2008-11-24

Sunday and the First Day of the Week


Ms. T.Y. of last Sunday's class asked why Saturday and Sunday are called the "weekend" in English when many calendars--especially from the U.S.--show Sunday as the first day of the week?

It was not easy to find information to answer this question, but I think I have a basic understanding of the circumstances that led to the current calendar we use often in the U.S.

First, we must keep in mind that this explanation relies on the following type week, which starts on Sunday (Day 1) thru Saturday (Day 7).
|Sun. (1)|Mon. (2)|Tue. (3)|Wed. (4)|Thu. (5)|Fri. (6)|Sat. (7)|

The names of the days in English originate from Latin, which came from Rome, which came from Ancient Egypt astrology. The names of the days and their order have basically remained unchanged since 1,400 B.C.

Monday means the moon, Tuesday means Mars, Wednesday means Mercury, Thursday means Jupiter, Friday means Venus, Saturday means Saturn, and Sunday means the sun.

It is not clear which day was the "first" day thousands of years ago, but for the same thousands of years, it is clear that the order of the days (moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, etc.) has been fairly consistent among different ancient languages (Sumerian, Babylonian, Greek, Latin).

Although the International Standards Organization (ISO) has decided that Monday is the first day of the week, which has been officially recognized by calendars in many European countries, many business and social calendars in the UK, the US, Canada, and Australia indicate Sunday as the first day of the week.

In Jewish tradition, the 7th day was the day of rest (Genesis 2:3, Hebrew Bible). That day is called Shabbat or Shabbos in Hebrew. In English, this day is referred to as the Sabbath, or "the day of rest" as indicated in the Bible. In Hebrew, each week has seven days. The names of those days are: First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Shabbat (meaning Sabbath). Today, Shabbat is observed on Saturday. This shows Saturday has been the 7th day of the week for thousands of years among the Jews.

There is a similar pattern in Ancient Greek where Sunday comes before Monday. In Ancient Greek, the Greek word for Monday means second, the Greek word for Tuesday means third, the Greek word for Wednesday means fourth, the Greek word for Thursday means fifth, and so on.

Two centuries ago, the first Christians were Jews, so the seventh continued to be the day to observe the Sabbath. By c. 150 AD, many Christians were observing the Sabbath on the first day of the week as a weekly memorial of Jesus Christ's resurrection, which the Bible states occurred "very early on the first day after the Sabbath" (Mk 16:2). Remember that in those days, the Sabbath was on the seventh day. And since the remembrance of Christ's resurrection occurred on the next day, this lead to the first day of the week becoming the observance of the Sabbath among Christians.

Then, in 321, Constantine I, the first Christian ruler of the Roman Empire, decreed "dies Solis," or day of the Sun (day 1 of the week) as the Roman day of rest in the same manner as the Jewish Shabbat.

So, Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week. Christ resurrected on the next day after Shabbat (the first day of the Jewish week). In Rome, the first day of the week, which was also the same day Christ resurrected, was called "the day of the Sun". In German, "dies Solis" became Sontag. In English, Sontag became Sunday.

Ancient Egypt influenced the Romans. The Jews influcenced the Christians. The combination of Christian Romans influenced the Germans, which eventually gave us the word Sunday.

The 7th day of the Jewish week gave gave rise to the Sabbath. The rise of the Christians and Roman influence gave rise to Sunday becoming the 1st day and the day of the Sabbath (among Christians). These concepts probably explain why Sunday is day 1 on the calendar and why Christians observe the Sabbath on that day.

However, in modern culture, Saturday and Sunday are considered to be the "weekend," which reflects that fact that for most of us, our week at work or school "starts" on Monday. It seems logical then that the ISO would make Monday day 1 and Sunday day 7.

Basically, we seem to have two systems working at the same time that are in conflict with each other: calendars with Sunday being day 1, but the majority of us living our lives with Monday being day 1.

So, which kind of calendar to you like? Do you prefer calendars that start on Monday or calendars that start on Sunday?

As for me, I set my personal online calendars at Yahoo and Google so that Monday is the first day. My PDA and cell phone calendars are also set so that Monday is the first day. Finally, I use a day planner that shows Monday as the first day.

By the way, if you found any inaccuracies in this post, please feel free to let me know. If anyone knows of any resource that explains this issue in a simpler manner, please let me know!
References:
1. Judeo-Christian. Answers.com. Wikipedia, Wikipedia, 2008.http://www.answers.com/topic/judeo-christian-2, accessed November 23, 2008
2. Constantine I The Great. Answers.com. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2006.http://www.answers.com/topic/constantine-i-the-great, accessed November 23, 2008.
3. Constantine I The Great. Answers.com. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, Columbia University Press., 2003.http://www.answers.com/topic/constantine-i-the-great, accessed November 23, 2008.
4. Constantine I The Great. Answers.com. Wikipedia, Wikipedia, 2008. http://www.answers.com/topic/constantine-i-the-great, accessed November 23, 2008.
5. Apostolic Letter Dies Domini of the Holy Father John Paul II to the Bishops, Clergy and Faithful of the Catholic Church on Keepiong the Lord's Day Holy (http://tinyurl.com/13x9)
6. Wikipedia contributors, "Shabbat," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shabbat&oldid=253522435 (accessed November 23, 2008).
7. Wikipedia contributors, "Sabbath," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sabbath&oldid=253553953 (accessed November 23, 2008).
8. Wikipedia contributors, "Hebrew calendar," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hebrew_calendar&oldid=253573134 (accessed November 23, 2008).
9. Wikipedia contributors, "Week," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Week&oldid=253312794 (accessed November 23, 2008)
10. Wikipedia contributors, "Days of the week," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Days_of_the_week&oldid=253348867 (accessed November 23, 2008).
11. The Days of the Week (http://tinyurl.com/5d2d4m)
12. Which is the First Day of the Week: Sunday or Monday? (http://tinyurl.com/5wvtus)
13. Subject: Is Sunday or Monday the first day of the week? (http://tinyurl.com/5uy8d2)
14. Slater, Thomas. "Sunday." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 24 Nov. 2008 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14335a.htm>.
15. Why do Christians Worship on Sunday? (http://tinyurl.com/5s5894)
16. The Week (http://tinyurl.com/5uxba3)
17. Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (http://tinyurl.com/59b9wp)
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