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| Oh remember how short my time is:
For what vanity hast thou created all the children of men! Ps 89:47 |
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TIME fact 10:TIME: The names for the Days of the Week
In the Roman calendar, the days of the week were named after the sun, moon, and the 5
known planets. These objects of the sky were worshiped by the Romans as gods. In the
current Gregorian calendar the days of the weeks are also named for gods. The English
names for the seven days came through the Saxons, German invaders who went to Britain in
the 5th and 6th century. The Saxons had taken the Roman names, modified them, and took
them to England. Today the English names for the days have been further modified from the
original names. The same pattern for the names of the days of the week is also found in
the German, French, and Spanish languages. They were all heavily influenced by Latin. All
these countries were once part of Rome's ancient empire.
Sunday is the first day of the week. Its English name and its German name
(Sonntag) are derived from the Latin dies solis, "sun's day." This was the name
of a pagan Roman holiday. In the New Testament (see Revelation 1:10) it is called the
Lord's Day (Dominica in the Latin version), from which the name of Sunday is derived in
Romance languages (French Dimanche; Italian Domenica; Spanish Domingo; Roman Duminica). In
the early days of Christianity, Sunday began to replace the Sabbath and to be observed to
honor the resurrection of Christ. Sunday was instituted as a day of rest, consecrated
especially to the service of God, by the Roman emperor Constantine the Great.
Monday is the second day of the week. Its name is derived from the
Anglo-Saxon monandaeg, which means "the moon's day." Its Latin equivalent is
dies lunae, "day of the moon." For the Anglo-Saxons the second day was sacred to
the goddess of the moon. In German the second day is Montag, in French lundi, in Spanish
lunes, and in Italian lunedì.
Tuesday is the third day of the week. Its English name comes from the
Norse god of war, Tiu, or Tyr, the son of Odin, or Woden. It is called tisdag in Sweden,
Tirsdag in Denmark. The Romans honored their god of war, Mars, by naming the third day for
him (dies Martis), and in France the day is mardi, in Italy martedì, and in Spain martes.
In Germany it is Dienstag, originally meaning "assembly day." It is called yom
shlishi in Hebrew, meaning "third day."
Wednesday is the fourth day of the week, named to honor Odin, or Woden,
chief god in Norse mythology. It is from this source that the English name is derived. In
Sweden and Denmark, the day is Onsdag, from its Norse original. The Romans honored their
god Mercury by naming the fourth day for him, in Latin, dies Mercurii. Languages of Latin
origin retain the root: French, mercredi; Spanish, miércoles; and Italian, mercoledì.
The Germans call the day Mittwoch, meaning "mid-week."
Thursday is the fifth day of the week. In English it is named for Thor,
Norse god of thunder. In Danish and Swedish, languages of Norse origin, the day is called
Torsdag. In the Roman calendar, the fifth day was called in Latin dies Jovis, meaning
"Jove's day," for Jove, or Jupiter, the god of thunder and rain. Languages of
Latin derivation retain the root: French, jeudi; Spanish, el jueves; and Italian,
Giovedì. In German it is Donnerstag, "thunder day."
Friday is the English name of the sixth day of the week. The day was held
sacred to Venus, the goddess of love, by the Romans, who called it dies veneris ("day
of Venus"). In the Romance languages the name of the day is derived from the Latin,
as in the French vendredi, the Italian venerdì, and the Spanish viernes. For the Germanic
peoples the goddess of love was the Norse goddess, Frigg, or Frija. The Germanic
languages, like English, use variations of the Old High German frìatag ("day of
Frija") to designate the day. The Hebrew name for Friday, yom shishi, means
"sixth day." Among many Slavic peoples, however, Friday is not regarded as the
sixth day of the week, as evidenced by its Russian name, pyatneetza, or "fifth
day." Friday is the Muslim Sabbath. The day was chosen by the Prophet Muhammad in
commemoration of the creation of man on the "sixth day" of creation and to
differentiate his followers from Christians and Jews.
Saturday is the English name for the seventh day of the week. It is so
named in honor of the Roman god Saturn. In Latin, Saturday was called dies Saturni. It was
called Sater-daeg by the Anglo-Saxons. It is the holy day of the Israelites of the Old
Testament and in Hebrew it is called Sabbath. This is the only Hebrew day of the week with
a name. The other days of the Hebrew week are merely numbered. The Hebrew word Sabbath
(Shabbat) is derived from the verb shavat, which means "to rest, cease." The Sabbath
begins at sunset Friday and lasts until sunset Saturday. In Sweden Saturday is
Lördag, or Lord's Day; and in Denmark and Norway it is Lørdag. In Spanish it is el
sábado and in Italian sabato, both derived from Sabbath.
Sources: The Handy Science Answer Book - Visible Ink|
Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 96 Encyclopedia. |
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