# seven day weeks and names of days **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 25, 2001, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-day-weeks-and-names-of-days/70034 "2001-06-25T03:09:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2001, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-day-weeks-and-names-of-days/70034/21 "2001-06-25T17:11:53Z")
[http://www.tondering.dk/claus/calendar.html](http://www.tondering.dk/claus/calendar.html) ---
**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2001, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-day-weeks-and-names-of-days/70034/22 "2001-06-26T02:27:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sailor \* > \*\* [http://www.tondering.dk/claus/calendar.html](http://www.tondering.dk/claus/calendar.html) \*\* Interestingly, that site (which I think I’ve looked at before) says that there is _no_ good answer at all to the reason behind the seven days in a week, and it says that the planets-assigned-to-hours explanation of their names may be just a coincidence! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2001, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-day-weeks-and-names-of-days/70034/23 "2001-06-26T02:40:01Z")
> [@](#): > > ## quote: > > ## Originally posted by CalMeacham I agree about the 28 day part. There aren’t too many factors that go into 28. Seven is one of them, and that works out very conveniently, because it lets you have four very identifiable quarters – Full Moon, Half Moon (first Quarter), New Moon, other Half Moon (last Quarter). Dividing further isn’t so easy to do in any case, and when you consider that the time perios would include fractional days it’s clear why they didn’t do it. > > As someone else has pointed out, the time from full moon to full moon is more like 30 days. > > * * * …and as somebody else _else_ (Jommo Mojo) has pointed out, the Moon seen against the stars is more like 28 days. ---
**Author:** ![Phobos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Phobos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phobos)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2001, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-day-weeks-and-names-of-days/70034/24 "2001-06-26T13:28:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Annie-Xmas \* > The 28 days is related to the menstrual cycle. The first calenders were probably menstrual calendars. Curious…any evidence to back this up? It seems more likely that the first calendars were developed to support agriculture and/or religion (e.g., Stonehenge, [Newgrange](http://members.theglobe.com/newgrange2/), etc.). The night sky offers a reliable way to track time from year to year…thus, the lunar cycle probably developing into the calendrical months (plus the ancient Babylonian(?) belief that 12 was another magical number). Menstrual cycles are approximately the same time period (no pun intended) as the lunar cycle (Cecil talks about this) but I have a hard time seeing a calendar built on that to support a society given that the women would not be 'n-sync. > [@](#): > > When men took things over, they switched it to the moon’s cycle \*\* And when was this? ---
**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2001, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-day-weeks-and-names-of-days/70034/25 "2001-06-27T16:26:42Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by CalMeacham \* \*\* > [@](#): > > …and as somebody else _else_ (Jommo Mojo) has pointed out, the Moon seen against the stars is more like 28 days. \*\* But I thought you were talking about the moon phases there, which are not sidereal. [QUOTE] \*Originally posted by Phobos \* \*\* > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Annie-Xmas \* > > > [@](#): > > > > When men took things over, they switched it to the moon’s cycle \*\* > > And when was this? \*\* Probably sometime _before_ they changed the name to the “menstrual” cycle, since that is named after the moon apparently. ---
**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2001, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-day-weeks-and-names-of-days/70034/26 "2001-06-27T16:33:10Z")
I intended to preview, but I didn’t. I apologize. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seven-day-weeks-and-names-of-days/70034.md?page=1)