saxon's invaded England in the 500's they suplanted a culture that had been heavily influenced by Rome for several hundred years. The day, Tuesday, had already been named for the Roman God of War, Martius.
Was Wednesday named for weddings? Not even close.
The mid-day of the week is named for the Norse God, Odin. He was also known as Woden or Wotan. The early Scandanavians and Germans believed that Odin was the chief God of Asgard and as such deserved to have a day of the week named for him. The Anglo-Saxons used the word, Wodnesdaeg.
If the work week were a hill. Then Wednesday would be the crest. It is all down hill from there.
After reading this the next time you hear thunder on Thursday you will remember how this day got its name.
Thor was the Norse God of Thunder. The Angles and Saxon's who invaded England in the 500's carried belief in Thor with them in their wanderings and wars.
In the days before the invasion the Roman's inhabited most of the civilized world (including most of England). The fifth day of the week was known as "dies jovis". The Roman's had named it for their own God of Thunder, and also chief of the Gods, Jupiter.
When the Germanic tribes suplanted the resident Roman's of England they also suplanted their Gods. They replaced Jupiter or Jove with Thor. Thus came the name, Thorsdaeg which comes down to modern English speakers as Thursday.
Friday is the only day of the week named for a woman. Why Friday, and why this woman?
Lucky or unlucky, Friday is one of the most popular days in the week. The love for the day is undoubtedly engendered by the fact that in the Western World it is the last workday of the week.
The name of the day is derived from yet another Norse God (in this case a goddess), Frigga. She was believed to be the wife of Odin and was the goddess of marriage and the hearth. The Roman's had named this day for their goddess of beauty, Venus. They called it "dies veneris". When the Germanic tribes invaded England they imposed their goddess upon the day meant to honor Venus. The day was called frigedaeg, it has been corrupted over the centuries (since the 500's) to be "Friday".
Saturday is the only day of the week in the English language that retained its Roman character.
Saturday is the only day of the week that retained its Roman origins in the wake of the English invasions of the Angles and Saxons. This may have been because there was no Norse God to roughly correspond to the Roman God of Time and the Harvest, Saturn. The Anglo-Saxons simply adapted the Roman, "dies saturni", making it saterdaeg.
As the centuries pass conditions shall change the nature of these days of the week. Already, the strict notions of apropriate behavior upon the Sabbath have changed. The idea of Monday holidays to create 3-day weekends is a relatively new invention. What change shall come next to vary our own perspective of the endless cycle of the week?