July 14, 2007
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Days of the Week- Saturn’s Day
(taken from the wikipedia entry on Saturday and edited for size)
Saturday is the day of the week week between Friday and Sunday—it is either the sixth or seventh day of the week. It was named no later than the second century for the planet (Saturn), which controlled the first hour of that day according to Vettius Valens. The planet was named for the Roman god of agriculture Saturn. It has been called dies Saturni (“Saturn’s Day”), through which form it entered into Old English as Sæternesdæg and gradually evolved into the word “Saturday”.
Saturday and Sunday are the only days of the week in which the English names come from Roman mythology. The English names of all of the other days of the week come from Norse mythology and Germanic mythology. In India, Saturday is Shanivar, based on Shani, the Vedic God manifested in the planet Saturn.
The three monotheistic religions, via their original languages, regard Saturday as the seventh day of the week (Judaism via Hebrew, Christianity via Ecclesiastical Latin, and Islam via Arabic) by naming Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday as the second through fifth days of the week. The Slavic languages of Eastern Europe regard Saturday as the sixth day of the week by naming Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday as the second, fourth, and fifth days of the week, although their name for Wednesday, middle, would imply that Saturday is the seventh day of the week. Beginning in the twentieth century, many Europeans have considered Saturday the sixth (penultimate) day of the week, and Sunday the last[citation needed]. This current European labour-orientated convention has been formalized by ISO 8601.
In many countries where Sundays are holidays, Saturday is part of the weekend, and is traditionally a day of relaxation. Many parties are held on Saturdays, because it precedes Sunday, another day of rest. It is common for clubs, bars and restaurants to be open later on Saturday night than on other nights.
In Jewish tradition Saturday is the Shabbat. Christianity adopted this tradition in terms of the Sabbath. Thus, in many languages the Saturday is named after the Sabbath. Eastern Orthodox churches distinguish between the Sabbath (Saturday) and the Lord’s Day (Sunday). Roman Catholics put so little emphasis on that distinction that many among them follow – at least in colloquial language – the Protestant practice of calling Sunday the sabbath. Quakers traditionally refer to Saturday as “Seventh Day” eschewing the “pagan” origin of the name. In Islamic countries, Fridays are holidays, however they are considered as the sixth day of the week.
Similarly, the Romance languages follow the Greek usage, so that their word for “Saturday” is also a variation on “Sabbath”: the Italian is sabato, the French is samedi, the Spanish and Portuguese is sábado and the Romanian is sâmbata.
Saturday is the usual day for elections in Australia and the only day in New Zealand on which elections can be held, and also the preferred election day in the US state of Louisiana.
The modern Maori name for it, Rahoroi, means “washing-day”.
In Thailand, the color associated with Saturday is purple, see the Thai solar calendar.
- In the folk rhyme Monday’s Child, “Saturday’s Child has to work hard for a living”.
- Saturday was also the preferred day to hunt vampires as that was the day they had to remain in their coffins. It was also believed that someone born on a Saturday could see a vampire when it was invisible.[citation needed]
- Saturday morning is a notable television time block aimed at children while airing generally animated cartoons.
- Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal is a single-panel webcomic by Zach Weiner.
- Saturday Night Fever was a popular 1977 movie showcasing New York discotheques.
- Saturday Night Live is a famous TV skit-show that has aired from Saturday night to Sunday morning nearly every week on NBC since 1975.
- “Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell” was a short-lived television program
- Uptown Saturday Night is a film with Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby, and Harry Belafonte
- “Mr. Saturday Night” is a film starring Billy Crystal
- “The Saturday Evening Post”
- Holy Saturday comes before Easter Sunday
- Saturday (novel), a 2005 novel by Ian McEwan
Saturday songs include:
- 10:15 On A Saturday Night – The Cure
- Another Saturday Night – Sam Cooke and Cat Stevens
- Come Saturday Morning – The Sandpipers
- (Looking For) The Heart of Saturday Night – Tom Waits
- One More Saturday Night – Grateful Dead
- “Saturday” – The Carpenters
- “Saturday Morning” – The Eels
- “Saturday Afternoon” – Blaze Ya Dead Homie
- Saturday in the Park – Chicago
- Saturday Night – The Bay City Rollers
- Saturday Night – Whigfield
- Saturday Night – The Misfits
- Saturday Night Forever – Pet Shop Boys
- Saturday Night (is The Loneliest Night Of The Week) – Frank Sinatra
- Saturday Night at the Movies – The Drifters
- Saturday Night – Ozomatli
- Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting – Elton John
- Saturday Nite – Earth, Wind & Fire
- Saturday’s Child – The Monkees
- Saturday – Fall Out Boy
- Saturday (Oooh oooh!) – Ludacris
- Saturday Night – Aaron Carter
- “Sentimental Saturday” – Sarah Hudson
- “Small Town Saturday Night” – Hal Ketchum
- “Saturday” – The Ramones
- “Saturday” – The Rocket Summer from their 2003 album Calendar Days
- “Saturday” – Liberty X from their 2003 album Thinking It Over
- “Saturday” – Marc Broussard from his 2004 album Carencro
- “Saturday” – Hedley from their 2005 album Hedley
- “Saturday” – Smile Empty Soul from their 2005 album Anxiety
- “Saturday” – Babyface from his 1993 album For the Cool in You
- “Saturday” – Suede from their 1997 album Coming Up
- “Saturday” – Fall Out Boy from their 2003 album Take This To Your Grave
- “Saturday” – Plaid Tractors from their 1997 album, Steve Tasker: Live from Club Biggio
- In the folk rhyme Monday’s Child, “Saturday’s Child has to work hard for a living”.