Have you ever wondered how the days of the week got their names? We use these words every day. They help us use our time. They shine on us from the calendar. They mark holidays and birthdays and help us to plan our work or school activities. The names of the days of the week have their own meaning in every language. Let’s talk about few of them.
The word week refers to a period of seven consecutive days. In European countries, the week starts on Monday and ends on Sunday. In some other parts of the world, it runs from Sunday to Saturday. We know from the Bible that the origin of the week goes back to God’s creation of the world because 'on the seventh day God finished the work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day...' The Jews are considered to be the first people to have a week with Saturday being the most important day. It is also well-known that they adopted the concept of the week from the Sumerians and Babylonians. At that time, the names of the days had an astronomical character and were named after the Sun, the Moon, and the five planets that were known back then. The concept of the week was later adopted by the Romans whose week started on Sunday and ended on Saturday. The Romans considered Sunday to be a pagan holiday. The Christians consider it the Lord’s Day and the Day of Rest because Sunday is the day when they celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Names of the days of the week and their meanings across languages
The days of the week repeat constantly. According to a decision made by the United Nations Organisation (UNO) in 1978, Monday is internationally considered to be the first day of the week. This decision also specifies Saturday and Sunday as days of rest. The working days include all days from Monday to Friday.
In English, the names of the days of the week are as follows:
Monday – Moon’s day
Tuesday – God Tyr’s day
Wednesday – God Odin’s (Woden’s) day
Thursday – God Thor’s day
Friday – God Freya’s day
Saturday – God Saturn’s day
Sunday – Sun’s day
In other Germanic languages, the names of the days of the week follow a similar pattern – half of them go back to the Roman names and half of them to the names of the Germanic gods. In German, for instance, there are the following days of the week:
Montag (Monday)– Moon’s day
Dienstag (Tuesday) – from deus (Latin for god) and Mars – Tuesday
Mittwoch (Wednesday) – the middle of the week – Wednesday
Donnerstag(Thursday)– Thunder God’s Thor day (Donner – thunder) – Thursday
Freitag(Friday)– God Frigg’s (or Freya’s) day – Friday
Samstag(Saturday)– God Saturn’s day – Saturday
Sonntag (Sunday)– Sun God’s day – Sunday
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In Italian, there are the following days of the week:
Lunedi (Monday)– Luna’s day (Moon’s day)
Martedi (Tuesday)– God Mars’ day
Mercoledi (Wednesday)– God Mercury’s day
Giovedi (Thursday) – God Jupiter’s day
Venerdi(Friday) – Goddess Venus’ day
Sabato (Saturday) – Sabbath
Domenica (Sunday) – Lord’s day
In Greek, the names of the days of the week are similar to those in Hebrew:
Kyriakí (Sunday)– Lord’s day
Deftéra(Monday)– the second day
Tríti (Tuesday) – the third day
Tetárti (Wednesday) – the fourth day
Pémpti (Thursday) – the fifth day
Paraskeví (Friday) – the day of preparation
Sávvato (Saturday) – Sabbath
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Names of the days of the week in other European languages:
Slovak:Pondelok, Utorok, Streda, Štvrtok, Piatok, Sobota, Nedeľa
French: Lundi, Mardi, Mercredi, Jeudi, Vendredi, Samedi, Dimanche
Spanish: Lunes, Martes, Miércoles, Jueves, Viernes, Sábado, Domingo
Finnish: Sunnuntai, Maanantai, Tiistai, Keskiviikko, Torstai, Perjantai, Lauantai
Portuguese: Domingo, Segunda-feira, Terça-feira, Quarta-feira, Quinta-feira, Sexta-feira, Sábado
Hungarian: Hétfő, Kedd, Szerda, Csütörtök, Péntek, Szombat, Vasárnap
Latvian: Pirmdiena, Otrdiena, Trešdiena, Ceturtdiena, Piektdiena, Sestdiena, Svētdiena
Estonian: Esmaspäev, Teisipäev, Kolmapäev, Neljapäev, Reede, Laupäev, Pühapäev
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