Astronomy today
People often think that astronomy has no influence on our life. But even the days of the week are linked to the universe.
Sunday: The day of the sun; the most important planet in our solar system. Without the sun, life would not exist. So many ancient cultures (in Greece, Rome and Egypt) named the first day of the week after the sun.
Monday: The day of the moon. The moon was an important religious symbol for a lot of cultures – therefore Monday.
Tuesday: The French translation for Tuesday is “mardi“. This name is derived from Mars, the fourth planet of the solar system. It is the name of the Roman god of war.
Wednesday: This day is called “mercredi“ in French. This is the first planet of the solar system. Mercury is the messenger of the gods in Roman mythology.
Thursday: In French, you say “jeudi“. This name refers to the biggest planet of our solar system. Jupiter is the highest god in Roman mythology.
Friday: The French say “vendredi“, and we talk about the goddess of love: Venus - the second planet of our solar system. It is the brightest star in the sky.
Saturday: Now, the English language is of help: Saturn - the Roman god of agriculture and the second largest planet of our solar system.
The first two days of the week were named after the most important and brightest objects of the solar system.
The business days were named after Roman gods. But in many languages, like German and English, we mostly have the Celtic names for those gods.
The other planets Uranus and Neptune, were unknown to the Romans, therefore we cannot find them in the days of the week. After those planets had been discovered, astronomers gave them the names of roman gods.