User:Annatto/Sandbox/Wednesday

The god Woden, after whom 'Wednesday' was named. "Odin, the Wanderer" 1886 by Georg von Rosen (1843-1923)

Wednesday is the third day of the week in most western countries and the fourth day of the week in the Christian calendar, between Tuesday and Thursday.

Origins of the name

See Days of the week for more on naming conventions.

The name comes from the Middle English Wednes dei, which is from Old English Wēdnes dæg, meaning the day of the Germanic god Woden (Wodan) who was a god of the Anglo-Saxons in England until about the 7th century. Wēdnes dæg is like the Old Norse Oðinsdagr ("Odin's day"), which is an early translation of the Latin dies Mercurii ("Mercury's day"), though Mercury (the messenger of the gods) and Woden (the king of the Germanic gods) are not equivalent in most regards.

In Romance languages it is derived from the name of the Roman god Mercury: mercredi (French), mercoledì (Italian), miércoles (Spanish), miercuri (Romanian), dimecres (Catalan), dies Mercurii (Latin). Similarly, in most of the Indian Languages the name for Wednesday, Buddhavar is derived from the Vedic name for Mercury, Buddha. Buddha is also used in Urdu as well. Russian does not use pagan names but instead uses sredá, meaning "middle," similar to the German Mittwoch. Likewise, Portuguese uses the word quarta-feira, meaning "fourth day."

Position in the week

When Sunday is taken as the first of the week, the day in the middle of each week is Wednesday. Arising from this, the German name for Wednesday has been Mittwoch (literally: "mid-week") since the 10th Century, having displaced the former name: Wodanstag ("Wodan's day"). The Finnish name is similar: Keskiviikko (literally: "middle of the week") as is the Icelandic name: Miðvikudagur ("Mid-week day").

Wednesday is also in the middle of the common Western 5-day workweek that starts on Monday and finishes on Friday.

Religious observances

Quakers traditionally refer to Wednesday as "Fourth Day", eschewing the pagan origin of the name "Wednesday". Most eastern languages also use a name with this meaning, for much the same reason.

The Eastern Orthodox Church observe Wednesday (as well as Friday) as a fast day throughout the year (with the exception of several fast-free periods during the year). Fasting on Wednesday and Fridays entails abstinence from meat or meat products (i.e., four-footed animals), poultry and dairy products. Unless a feast day occurs on a Friday, the Orthodox also abstain from fish, from using oil in their cooking and from alcoholic beverages (there is some debate over whether abstention from oil involves all cooking oil or only olive oil). For the Orthodox, Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year commemorate the Crucifixion of Christ and the Theotokos (Mother of God), especially as she stood by the foot of the cross. There are hymns in the Octoekhos which reflect this liturgically. These include special Theotokia (hymns to the Mother of God) called Stavrotheotokia ("Cross-Theotokia"). The dismissal at the end of services on Wednesday begins with these words: "May Christ our true God, through the power of the precious and life-giving cross...."

According to the Hebrew Bible, Wednesday is the day when the Sun and Moon were created.

Cultural references

An English language idiom for Wednesday is "hump day", a reference to making it through to the middle of the work week as getting "over the hump."

In the folk rhyme, "Wednesday's child is full of woe". In another rhyme reciting the days of the week, Solomon Grundy was 'Married on Wednesday.' In Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, the disagreeable nature of the weather is attributed to it being "Winds-Day" (a play on "Wednesday").

Wednesday is used as a character's first or last name in several narrative works, including Thursday's fictions by Richard James Allen, Neil Gaiman's novel American Gods, and the 60's television show, The Addams Family.

A song titled "Wednesday's Song" is on the 2004 album Shadows Collide with People by John Frusciante, and "Wednesday" is the title of a song on musician Tori Amos' "Scarlet's Walk" album.

According to the Thai solar calendar, the color associated with Wednesday is green.

Astrology

The astrological sign of the planet Mercury represents Wednesday -- Dies Mercurii to the Romans, with similar names in Latin-derived languages, such as the French Mercredi and the Spanish Miércoles. In English, this became "Woden's Day", since the Roman god Mercury was identified with Woden in northern Europe.

Named days

• Ash Wednesday, the first day of Roman Catholic Lent, occurs forty days before Easter, not counting Sundays.
• Spy Wednesday is an old name given to the Wednesday immediately preceding Easter, in allusion to the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot.