Wednesday
- The article refers to the weekday. See also Wednesday (disambiguation)
Wednesday is considered either the third or the fourth day of the Week, between Tuesday and Thursday. The name comes from the Old English Wodnesdæg meaning the day of the Germanic god Woden who was a god of the Anglo-Saxons in England until about the 7th C. AD.
The astrological sign of the planet Mercury represents Wednesday -- Dies Mercurii to the Romans, with similar names in Latin-derived languages. In English, this became "Woden's Day", since the Roman god Mercury was identified with Woden in Northern Europe.
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.
According to the Bible, Wednesday is the day when the Sun and Moon were created.
Wednesday is also in the middle of the common 5-day working week from Monday through Friday. However, see also Thursday and ISO 8601.
In the popular rhyme, "Wednesday's Child is full of woe".
In Spanish, miércoles is used to mean Wednesday, but also as a semi-rude Euphemism for never ever.
An English language Idiom for Wednesday is "hump day", a reference to making it through the middle of the work week as getting "over the hump". It is also unofficially (and with some irony) referred to as "the peak of the week".
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. Faithful Orthodox Christians observe a vegetarian / fish-only fast on Wednesdays (and Fridays) in some countries.
The film Angel Heart includes a scene where Harry Angel refers to Wednesday as "Anything Can Happen Day," in reference to the original Mickey Mouse Club television program.
Named days
- Ash Wednesday, the first day of 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. This story is the pericope from the Gospel read at Mass in the Roman Catholic tradition on this day.
External link
- Where Wednesday Got Its Name