It’s been nearly two months since I last posted, but not because there was a drought; rather I had been kinda lazy to write. At around our Chinese New Year (late January), I did mull over and wrote a couple of Internet Marketing ditties (again!), parodying those popular New Year songs like “Gong Xi, Gong Xi” and “Cai Shen Dao”.

Those parodies were recorded on our Facebook Fan Page (yes, WittyCulus is on Facebook — join us at http://facebook.com/WittyCulus and Like us ;-)) and I had the honour of Rebecca doing some guest gigs on the songs. We had a blast, a great way to welcome the new year. Perhaps I’ll find time to “backlog” (I’m giving new meaning to that word) them here…

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It’s about 2:30am now on a wet early Monday morning and the mind’s still active. As good a time as any to do a quick post, on a topic that I found quite amusing: how the days of the week got their names. My theory is that they are based on our universe and the elements in nature, with some WittyCulus twist of course.

You can find various explanations for “Names of the days of the week” on wikipedia.org, but all of them are so “chim” (Singlish for “deep”, meaning difficult to comprehend) and oh-so boring. My take on this is definitely more fun, so let’s get to it.

I will discuss each day of the week based on how close its name matches my hypothesis that it is either influenced by astronomy or the Chinese five elements (more appropriately WuXing) of earth, fire, metal, water and wood. We start with the closest match.

Sunday
Sunday is straightforward and obvious — its name came from the Sun, perhaps the most revered celestial body out there. No catch here, which means no application of wit for fun either. Luckily, this is the only boring one…

Monday
Fascination with the universe closer back home would mean looking up at the moon. Monday was probably influenced by this satellite we see in the sky, waxing and waning, going from new to full and back every month. Monday sounds so much like “Moonday”, don’t you think?

Saturday
For all we know, Saturday could have been called “Starday” in earlier times. Yup, those twinkles in heaven could not have been left out, considering they were, and still are, another (sparkling?) source of awe.

Friday
Friday looks like it could have been mis-spelt — it could have well been “Fireday”, named after one of the five elements. Fire has been a very important influence in how humankind has evolved, so naming a day after it is quite apt.

Thursday
Hold on to your seats now, as things might get a little wacky from here. Hey, why don’t we turn this into a little quiz for those yet-to-be-named days? So, how do you think Thursday got its name? Clues: think elements, think homonyms. Don’t get it?
 
What about the element of water? How does your mouth feel when you’re dying for a drink of water? Thirsty, right! Thus, “Thirstday” could have been what Thursday stood for. Now you get it.

Wednesday
We turn things one notch up. Wednesday is about syllables linked to an element. Think hard — is it coming to you?

Well, how about the element of wood, as in “Woodenday”. Cranky, right? Didn’t I say we’d have fun? LOL, really.

Tuesday
And now for the finale: this has gotta be ROTFL once you read it. Tuesday is difficult, a real challenge of your linguistic ability and warped thinking. Actually, it might be quite easy if you know the Chinese language… Give up?
 
Tada! Tuesday gets its name from the element earth. Why? Because earth in Chinese is “tu” (pinyin). Therefore earth + day = tu’s day. Get it?

I hope you enjoyed this WittyCulus exploration into how the days of the week got their names. Now, go test your friends and tease them crazy. Have fun!

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The mind wanders… and this idea popped up: can we name the days of the week after food? Let’s see… Sundae, Satayday, Friesday… Oh, this is getting interesting! Can you “solve” for the rest?

2 Responses to “Days of the Week — What’s In a Name?”

Comments (2)
  1. Hey,

    Interesting post you have here 🙂
    I’ve got your days solved….. Bunday, Toastday, Wedgesday, Tartsday, Friesday, Satayday, Sundae!

    And, don’t forget to take some healthy juices Eggveryday 🙂

    Cheers,
    Chewsday
    http://www.juicingforweightlosstips.com

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