Days of the week
How many days are there in a week? What are they called and why? Which is the first day of the week, Sunday or Monday?
These may seem like easy questions, but not everybody agrees with the same answers. In today‘s calendar there are seven days in one week. This wasn’t always the case. The Romans had 8 days in one of their weeks. This is because instead of having a weekend they had a market day. Typical Romans spent more time working and less time off. All over the world the days of the week have different names also different meanings. These are the meanings in English;
Sunday- This means the day of the sun.
Monday- This means the day of the moon.
Tuesday- this means Tyr’s day. He was the god of combat and heroic glory.
Wednesday- This means God of Odin. He was the highest god in Anglo- Saxon times.
Thursday- this means the day of Thor. He was the god of thunder.
Friday- This is the day of Frigg. She is the goddess of beauty.
Saturday- this is named after the Roman god Saturn. Who was the father of Zeus.
The other question people can’t agree on is, what day of the week does the week start? In Canada, United States and Israel the first day of the week is Sunday. In places such as Australia, United Kingdom and South Africa the first day of the week is Monday. Do you think it is strange that some people think Monday is the first day of the week?