This little wrinkle can be explained by the fact that the
24 hour day is not evenly divisible by seven. Recall that
Saturn rules the 1st, 8th, 15th and 22nd hours of the day.
This means the next planet in line, Jupiter, rules the 2nd,
9th, 16th, and 23rd hours of the day; Mars rules the 3rd,
10th, 17th, and final hour of the day; and the sun rules the
first hour of the new day—Sunday. This process repeats,
such that each day of the week gets its name from one of the
seven celestial bodies known to man in ancient times.
You will notice, however, that in English, we preserve only
3 days of the week for the planets, while the others are dedicated
to Norse Gods. Why are the Norse, of all people, still alive
and well in our language? We can thank the Germanic peoples
and the Angles and Saxons for that—back in the 500s,
they invaded present day England, bringing with them their
own gods, which eventually supplanted the Greco-Roman ones.
For example, instead of Tuesday being dedicated to the Roman
god of war (Mars), it is dedicated to the Norse god of war,
Tiw (also spelled Tyr). Here is a table for easier comprehension:
| English |
Anglo-Saxon |
Latin |
Spanish |
| Saturday |
Satern daeg |
Dies Saturni |
Sabado |
| Sunday |
Sunnan daeg |
Dies Solis |
Domingo |
| Monday |
Monan daeg |
Dies Lunae |
Lunes |
| Tuesday |
Tiwes daeg |
Dies Martis |
Martes |
| Wednesday |
Wodens daeg |
Dies Mercurii |
Miercoles |
| Thursday |
Thors daeg |
Dies Jovis |
Jueves |
| Friday |
Frige daeg |
Dies Veneris |
Viernes |
SUNDAY – Sun’s Day
Sunday gets its name from an obvious source—the sun.
The word as it is today is derived from the Anglo-Saxon sun
god Sunne, and also from the Scandinavian sun goddess Sunna.
Since the sun was considered a great source of life by ancient
peoples, it became the first day of the week for many (but
not all; recall the Egyptians considered Saturday the first
day of the week).
Christians consider Sunday the holiest of days, since it is
supposedly the day God rested after creating the earth (hence
the common notion that Sunday is the 7th day of the week),
and the day Christ rose from the dead.
MONDAY – Moon's Day
Monday derives its name from the Anglo-Saxon moon god Mona.
Note that the Latin and Spanish words for Monday are closely
related to “luna” and “lunar,” both
Latin words for moon.
TUESDAY – Tiw's Day
Tuesday is a day of war, at least etymologically speaking.
The English word comes from the Anglo-Saxon god Tiw, which
is the same as the
|
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Nordic god of war, Tyr. Note that the Latin
and Spanish words maintain their original Greco-Roman roots,
referring still to the Roman god of war, Mars.
Election day in the United States always falls on a Tuesday
(for presidential elections, this has been law since 1845).
This is because back when the law was passed, it was figured
that many people would need an entire day to travel from their
homes to a polling place, and would not wish to leave on a
Sunday.
WEDNESDAY – Woden’s Day
Wednesday falls in the middle of the week (hence the German
designation Mittwoch—literally,
“midweek”), and owes its name to the Nordic god
Woden (more commonly known as Odin). The Romans named Wednesday
for the messenger god Mercury, and the name is still apparent
in the Spanish Miercoles.
THURSDAY – Thor’s Day
This day of the week is named after the Norse god of thunder,
Thor. The Romans named this day after their own god of thunder,
Jupiter (also known as Jove). The latter god still lives on
in—you guessed it—the Spanish Jueves.
FRIDAY – Frige’s Day
Friday comes from the Anglo-Saxon goddess of love, Frige (or
Frigga), who was wife of Woden. The Roman equivalent is Venus,
and thanks to the Spanish language, her names lives on to
this day as Viernes.
Sources: www.wikipedia.org,
indepthinfo.com,
12x30.net. |
