# What's the first day of the week? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 25, 2010, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-day-of-the-week/551476 "2010-08-25T23:56:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-day-of-the-week/551476/21 "2010-08-26T05:59:39Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I’m with the Biblical people. The sabbath is Saturday, right? And, in the Bible, it is listed as the seventh day. Therefore Sunday is the first day. Which verse specifies Saturday? ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-day-of-the-week/551476/22 "2010-08-26T05:59:54Z")
It’s totally Sunday. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-day-of-the-week/551476/23 "2010-08-26T06:20:07Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > > [@BigT](#): > > > > I’m with the Biblical people. The sabbath is Saturday, right? And, in the Bible, it is listed as the seventh day. Therefore Sunday is the first day. > > Which verse specifies Saturday? Genesis, Chapter 1. The seven-day week is a Jewish invention, and Jews have been counting the days of the week on an uninterrupted basis since the 6th Century BC. When the Romans adopted the 7-day week they gave the name Saturday to the same day the Jews referred to as Shabbat (Sabbath). ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-day-of-the-week/551476/24 "2010-08-26T06:26:50Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > > [@BigT](#): > > > > I’m with the Biblical people. The sabbath is Saturday, right? And, in the Bible, it is listed as the seventh day. Therefore Sunday is the first day. > > Which verse specifies Saturday? There are loads of verses that refer to the Sabbath. [Wikipedia details here.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_Sabbath) And the Sabbath is Saturday. The Hebrew word for Saturday is _Shabbat_, or sabbath. Sunday - Yom Rishon (First Day) Monday - Yom Sheini (Second Day) Tuesday - Yom Shlishi (Third Day) and so on til… Saturday - Shabbat ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-day-of-the-week/551476/25 "2010-08-26T08:28:29Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > > [@spark240](#): > > > > Which verse specifies Saturday? > > Genesis, Chapter 1. > > The seven-day week is a Jewish invention, and Jews have been counting the days of the week on an uninterrupted basis since the 6th Century BC. When the Romans adopted the 7-day week they gave the name Saturday to the same day the Jews referred to as Shabbat (Sabbath). Really, chapter 1? :dubious: Genesis 2:2-3; Exodus 16:23-30, 20:11, 23:12, 31:13-17, and 35:2-3; Leviticus 23:3; etc., refer to a “seventh day,” a day following six work days, sanctified and observed as such. I don’t see a specification for a _particular_ day. Yes, I understand that the Jewish Sabbath is traditionally Saturday, or rather that Saturday is the day in the traditional Jewish count that they called Shabbat _as their designated Sabbath_. But that’s just a tradition, _one possible_ proper observance. Because of the sundown-to-stars demarcation, it’s not even the same time frame for members of the same tradition in different places. Beyond that, I understand in the Mishnah Rav Huna says that if a man is wandering in the wilderness and does not know which day it is in the common or traditional count, he should simply count off six days and then observe the next as a Sabbath. (A dissent says he should observe one day as Sabbath, then count off six.) He “recognizes his Sabbath” by the kiddush and havdalah rituals. It is the reverence and _act_ of observance which signifies his obedience to God, not the time frame per se. So why would it matter if some group faithfully observed, and made traditional, another day? It seems to me it shouldn’t be theologically significant if some community kept their Sabbath on Tuesday, as long as they rested, did no servile work, kindled no fire, and so on. If, you know, you believe in that stuff. ---
**Author:** ![VanillaGorilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@VanillaGorilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VanillaGorilla)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-day-of-the-week/551476/26 "2010-08-26T08:41:35Z")
First day on sunday? Obviously the first day of the week is monday, silly americans. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-day-of-the-week/551476/27 "2010-08-26T09:08:55Z")
Very old British poem: Monday’s child is fair of face, Tuesday’s child is full of grace, Wednesday’s child is full of woe, Thursday’s child has far to go, Friday’s child is loving and giving, Saturday’s child works hard for his living, But the child that is born on the Sabbath day Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay. Ergo to us the Sabbath, culturally, is Sunday, the seventh day, the one on which God rested, and Monday is the start of the week - which is how all our calendars are set up. (Outlook and Google Calendar even adapt themselves to this based on geography, though one can override it in Settings.) ---
**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:** [August 26, 2010, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-day-of-the-week/551476/28 "2010-08-26T09:25:57Z")
For me, Saturday. Why? Because that’s what I decided when I was a kid, probably because it’s the first day of the weekend; the day that the routine changes in other words. And since it’s really fairly arbitrary I’ve never bothered to think of it any other way. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-day-of-the-week/551476/29 "2010-08-26T09:26:16Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > > [@Alessan](#): > > > > Genesis, Chapter 1. > > > > The seven-day week is a Jewish invention, and Jews have been counting the days of the week on an uninterrupted basis since the 6th Century BC. When the Romans adopted the 7-day week they gave the name Saturday to the same day the Jews referred to as Shabbat (Sabbath). > > Really, chapter 1? :dubious: > > Genesis 2:2-3; Exodus 16:23-30, 20:11, 23:12, 31:13-17, and 35:2-3; Leviticus 23:3; etc., refer to a “seventh day,” a day following six work days, sanctified and observed as such. I don’t see a specification for a _particular_ day. > > Yes, I understand that the Jewish Sabbath is traditionally Saturday, or rather that Saturday is the day in the traditional Jewish count that they called Shabbat _as their designated Sabbath_. > > But that’s just a tradition, _one possible_ proper observance. Because of the sundown-to-stars demarcation, it’s not even the same time frame for members of the same tradition in different places. > > Beyond that, I understand in the Mishnah Rav Huna says that if a man is wandering in the wilderness and does not know which day it is in the common or traditional count, he should simply count off six days and then observe the next as a Sabbath. (A dissent says he should observe one day as Sabbath, then count off six.) He “recognizes his Sabbath” by the kiddush and havdalah rituals. It is the reverence and _act_ of observance which signifies his obedience to God, not the time frame per se. > > So why would it matter if some group faithfully observed, and made traditional, another day? It seems to me it shouldn’t be theologically significant if some community kept their Sabbath on Tuesday, as long as they rested, did no servile work, kindled no fire, and so on. > > If, you know, you believe in that stuff. Except that the 7-day cycle has continued regularly by the Jews since it was established, and when the Romans adopted it from them, they simply renamed they days, with the day that eventually became “Sunday” set on the Hebrew “First Day”. Say you have a repeating cycle: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 …and at some point, someone establishes the following regarding the same cycle: 1=x 2=f 3=u 4=b 5=s 6=k 7=w …then x will always equal 1. Therefore, Sunday will always be First Day. In other words, it’s not a matter of tradition, its a matter of bookkeeping. ---
**Author:** ![FuzzyOgre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@FuzzyOgre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuzzyOgre)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-day-of-the-week/551476/30 "2010-08-26T11:06:46Z")
Great. Now the Bangles ‘Manic Monday’ is playing through my head. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-day-of-the-week/551476/31 "2010-08-26T11:20:01Z")
When I was a kid, I just automatically assumed Monday was the start of the week because it was the “first” day of school. Imagine my horror when learned Sunday was the traditional first day. It never stuck though. Monday is still the first day for me. And Sunday-first calendars look funny. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-day-of-the-week/551476/32 "2010-08-26T11:54:11Z")
I’m with **Guano Lad** in that visually, the calendar starts with Sunday but practically the week starts with Monday. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-day-of-the-week/551476/33 "2010-08-26T12:42:03Z")
Culturally dependent. For me, having grown up in Spain, Monday; in the liturgical week, Sunday; in Portugal, Sunday. I once asked a coworker (American) whether it was possible to set the company-mandated electronic calendars to start on Monday (one of those programs where everybody else can see your meetings); for some reason she got stuck on “but WHY?” instead of answering the question or saying “I have no idea”. I eventually found the setting by the method of exploring every single menu item. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-day-of-the-week/551476/34 "2010-08-26T13:07:56Z")
Of course it’s sunday, but in my mind, it will forever be Monday. ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-day-of-the-week/551476/35 "2010-08-26T13:21:55Z")
I’m in the UK and am voting Monday. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-day-of-the-week/551476/36 "2010-08-26T13:25:30Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Over here, the weekend is Friday-Saturday. So there isn’t really any debate. > > (Also, the Hebrew term for Sunday is “First Day”, Monday “Second Day” etc.). And contrariwise, in modern Chinese Monday is “First Day”, Tuesday is “Second Day”, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-day-of-the-week/551476/37 "2010-08-26T14:17:37Z")
The _work week_ starts Monday, but the _week_ starts Sunday. The “weekend” includes Saturda and Sunday because they are at the two ends of the week (one being the first day, and one the last). This is also consistent with the calendar, and tradition. And the Bible – Jesus was raised on the day after the sabbath (Saturday) “on the first day of the week” (Sunday). ETA: Also, plenty of people don’t start their work week on Monday. I used to work Thurs - Mon and my “weekend” was Tue-Wed, but that didn’t mean the week started on Thursday. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-day-of-the-week/551476/38 "2010-08-26T14:25:17Z")
Well in Oracle it depends whether you use the **WW** or the **IW** format. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-day-of-the-week/551476/39 "2010-08-26T14:51:06Z")
Monday. I am not religious and so I count the first day of the work week as the first day. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2010, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-day-of-the-week/551476/40 "2010-08-26T14:51:17Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > > [@Alessan](#): > > > > Over here, the weekend is Friday-Saturday. So there isn’t really any debate. > > > > (Also, the Hebrew term for Sunday is “First Day”, Monday “Second Day” etc.). > > And contrariwise, in modern Chinese Monday is “First Day”, Tuesday is “Second Day”, etc. Didn’t the Chinese adopt the 7-day week rather recently? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-day-of-the-week/551476.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-day-of-the-week/551476.md?page=3)