Friday
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Friday (pron. IPA: [fɹaɪ.deɪ] or [fɹaɪ.di]) is traditionally considered the sixth day of the week, falling between Thursday and Saturday, as it does in countries that adopt a Sunday-first convention (see Days of the week for more on the different conventions). In countries adopting the Monday-first, and, in work-based conventions, it is the fifth day of those weeks.
The name Friday comes from the Old English frigedæg, meaning the day of Frige the Anglo-Saxon form of Frigga, the Germanic goddess of beauty. In most Germanic languages it is named after Freyja—such as Freitag in Modern German, vrijdag in Dutch, fredag in Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish—but Freyja and Frigga are frequently identified with each other. The word for Friday in most Romance languages is derived from the name of Venus such as vendredi in French, venerdì in Italian, viernes in Spanish, and vineri in Romanian. In Hindi, Friday is Shukravar, named for Shukra, the Sanskrit name of the planet Venus. Russian uses an ordinal number for this day of the week-- piatnítsa, meaning "fifth." Similarly, the Portuguese is sexta-feira.
In Japan, Friday is Kin-Youbi: "Gold Day" or "money day", and in many Asian cultures, paydays are on Fridays.
In most countries with a five-day work week, Friday is the last workday before the weekend and is, therefore, viewed as a cause for celebration or relief. In some offices, employees are allowed to wear less formal attire on Fridays, known as Casual Friday or Dress-Down Friday.
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[edit] Friday in history
After the United States acquired Alaska from Russia in 1867, Friday October 6 was immediately followed by Friday October 18, adjusting to the adoption of the 1582 Gregorian calendar changes by the British colonies in 1752, and the shifting of the International Date Line. Prior to that change, Alaska began Russia's day, with the date line following the partially-defined border between Russian Alaska and British North America, including the colony of British Columbia.
[edit] Friday in religion
The Jewish Sabbath begins at sunset on Friday and lasts until sunset on Saturday.
In Christianity Good Friday is the Friday before Easter. It commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus.
Some Catholics and Prayer Book Anglicans will refrain from eating the meat of warm blooded animals on Fridays, and will often choose fish instead.
Quakers traditionally refer to Friday as "Sixth Day" eschewing the pagan origins of the name. In Slavic countries, it is called "Fifth Day" (Polish piątek, Russian piatnitsa)
In Islam, Friday is the day of public worship in mosques (see Friday prayers). In some Islamic countries, the week begins on Sunday and ends on Saturday, just as the Jewish and Christian week. In most other Islamic countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq, the week begins on Saturday and ends on Friday.
[edit] Parasceve
- Paraskeva and Parasceve redirect here, for the saint, see Paraskevi.
Parasceve (Greek paraskevé) seems to have supplanted the older term, prosábbaton 'pre-sabbath', used in the translation of Judith, viii, 6, and in the title –not to be found in Hebrew– of Psalm 92 (93). It became, among Hellenistic Jews, the name for Friday, and was adopted by Greek ecclesiastical writers after the writing of "The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles". Apparently it was first applied by the Jews to the afternoon of Friday, then to the whole day, its etymology pointing to the "preparations" to be made for the Sabbath, as indicated in the King James Bible, where the Greek word is translated by "Day of Preparation". That the regulations of the Law might be minutely observed, it was made imperative to have on the Parasceve, three meals of the choicest food laid ready before sunset (the Sabbath beginning on Friday night); it was forbidden to undertake in the afternoon of the sixth day any business which might extend to the Sabbath; Augustus relieved the Jews from certain legal duties from the ninth hour (Josephus, "Antiq. Jud.", XVI, vi, 2).
Parasceve seems to have been applied also to the eve of certain festival days of a sabbatic character. Foremost among these was the first day of the unleavened bread, Nisan 15. We learn from the Mishna (Pesach., iv, 1, 5) that the Parasceve of the Pasch, on whatever day of the week it fell, was kept even more religiously than the ordinary Friday, in Judæa work ceasing at noon, and in Galilee the whole day being free. In the schools the only question discussed regarding this particular Parasceve was, when should the rest commence: Shammai said from the very beginning of the day (evening of Nisan 13); Hillel said only from after sunrise (morning of Nisan 14).
The use of the word Parasceve in the Gospels raises the question concerning the actual day of Christ's crucifixion. All the Evangelists state that Jesus died on the day of the Parasceve (Matthew 27:62; Mark15:42; Luke 23:54; John 19:14, 31), and there can be no doubt from Luke, xxiii, 54-56 and John, xix, 31, that this was Friday, but on what day of the month of Nisan did that particular Friday fall? Saint John distinctly points to Nisan 14, while the Synoptics, by implying that the Last Supper was the Paschal meal, convey the impression that Jesus was crucified on Nisan 15. But this is hardly reconcilable with the following facts: when Judas left the table, the disciples imagined he was going to buy the things which were needed for the feast (John 13:29)–a purchase which was impossible if the feast had begun[citation needed]; after the Supper, he and his disciples left the city, as also did the men detailed to arrest him–this, on Nisan 15, would have been contrary to Exodus 12:22; the next morning the Jews had not yet eaten the Passover; moreover, during that day the Council convened; Simon was apparently coming from work (Luke 23:26); Jesus and the two robbers were executed and were taken down from the crosses; Joseph of Arimathea bought fine linen (Mark 15:46), and Nicodemus brought "a mixture of myrrh and aloes about an hundred pound weight" (John 19:39) for the burial; lastly the women prepared spices for the embalming of the Saviour's body (Luke 23:55)–all things which would have been a desecration on Nisan 15. Most commentators, whether they think the Last Supper to have been the Paschal meal or an anticipation thereof, hold that Christ, as Saint John states, was crucified on the Parasceve of the Pasch, Friday, Nisan 14.
[edit] Astrology
In astrology Friday is connected with the planet, Venus. This associates Friday with love, peace, and relaxation, as well as, with emotional intensity and quashed dreams.
[edit] Unlucky Friday
In some cultures, Friday is considered unlucky, especially regarding Friday the 13th. This is particularly so in maritime circles; perhaps the most enduring sailing superstition is that it is unlucky to begin a voyage on a Friday. In one story a Royal Navy ship HMS Friday was laid down on a Friday, launched on a Friday, captained by a Captain Friday, and was never heard of again. As told by comedian Dave Allen on the BBC in the 1970s, however, this superstition is not universal, notably in Scottish Gaelic culture:
- "Though Friday has always been held an unlucky day in many Christian countries, still in the Hebrides it is supposed that it is a lucky day for sowing the seed. Good Friday in particular is a favourite day for potato planting—even strict Roman Catholics make a point of planting a bucketful on that day. Probably the idea is that as the Resurrection followed the Crucifixion, and Burial so too in the case of the seed, and after death will come life." (Reference: Dwelly’s [Scottish] Gaelic Dictionary (1911): Di-haoine)
The use of the Gregorian calendar and its leap year system, results in a small statistical anomaly, that the 13th of any month is slightly more likely to fall on a Friday than any of the other seven days.[1] The figures are 688/4800 which is .1433333..., being just slightly greater than 1 in 7.
[edit] Friday in popular culture
The phrase TGIF is a popular acronym for Thank God (or Goodness) It's Friday, expressing relief at the end of the working week and anticipation of relaxing or partying over the weekend. The phrase has spawned several variations and corruptions, see TGIF.
TGi Friday's is a popular restaurant chain in the U.S the UK and over 50 other countries.
In the nursery rhyme, "Friday's Child is loving and willing".
Man Friday is, "an efficient and devoted male aide or employee, a right-hand man" that is derived from the loyal service provided by a character in the novel Robinson Crusoe. The protagonist Robinson Crusoe rescued a young native man, and called him 'Friday' because he met him on a Friday.[2]
Woman Friday is, "a resourceful female assistant" and the non-pejorative, replacement suggested for use in contemporary English for a term used previously, Girl Friday—now frowned upon because of the unequal parallel of girl to man—which was made popular by the classic 1940 comedy adaptation of The Front Page as His Girl Friday, starring Rosalind Russell as an ace reporter and Cary Grant as her cynical editor and ex-husband.
Friday is a novel by science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein.
Friday is also a movie featuring rapper Ice Cube and has spawned several sequels.
Friday is a Hong Kong based weekly magazine.
Freaky Friday is the name of a 1972 children's novel made into three films.
"Friday on My Mind" was a worldwide 1967 hit by The Easybeats.
Friday I'm In Love is the name of a song by The Cure.
Along with every other day of the week, Lady Friday is the fifth book in the Keys to the Kingdom series.
[edit] Named days
- Good Friday is the Friday before Easter in the Christian calendar. It commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus.
- Black Friday refers to any one of several historical disasters that happened on Fridays (in the 2004 remake of the Manchurian Candidate, a 9/11/01-esque terrorist attack is mentioned and called "Bloody Friday").
- In the USA Black Friday is also the nickname of the day after Thanksgiving, the first official day of the Christmas shopping season when most commercial businesses gain enough profit to come out of overall loss (out of the "red" and into the "black") for the year.
- Casual Friday (also called Dress-down Friday) is a relaxation of the formal dress code employed by some corporations for that one day of the week.
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