The Origins of The Seven Day Week

Morning Weekdays! 

Fun fact: The week actually technically starts with Sunday.

So it's actually Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and finally Saturday.

But have you ever wondered where this week comes from?

Like, why 7 days? And where do the names come from?

Well, if you grew up in the West you might think the seven-day week originates from this thing:

I mean, it says in the book of Genesis that God made the earth in six days and rested on the seventh.

Hence, a seven-day week.

However, it turns out this biblical story is not where the seven-day week originally comes from. 

The bible is actually just giving a reason for something that already existed.

To find where the seven-day week actually began, we gotta go back to one of the oldest civilizations in history…

See, the Babylonians had a thing for the number 7. 

So much so, the Babylonian king of Lagash built this sick seven layered tower in celebration of a super special seven-day festival. 

But where did this love for the number 7 come from?

We aren’t 100% sure why the Babylonians loved the number seven, but there are 2 popular theories accepted among historians.

First, the Babylonians were passionate astronomers.

Even though they had no telescopes, they loved to map the night skies and were the first to identify many constellations we know today.

Like, for example, the Big Dipper and the Pleiades:

Which, in turn, they called “the Great Wain” and simply “the stars”.

Both of which consist of 7 stars. 

The Babylonians seem to have taken this coincidence and believed it showed that 7 had some fancy meaning.

The other main reason why they love the number 7 is the fact that each phase of the moon happens roughly every 7 days.

In reality, it's probably a combination of a bunch of reasons.

But the moon one was probably the main one. 

Anyway, that leads us onto the next question…

Where did the names of the weekdays come from (in English)?

Well, this seven-day week idea passed from civilization to civilization over time.

So, the Romans took this seven-day week idea and then copied the Greeks by naming the days after their planets, which were named after their gods. 

As we know, the Romans then conquered basically all of Europe, so these weekdays spread far and wide.

Even so far as the Anglo-Saxons in northern Europe (who were the first English speakers).

And these Anglo-Saxon dudes changed the Roman weekday names, substituting the Roman gods for their own gods.

Here’s what they did:

Thanks Anglo-Saxons!

Stay Cute,
Henry & Dylan 🌈

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