THE NAMES OF EACH DAY OF THE WEEK HONOR MANY ANCIENT GODS

Have you ever wondered where the days of the week got their names? Down through the centuries we have taken them for granted but the ancients gave special names to each day for a reason. Each day was named after ferocious gods of war, gentle goddesses and the sun and moon. Months also are named after gods and goddesses, famed people and even numbers. Legend tells us that long ago, certain tribes of people in southern Europe could not explain the warm ball of light that appeared in the sky each day. They decided it was given to them by a great god and named the ball of light sol (Latin). They named the day dies solis, which is Latin for day of the sun or Sunday . The southern European nation called the glowing ball of light in the night sky by the Latin name, lunae dies, and the northern Europeans called it mona. They named a day monan daeg which means Monday in English. Some of the Europeans believed in Tiw, god of war. To honor Tiw, the people named a day of the week after him. They named the day Tiwesdaeg, meaning Tuesday in English. The Vikings, these ancient people, believed that one god held power over all the rest and his name was Woden. To honor Woden, the people named a day of the week after him. They named this day Wodnesdaeg, meaning Wednesday in English.

The people of northern Europe couldn't understand what thunder and lightning was; they decided the flashing light and loud rumbling must be caused by an angry god. But this god needed a name so they named him, Thor. They honored Thor by giving him his own day, Thuresdaeg meaning Thursday in English. Frigg was a kind and beautiful goddess and the goddess of nature who was married to Odin, the most powerful god. The people loved her so much they named a day after her, calling it Frigedaeg, which became Friday. In the days of the great Roman Empire, a god named Saturn ruled over the farmlands. According to the people, Saturn had control over the weather and could make it good if he was happy or make it bad if he was angry. Before planting time, a Roman farmer would ask Saturn to give him good weather for his crops. In order to score extra points with Saturn the people named a planet after him along with a day of the week. They called this day "Saturni dies," Latin for "day of Saturn." In English it became known as Saturday.