Sunday

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For other uses, see Sunday (disambiguation).

Sunday is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. In Judaeo-Christian tradition it is the first day of the week. Since the second half of the 20th century it has also been counted as seventh day of the week as international standards have been agreed upon for overcoming technical barriers in world wide commerce. In a number of countries both counts run side by side.

Sunday is considered a holiday in most countries of the world and as part of the weekend. Only countries influenced by Islamic culture often have Friday as weekly holiday instead.

The Gregorian calendar repeats every 400 years, and no century starts on a Sunday. The Jewish New Year never falls on a Sunday. Any month beginning on a Sunday will contain a Friday the 13th.

1 The name Sunday
2 Position during a week
3 Sunday and the Sabbath
4 Common occurrences on Sunday
5 Named days
6 Sunday in popular culture
7 Notable People
8 See also
9 External link
10 References

[edit] The name Sunday

The name "Sunday" (Day of the Sun) apparently originated in pre-Christian Egyptian culture. (See T. Slater's article "Sunday" in the 1908 Catholic Encyclopedia.) In Ptolemaic Egyptian astrology, the seven planets, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and the Moon, each had an hour of the day assigned to it, and the planet which was "regent" during the first hour of any day of the week gave its name to that day. The Egyptian form of the seven-day week spread from Egypt to Rome during the first and second century, when the Roman names of the planets were given to each successive day. Germanic-speaking nations apparently adopted the seven-day week from the Romans, so that the Roman dies Solis became Sunday (German, Sonntag). The Christians reinterpreted the heathen name as implying the Sun of Righteousness with reference to his "arising" (Malachi 4:2). It was also called Dies Panis (Day of Bread), because it was an early custom to break bread on that day.^[1]

The first Christian reference to Sunday is found in the First Apology of St. Justin Martyr (circa 150 A.D.). In a well-known passage of the Apology (Chapter 67), Justin describes the Christian custom of gathering for worship on Sunday. "And on the day called Sunday [τῇ τοῦ ῾Ηλίου λεγομένη ἡμέρᾳ], all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits . . .", he writes. Evidently Justin used the term "Sunday" because he was writing to a non-Christian, pagan audience. In Justin's time, Christians usually called Sunday the Lord's Day (because they observed it as a weekly memorial of Jesus Christ's resurrection).^[2]

Sunday has also been called "the Eighth Day" (because of the Christian belief that Christ's resurrection on the day following the seventh-day Sabbath is a portal to timeless eternity that transcends the seven-day weekly cycle).^[3]^[4]

[edit] Position during a week

In the Judaeo-Christian tradition Sunday has been considered as the first day of the week for 2000 years. However, in some countries calendars show Monday as day 1 of the week. There are also countries where both types of calendars can be found.

A number of languages reflect Sunday's status as the first day of the week: the name for Wednesday in German has Mittwoch ("midweek"); Finnish has keskiviikko ("center of the week"); and Icelandic has Miðvikudagur ("mid-week day"); Russian Среда (Sreda) cf. средний (sredniy: "middle, adj.").

In Greek, the names of the days Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (Δευτέρα, Τρίτη, Τετάρτη, και Πέμπτη) mean Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth. This suggests that Sunday was once counted as Πρώτη, that is, First. The current Greek name for Sunday, Κυριακή, means Lord's Day. A similar system of naming days of the week occurs in Portuguese. Monday is "Segunda-feira" which means second day also showing Sunday ("domingo") being counted as day 1.

In Hebrew, the names of the days literally mean their order (ראשון, שני, שלישי, רביעי, חמישי, שישי) with Sabbath (שבת) as the 7th day. The beginning of the week is in Sunday (ראשון).

The Arabic language also counts Sunday as first day of the week (أحد - "ahad = one") and keeps on counting Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday as "two - three - four". This count has been passed on to a number of languages in cultures influenced by Islam like in Farsi, Tajik, Tartar, Malay, Indonesian. While Islamic cultures by the way of the Arab language took over the original Jewish concept of the week starting after Sabbath on Sunday as the first day modern life rhythm has even here changed the perception to the count of the working week. The entry in the Arab wikipedia says " 'Ahad' is the second day of the week" as in many Arab countries weekend is on Thursday/Friday thus making Saturday (in Arabic: سبت - sabat) the first day of the working week.

[edit] Sunday and the Sabbath

Among Christians (with the exception of seventh-day Sabbatarians, such as the denominations listed above) Sunday is considered holy and often a day of rest and church-attendance.

The first Christians were Jews and maintained the observance of the Jewish Sabbath rest on Saturday, but by the first half of the second century most Christians no longer observed the Sabbath, instead gathering for worship on Sunday (although for some time the Sabbath continued to be held in a special regard even among Christians who observed Sunday). Consequently, Christians would avoid secular activities to allow time for worship.

However, it is not until the fourth century that ecclesiastical and civil legislation was enacted forbidding work in a manner similar to the observance of the Jewish Sabbath. Constantine I decreed (March 7, 321) dies Solis as the Roman day of rest [CJ3.12.2]:

On the venerable day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country however persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits because it often happens that another day is not suitable for grain-sowing or vine planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost.

Throughout history there have been Christians, especially Protestants, who believe Sunday must be observed with just the sort of rigorous abstinence from work associated with the Jewish Sabbath (exemplified by Eric Liddell in the film Chariots of Fire) , but for most Christians the custom and obligation of Sunday rest has not been as strict.

In Orthodox Christian families and communities, some activities are not done, e.g. working, doing something that requires somebody else to work such as buying goods or services (including the use of public transport), driving a car, gardening, washing a car, etc. Exceptions which are allowed are making use of religious services, and, usually, using electricity, and urgent medical matters. In Roman Catholicism, those who work in the medical field, in law enforcement, or soldiers in a war zone are dispensed from the usual obligation to avoid work on Sunday.

The majority of Christians have continued to observe Sunday ever since, although throughout history one sometimes finds Christian groups that continued or revived the observance of the Saturday Sabbath. More recently in history, Christians in the Seventh-day Adventist, Seventh Day Baptist, and Church of God (Seventh-Day) denominations (along with many related or similar sects), as well as many Messianic Jews, have revived the practice of gathering for worship, and abstaining from work, on the Saturday Sabbath.

Many languages lack separate words for "Saturday" and "Sabbath". Eastern Orthodox churches, as well as many Roman Catholics, distinguish between the Sabbath (Saturday) and Sunday, which some Christians traditionally call the Lord's Day. However, many Protestants and Roman Catholics refer to Sunday as the Sabbath, though this is by no means a universal practice among Protestants and Catholics. Quakers traditionally refer to Sunday as "First Day" eschewing the pagan origin of the name.

Sunday began, in 1064, at nones (8 P.M.) on Saturday and lasted until Monday. In 994 parishioners were required to attend even-song and nocturns on Saturday. In 696 the Lord's day was reckoned from evening to evening, but in 958 from Saturday nones till light on Monday morning. Islip's Constitutions and The Councils of Aix (789), Frejus (791), and Frankfort (794) assign as the cause that vespers are the first office of the morrow.^[1]

[edit] Common occurrences on Sunday

In the United States, professional football is usually played on Sunday, although Saturday and Monday (via Monday Night Football) also see some professional games. College football usually occurs on Saturday, and high-school football tends to take place on Friday night or Saturday afternoon. It is not uncommon for church attendance to shift on days when a late morning or early afternoon game is anticipated by a local community.

Also in the United States, many federal government buildings are closed on Sunday. Privately owned businesses also tend to close or are open for shorter periods of the day than on other days of the week.

Many American and British television networks and stations also broadcast their political interview shows on Sunday mornings.

Many American and British daily newspapers publish a larger edition on Sundays, which often includes color comic strips, a magazine, and a coupon section.

In Ireland, Gaelic football and hurling matches are predominantly played on Sundays, with the second and fourth Sundays in September always playing host to the All-Ireland hurling and football championship finals, respectively.

Radio stations often play specialty radio shows such as Casey Kasem's countdown or other nationally syndicated radio shows that may differ from their regular weekly music patterns on Sunday morning and/or Sunday evening.

[edit] Named days

Easter Sunday, the day in the Bible on which Christ rose from the dead, celebrated across the Christian world and regarded as the most important day in the Christian calendar.
Low Sunday, first Sunday after Easter, is also known as the Octave of Easter, White Sunday, Quasimodo Sunday, Alb Sunday, Antipascha Sunday, and Divine Mercy Sunday.
Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter.
Passion Sunday, formerly denoting the fifth Sunday of Lent, since 1970 the term applies to the following Sunday also known as Palm Sunday.
Septuagesima Sunday, before 1970, was the third from the last Sunday before Lent.
Stir-up Sunday, is the last Sunday before Advent.
Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost.
Laetare Sunday
Gaudete Sunday
Whitsunday
Super Bowl Sunday
Bloody Sunday
Selection Sunday

[edit] Sunday in popular culture

"Sunday" is also the name of the first song on David Bowie's 2002 album Heathen
Character in G.K. Chesterton's book "The Man Who Was Thursday"
"Sunday" is the name of a song on Bloc Party's 2007 album, A Weekend in the City.
"The Sunday Cunts" is a Western Australian based Alternative rock band.