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While the Romans had many faults, they also contributed many amazing things to society; from their ideas about government to their striking architecture, the Classical civilizations have given us a lot. However, modern English has moved away from the (much more effective) Roman method of naming the day of the week. Here's my list of reasons why we should go back to our Roman roots when the days of the week are concerned:
Bring Back Roman Days, Now!
Treasurer Alicia Lou
Spelling. Wednesday is every elementary (and probably at least middle) school student’s worst nightmare, with its weird spelling. Originating from Woden’s Day, Woden being the obscure Norse equivalent of Mercury, Wednesday is simply a horror of letters. Why not just call the day Mercury’s Day and move on?
Abbreviations. Tuesday and Thursday both start with T, making for confusing abbreviations, especially among those of us too lazy for that extra “h” in Thursday’s abbreviation. So, why not replace Tuesday, originating from Tiw’s Day (Tiw being another obscure Norse god who is the rough equivalent of Mars) into Mars’ Day and change Thursday, once Thor’s Day into Jupiter’s Day? While Mars’ Day and Mercury’s Day both start with M, there is no need to abbreviate now that the days are all named after gods and if a reversion back to Greek names is desired, then there would be no letter overlap between the two. After all, Greco-Roman mythology is combined for a reason, so flow between the names is fine. Maybe some weeks, Mercury’s Day would rather be known as Hermes’ Day.
Out of style. If we think about it, most Nordic mythology originates from one gloriously messed up and mostly lost text: the Poetic Edda. However, at our disposal is also the beautifully wide and varied mythology of the Romans, so full of content that we have many contradicting myths. So to keep up with the times, why not get rid of the obscure Nordic names and return them to their original state of Romans names? Make Friday, once Freya’s Day, Venus’ Day, and return Saturday to Saturn’s Day.
They were originally named after the Roman pantheon. Since Norse mythology is falling out of favor, reverting back to the original names shouldn’t be such a problem, right? It’s just like the Renaissance, where the Classics and returning to them was such a revered concept.
For clarity. Moon Day (now shortened to Monday) and Sunday were originally meant for our favorite twin gods Apollo and Diana, but the moon and sun are symbols of many other gods and goddesses. Thus, to make it obvious that these days are for them, revert them back to Apollo’s Day and Diana’s Day.