# About seven-day week **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 1, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-seven-day-week/608048 "2012-01-01T16:22:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![guesswhoiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e274bd/32.png) [@guesswhoiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guesswhoiam)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-seven-day-week/608048/1 "2012-01-01T16:22:35Z")
Hi guys, I am a bit curious about the seven-day week. Who first invented it and who decided which day was Sunday etc? Is there any record of it? Has there been any adjustment in history (like the day-of-year adjustment when we shifted from Julian to Gregorian Calendar) I guess it has some religious link, so how did people make sure that the sabbath people use today is actually the day of rest ordered by God? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-seven-day-week/608048/2 "2012-01-01T18:02:33Z")
No one knows for sure, but wikipedia has a pretty good history. Wikipedia has a pretty good article on the history of the seven day week. Keep in mind that there are different calendars out there, and the Hebrew Calendar is not the same as the Gregorian one used in the West. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-seven-day-week/608048/3 "2012-01-01T22:09:49Z")
[The Master speaks.](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/444/why-are-there-seven-days-in-a-week) ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-seven-day-week/608048/4 "2012-01-01T23:27:18Z")
The seventh day of the (Christian) week is Sunday, also the biblical seventh day of Creation. Since it was on the seventh day God rested after creating the heavens and the earth, it became the Sabbath-- the Lord’s Day. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-seven-day-week/608048/5 "2012-01-01T23:30:20Z")
No the seventh day of the Christian week is Saturday, Sunday is celebrated as the day it is said that Jesus rose from the dead. Though the seventh day of the week is now Sunday in Samoa at least sort of because they skipped last Friday. I’m actually surprised there wasn’t more religious outrage at this. Though i guess few countries have as strong zealots as we do here in the U.S. > **[Samoa skips a day as it crosses international date line](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/samoa/8984423/Samoa-skips-a-day-as-it-crosses-international-date-line.html)** > > Samoa has skipped today, December 30, and gone straight to Saturday after shifting the international date line. ---
**Author:** ![PigArcher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@PigArcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PigArcher)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-seven-day-week/608048/6 "2012-01-01T23:32:30Z")
> [@Theophane](#): > > The seventh day of the (Christian) week is Sunday, also the biblical seventh day of Creation. Since it was on the seventh day God rested after creating the heavens and the earth, it became the Sabbath-- the Lord’s Day. The 7 day week was around before christianity. ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-seven-day-week/608048/7 "2012-01-01T23:39:09Z")
> [@kenetic](#): > > The 7 day week was around before christianity. I’m not entirely clear on why the Sabbath shifted From Saturday to Sunday as Judaism gave way to Christianity. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-seven-day-week/608048/8 "2012-01-01T23:40:34Z")
> [@Theophane](#): > > The seventh day of the (Christian) week is Sunday, also the biblical seventh day of Creation. Since it was on the seventh day God rested after creating the heavens and the earth, it became the Sabbath-- the Lord’s Day. The seventh day of the Christian week is Saturday, the Old Testament Sabbath Day. Sunday (traditionally counted as the first day of the Judeo-Christian week) is the “Lord’s Day”. See for example [Chapter XXI of the Westminster Confession of Faith](http://www.reformed.org/documents/wcf_with_proofs/index.html?body=/documents/wcf_with_proofs/ch_XXI.html) (Protestant), or Question 356 of the [Baltimore Catechism](http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/14552/pg14552.html) (Catholic). ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-seven-day-week/608048/9 "2012-01-02T00:28:35Z")
> [@Theophane](#): > > I’m not entirely clear on why the Sabbath shifted From Saturday to Sunday as Judaism gave way to Christianity. Judaism didn’t give way to Christianity. It’s still alive and kicking. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-seven-day-week/608048/10 "2012-01-02T00:31:01Z")
> [@Theophane](#): > > I’m not entirely clear on why the Sabbath shifted From Saturday to Sunday as Judaism gave way to Christianity. _“Gave way”?_ ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-seven-day-week/608048/11 "2012-01-02T00:47:10Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > _“Gave way”?_ I wonder if he’s thinking that most Jews became Christians, when in fact most didn’t. Gentiles became Christians in large numbers, but Jews mostly stayed Jews (and I’m talking here about the early days of Christianity, not those who were forced to convert in the Middle Ages). ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-seven-day-week/608048/12 "2012-01-02T00:48:40Z")
> [@guesswhoiam](#): > > Has there been any adjustment in history (like the day-of-year adjustment when we shifted from Julian to Gregorian Calendar) I’m not sure if it’s quite what you are looking for, but there’s a thread [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=636561) about [Samoa skipping Friday this week](http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/12/29/samoa-will-skip-friday-this-week/). ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-seven-day-week/608048/13 "2012-01-02T03:06:16Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Judaism didn’t give way to Christianity. It’s still alive and kicking. Poor choice of words on my part. ---
**Author:** ![guesswhoiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e274bd/32.png) [@guesswhoiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guesswhoiam)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-seven-day-week/608048/14 "2012-01-02T06:00:14Z")
Hi guys, thanks for the interesting answers, but maybe I wasn’t very clear about what I was looking for. For example, today is monday, because yesterday was sunday, because the day before was saturday, etc. How did the sequence begin? And how can the religious people be sure (or how can they convince themselves) that two days ago were really 7\*n days after the first day of rest? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-seven-day-week/608048/15 "2012-01-02T06:05:53Z")
> [@OldGuy](#): > > Though the seventh day of the week is now Sunday in Samoa at least sort of because they skipped last Friday. I’m actually surprised there wasn’t more religious outrage at this. How much religious outrage was there when Samoa repeated a day? ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-seven-day-week/608048/16 "2012-01-02T08:03:09Z")
> [@guesswhoiam](#): > > Hi guys, thanks for the interesting answers, but maybe I wasn’t very clear about what I was looking for. > For example, today is monday, because yesterday was sunday, because the day before was saturday, etc. How did the sequence begin? And how can the religious people be sure (or how can they convince themselves) that two days ago were really 7\*n days after the first day of rest? Why is that such an outrageous notion? ---
**Author:** ![dorsk188](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f05b48/32.png) [@dorsk188](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorsk188)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-seven-day-week/608048/17 "2012-01-02T08:15:34Z")
Random note: Japan (and I assume China) uses a seven day week that seems to have a common pedigree with the western week. In the west we have Sun, Moon, Tyr/Mars, Wotan, Thor, Frey, Saturn is a mix-mash of different cultures’ gods and celestial bodies (admittedly there’s a lot of overlap there). The Japanese week also starts with Sun and Moon (then goes on to various classical elements). That they share these days and their place at the beginning of the week speaks to something very culturally stable going on here, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Theophane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@Theophane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theophane)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-seven-day-week/608048/18 "2012-01-02T08:16:38Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > How much religious outrage was there when Samoa repeated a day? I was livid. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-seven-day-week/608048/19 "2012-01-02T08:18:15Z")
A real theophany, huh? ---
**Author:** ![dorsk188](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f05b48/32.png) [@dorsk188](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorsk188)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2012, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-seven-day-week/608048/20 "2012-01-02T08:23:17Z")
> [@guesswhoiam](#): > > How did the sequence begin? And how can the religious people be sure (or how can they convince themselves) that two days ago were really 7\*n days after the first day of rest? It’s important to remember that every religious person alive has been born and raised in an environment where none of this was controversial or novel. They don’t have to convince themselves because they’ve never been confronted with the issue. As for the “first guy to call a monday ‘a monday’”, it’s a good question. It probably goes back to a decree by a leader based on the court astrologer’s reading of the stars. I’d be shocked if the 7 day week chain was unbroken between its origin and now through the various dark ages. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-seven-day-week/608048.md?page=2)