Welcome to the Tuesday Coffee Hour here on Street Prophets. This is an open thread where we can hang out and talk about what’s going on in our worlds. Our question for today: What’s your favorite day?
First, a bit of etymology: “Day” comes from the prehistoric Germanic *dauthaz which in turn comes from the Indo-European base *dhegh-. The underlying etymological meaning of day is “time when the sun is hot.”
Note: the * indicates that the Indo-European or prehistoric word has been reconstructed by historical linguists.
Monday means “moon day.” The English word “moon” is based on the Indo-European *mēnes- which meant both “moon” and “month.” This is a derivative of *me-, from which we get the English word “measure,” reflecting that fact that in the far distant past the passage of time was measured in moons.
Tuesday is named for Tiu, the Germanic god of war and the sky. The Romans had named their days after the gods, and when the Germanic people took over this Roman system replacing the day of Mars (the Roman god of war) with Tuesday.
Wednesday is named for the Germanic god Wodin or Odin. The Romans had previously named this day for Mercury. For many Americans this is known as Hump Day and is presided over by a camel who keeps asking: “Mikey, Mikey, Mikey—What day is it?” The guardian spirit of Wednesday is obviously a camel.
Thursday is named for the Germanic god Thor, the god of thunder. The Romans had previously named this day for Jupiter, the sky god.
Friday is named for the Germanic goddess Frigg, the goddess of love and of the hearth. The Romans had previously named this day for Venus. Frigg is a major goddess of Germanic paganism and is described as the wife of Odin.
Saturday is named for Saturn.
Sunday is named for the sun.
Which one of these days is your favorite? Why? I should point out that since I retired all days seem somewhat similar. I don’t have to wait for the weekend to go camping—Tuesday works just as well as Saturday and the campgrounds tend to have fewer people in them.
This is an open thread. If you don’t have a favorite day, feel free to change the subject.