Sunday

Tomorrow, 22nd December, is Sunday

Most countries of the world nowadays consider Sunday to be the last day of the week in accordance with ISO 8601 International Standard. This means that this day ends the weekend. In some Eastern countries, however, Sunday is the first day of the work week.

Etymology

An English name of Sunday can easily be associated with the Sun. This is because of the Hellenistic astrology where the seven planets were assigned to seven days of the week. Our ancestors have assigned the Sun to the day that we now know as Sunday, which is reflected in many languages used today: in German - “Sonntag”; in Danish - “søndag"; in Swedish - “söndag"; and in Norwegian - “sundag” or “søndag." Romance languages that used to adopt the same etymology connected with planets, in the case of Sunday use a bit different name. In Spanish (“domingo”), French (“dimanche”), or Italian (“domenica”) the name of Sunday means “the Lord’s Day.” This name is still associated with the Sun, for the Sun is the symbol of the Lord as the light of the world, the Sun of justice. Slavic languages, however, never use names connected with planets or gods. Although most names of the days are connected with the day’s position throughout the week, in this case the meaning is different. Saturday’s name in Slavic languages was connected with Sabbath, but Sunday is associated with the day that is now by most Christians treated similarly to Sabbath – the day of rest and abstaining from work. For this reason, the Slavic name for Sunday usually means “not to work; not to act.” In Polish it is “niedziela”; in Ukrainian - “недiля, nedilya”; in Czech - “neděle"; in Slovak - “nedeľa"; and in Croatian - “nedjelja.” Russian language is the exception in this case, for it terms Sunday as “the Resurrection” - “воскресенье, voskresen'ye.”

Next days

Interesting facts

Sunday in Modern Culture

Sunday is in most countries of the world a day off from work or school, most businesses are closed. In many countries even most of the shops are closed on Sunday. This means that Sunday is the perfect time to meet family or friends, spend time in the open air or go for a short trip. It is also a special day for Christians. It is common for believers to attend church services on that day, and some Sundays, such as Easter Sunday or Palm Sunday, are exceptional. Many countries, such as France, Germany, or Poland usually hold their elections on a Sunday. Because of the fact that most people have more free time on Sunday than on any other day of the week, many sports events also take place on that day. In the United States the biggest sports event of the year is called Super Bowl Sunday. It is held annually on the first Sunday of February, when millions of people gather together in front of TVs to watch the most important football championship game. Many other league games are played mainly on Sundays, including NBA, NHL, MLB or Premier League. Formula One races can also be observed on Sundays.

Historical Sundays

Many extremely important events in the history of mankind took place on a Sunday. For Christians, one of the most essential Sundays was the Sunday described in the four Gospels – the day when Jesus Christ had triumphantly entered Jerusalem. This event is now annually commemorated as Palm Sunday. Another important event, actually the most important in the history of the world from the Christians’ point of view, was Jesus Christ’s resurrection. This is why the Russian have named Sunday with the same word. There were, however, also some bad Sundays in the history. One of them was in April 1912, when Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean taking nearly 1,500 people to the bottom. In January 1982 there was a day that is now known as Cold Sunday – the day when an incredibly cold air swept down from Canada and the temperatures dropped rapidly far below existing all-time record laws. One more historical (and definitely more positive) Sunday was December 3, 1967, when the first successful heart transplantation took place.

Did you know?

Sunday is associated with rest and calm, and in the United States it is in some places taken very seriously. In Salt Lake City, for example, you may be fined up to $1,000 for whistling or making other unreasonably loud or harsh sounds on Sunday.