wAkawAkaJul 29, 2023

Where in history is the starting point of modern week day count?

https://lemmy.world/post/2340523

Where in history is the starting point of modern week day count? - Lemmy.world

I mean, if today i.e. is Sunday then someone long time ago should have said “Today will be Sunday” for the first time in a period from today that is multiple of seven. I was assuming that it was Pope Gregory XIII in October 1582, but looks like he is not. I failed in googling and duckduckgoing out the answer, so I ask for Lemmy’s collective wisdom!

Show threadPlutoniumAcidJul 29, 2023

I believe most weekday names as we know them in English and many other northern European languages derive from the vikings.

  • Monday, not sure?
  • Tuesday = Tir’s day, Tir/Thyra being a woman in the Nordic mythology.
  • Wednesday = Wotan’s day, also “onsdag” in Nordic languages, Wotan=Odin.
  • Thursday = Thor’s day, also “torsdag” in Nordic languages.
  • Friday = “fredag”, from Frey/Freia in the Nordic mythology.
  • Saturday = lørdag, not sure.
  • Sunday = literally the day of the sun.
Show threadthebestaquaman
Don’t know about Saturday, but “lørdag” comes from the Norse word for “washing day” because the vikings were surprisingly hygienic for their time, and bathed/washed themselves once a week.
Jul 29, 2023 at 2:32pmWeb