Sunday

Sunday is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. In most Western countries, Sunday is a day of rest and a part of the weekend. It is often considered the first day of the week.

For most observant adherents of Christianity, Sunday is generally observed as a day of worship and rest, recognising it as the ''Lord's Day'' and the day of Christ's resurrection; in the United States, Canada, Japan, the Philippines as well as in most of South America, Sunday is the first day of the week. According to the Hebrew calendar and traditional calendars (including Christian calendars) Sunday is the first day of the week; Quaker Christians call Sunday the "first day" in accordance with their testimony of simplicity. The International Organization for Standardization ISO 8601, which is based in Switzerland, calls Sunday the seventh day of the week.

Etymology

The name "Sunday", the day of the Sun, is derived from Hellenistic astrology, where the seven planets, known in English as Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury and the Moon, each had an hour of the day assigned to them, and the planet which was regent during the first hour of any day of the week gave its name to that day. During the 1st and 2nd century, the week of seven days was introduced into Rome from Egypt, and the Roman names of the planets were given to each successive day.

Germanic peoples seem to have adopted the week as a division of time from the Romans, but they changed the Roman names into those of corresponding Teutonic deities. Hence, the ''dies Solis'' became Sunday (German, ''Sonntag'').

The English noun ''Sunday'' derived sometime before 1250 from ''sunedai'', which itself developed from Old English (before 700) ''Sunnandæg'' (literally meaning "sun's day"), which is cognate to other Germanic languages, including Old Frisian ''sunnandei'', Old Saxon ''sunnundag'', Middle Dutch ''sonnendach'' (modern Dutch ''zondag''), Old High German ''sunnun tag'' (modern German ''Sonntag''), and Old Norse ''sunnudagr'' (Danish and Norwegian ''søndag'', Icelandic ''sunnudagur'' and Swedish ''söndag''). The Germanic term is a Germanic interpretation of Latin ''dies solis'' ("day of the sun"), which is a translation of the ancient Greek Ἥλίου ημέρα" ('' Hēlíou hēméra'').Barnhart (1995:778).
The p-Celtic Welsh language also translates the Latin "day of the sun" as ''dydd Sul''.

In most Indian languages, the word for Sunday is ''Ravivāra'' or ''Adityavāra'' or its derived forms — ''vāra'' meaning day, ''Aditya'' and ''Ravi'' both being a style (manner of address) for Surya i.e. the Sun and Suryadeva the chief solar deity and one of the Adityas. Ravivāra is first day cited in Jyotisha, which provides logical reason for giving the name of each week day. In the Thai solar calendar of Thailand, the name ("Waan Arthit") is derived from Aditya, and the associated colour is red.

In Russian the word for Sunday is Воскресенье (Voskreseniye) meaning "Resurrection".

The Modern Greek word for Sunday, el, Κυριακή, label=none, italic=yes, is derived from el, Κύριος, label=none, italic=yes (Kyrios, Lord) also, due to its liturgical significance as the day commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, i.e. The Lord's Day.

In Korean, Sunday is called 일요일 Il-yo-Il, meaning "day of sun". In Japanese, Sunday is 日曜日 Nichiyōbi, which translates to "sun day".

The Arabic word for Sunday is "الأحد" (Al-Ahad), meaning "the first". It is usually combined with the word "يوم" (Youm or Yom) meaning "day".

Position in the week

ISO 8601

The international standard ISO 8601 for representation of dates and times, states that Sunday is the seventh and last day of the week. This method of representing dates and times un ambiguously was first published in 1988.

Culture and languages

In the Judaic, some Christian, as well as in some Islamic tradition, Sunday has been considered the first day of the week. A number of languages express this position either by the name for the day or by the naming of the other days. In Hebrew it is called יום ראשון ''yom rishon'', in Arabic الأحد ''al-ahad'', in Persian and related languages یکشنبه ''yek-shanbe'', all meaning "first".

In Greek, the names of the days Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday ( gr, Δευτέρα, gr, Τρίτη, gr, Τετάρτη, and gr, Πέμπτη) mean “second”, “third”, “fourth”, and “fifth”, respectively. This leaves Sunday in the first position of the week count. The current Greek name for Sunday, gr, Κυριακή (Kyriakḗ), means “Lord's Day” coming from the word gr, Κύριος (''Kyrios''), the Greek word for “Lord”. Similarly in Portuguese, where the days from Monday to Friday are counted as "segunda-feira", "terça-feira", "quarta-feira", "quinta-feira" and "sexta-feira", while Sunday itself, similar to Greek, has the name of “Lord's Day” (''domingo''). In Vietnamese, the working days in the week are named as: ''Thứ Hai'' (second day), ''Thứ Ba'' (third day), ''Thứ Tư'' (fourth day), ''Thứ Năm'' (fifth day), ''Thứ Sáu'' (sixth day), and ''Thứ Bảy'' (seventh day). Sunday is called ''Chủ Nhật'', a corrupted form of ''Chúa Nhật'' meaning “Lord's Day”. Some colloquial text in the south of Vietnam and from the church may still use the old form to mean “Sunday”. In German, Wednesday is called ''Mittwoch'', literally “mid-week”, implying the week runs from Sunday to Saturday.

The name is similar in the Romance Languages. In Italian, Sunday is called ''domenica'', which also means “Lord's Day” (from Latin ''Dies Dominica''). One finds similar cognates in French, where the name is ''dimanche'', as well as Romanian ''duminică'', and in Spanish and Portuguese, ''domingo''.

Slavic languages implicitly number Monday as day number one.

Russian ''воскресение'' (Sunday) means “resurrection” (that is, the day of a week which commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ). In Old Russian, Sunday was also called ''неделя'', “free day”, or “day with no work”, but in the contemporary language this word means “week”.
Hungarian ''szerda'' (Wednesday), ''csütörtök'' (Thursday), and ''péntek'' (Friday) are Slavic loanwords, so the correlation with “middle”, “four”, and “five” are not evident to Hungarian speakers. Hungarians use ''Vasárnap'' for Sunday, which means “market day”.

In the Maltese language, due to its Siculo-Arabic origin, Sunday is called ''Il-Ħadd'', a corruption of ''wieħed'', meaning “one”. Monday is ''It-Tnejn'', meaning "two". Similarly, Tuesday is ''It-Tlieta'' (three), Wednesday is ''L-Erbgħa'' (four), and Thursday is ''Il-Ħamis'' (five).

In Armenian, Monday is ''Yerkoushabti'', literally meaning “second day of the week”, Tuesday ''Yerekshabti'' “third day”, Wednesday ''Chorekshabti'' “fourth day”, Thursday ''Hingshabti'' “fifth day”. Saturday is ''Shabat'' coming from the word ''Sabbath'' or ''Shabbath'' in Hebrew, and ''Kiraki'', coming from the word ''Krak'', meaning “fire”, is Sunday, referring to the sun as a fire. Apostle John, in Revelations 1:10, refers to the “Lord's Day”, gr, Κυριακή ἡμέρα (''kyriakḗ hēmera''), that is, “the day of the Lord”, possibly influencing the Armenian word for Sunday.

In many European countries, calendars show Monday as the first day of the week, which follows the ISO 8601 standard.

In the Persian calendar, Sunday is the second day of the week. However, it is called “number one” as counting starts from zero; the first day - Saturday - is denoted as day zero.

Sunday in Christianity

Pagan correspondence

In Roman culture, Sunday was the day of the Sun god. In pagan theology, the Sun was the source of life, giving warmth and illumination to mankind. It was the center of a popular cult among Romans, who would stand at dawn to catch the first rays of sunshine as they prayed.

The opportunity to spot in the nature-worship of their heathen neighbors a symbolism valid to their own faith was not lost on the Christians. One of the Church fathers, St. Jerome, would declare: "If pagans call he Lord's Day ..the 'day of the sun,' we willingly agree, for today the light of the world is raised, today is revealed the sun of justice with healing in his rays." (This is a reference to .)

A similar consideration may have influenced the choice of the Christmas date on the day of the winter solstice, whose celebration was part of the Roman cult of the Sun. In the same vein, Christian churches have been built and are still being built (as far as possible) with an orientation so that the congregation faced toward the sunrise in the East. Much later, St. Francis would sing in his famous canticle: "Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures, especially through my lord Brother Sun, who brings the day; and you give light through him. And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendor! Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness."

Christian usage

The ancient Romans traditionally used the eight-day nundinal cycle, a market week, but in the time of Augustus in the 1st century AD, a seven-day week also came into use.

In the gospels, the women are described as coming to the empty tomb gr, εις μια των σαββατων, , toward the first of the sabbath although its often translated "on the first day of the week".

Justin Martyr, in the mid 2nd century, mentions "memoirs of the apostles" as being read on "the day called that of the sun" (Sunday) alongside the "writings of the prophets.".

On 7 March 321, Constantine I, Rome's first Christian Emperor (see Constantine I and Christianity), decreed that Sunday would be observed as the Roman day of rest:

Despite the official adoption of Sunday as a day of rest by Constantine, the seven-day week and the mundial cycle continued to be used side by side until at least the Calendar of 354 and probably later.

In 363, Canon 29 of the Council of Laodicea prohibited observance of the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday), and encouraged Christians to work on the Saturday and rest on the Lord's Day (Sunday). The fact that the canon had to be issued at all is an indication that adoption of Constantine's decree of 321 was still not universal, not even among Christians. It also indicates that Jews were observing the Sabbath on the Saturday.

Modern practices

First-day Sabbatarians, including Christians of the Methodist, Baptist and Reformed (Presbyterian and Congregationalist) traditions, teach that Sundays are to be observed as a day devoted to the worship of God at church (the attendance of Sunday School, a morning service of worship and an evening service of worship), as well as a day of rest (meaning that people are free from servile labour and should refrain from trading, buying and selling except when necessary).

For most Christians the custom and obligation of Sunday rest is not as strict. A minority of Christians do not regard the day they attend church as important, so long as they attend. There is considerable variation in the observance of Sabbath rituals and restrictions, but some cessation of normal weekday activities is customary. Many Christians today observe Sunday as a day of church-attendance.

In Roman Catholic liturgy, Sunday begins on Saturday evening. The evening Mass on Saturday is liturgically a full Sunday Mass and fulfills the obligation of Sunday Mass attendance, and Vespers (evening prayer) on Saturday night is liturgically "first Vespers" of the Sunday. The same evening anticipation applies to other major solemnities and feasts, and is an echo of the Jewish practice of starting the new day at sunset. Those who work in the medical field, in law enforcement, and soldiers in a war zone are dispensed from the usual obligation to attend Church on Sunday. They are encouraged to combine their work with attending religious services if possible.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Sunday begins at the Little Entrance of Vespers (or All-Night Vigil) on Saturday evening and runs until "Vouchsafe, O Lord" (after the " prokeimenon") of Vespers on Sunday night. During this time, the dismissal at all services begin with the words, "May Christ our True God, who rose from the dead ...." Anyone who wishes to receive Holy Communion at Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning is required to attend Vespers the night before (see Eucharistic discipline). Among Orthodox Christians, Sunday is considered to be a "Little Pascha" (Easter), and because of the Paschal joy, the making of prostrations is forbidden, except in certain circumstances. Leisure activities and idleness, being secular and offensive to Christ as it is time-wasting, is prohibited.

Some languages lack separate words for "Saturday" and "Sabbath" (e. g. Italian, Portuguese). Outside the English-speaking world, ''Sabbath'' as a word, if it is used, refers to the Saturday (or the specific Jewish practices on it); Sunday is called the Lord's Day e. g. in Romance languages and Modern Greek. On the other hand, English-speaking Christians often refer to the Sunday as the Sabbath (other than Seventh-day Sabbatarians); a practice which, probably due to the international connections and the Latin tradition of the Roman Catholic Church, is more widespread among (but not limited to) Protestants. Quakers traditionally referred to Sunday as "First Day" eschewing the pagan origin of the English name, while referring to Saturday as the "Seventh day".

The Russian word for Sunday is "Voskresenie," meaning "Resurrection day." The Greek word for Sunday is "Kyriakē" (the "Lord's Day"). The Czech, Polish, Slovenian, Croatian, Serbian, Ukrainian and Belarusian words for Sunday ("neděle," "niedziela," "nedelja", "nedjelja," "недеља", "неділя" and "нядзеля" respectively) can be translated as "without acts (no work)."

Some Christian denominations, called " Seventh-day Sabbatarians", observe a Saturday Sabbath.Christians in the Seventh-day Adventist, Seventh Day Baptist, and Church of God (Seventh-Day) denominations, as well as many Messianic Jews, have maintained the practice of abstaining from work and gathering for worship on Saturdays (sunset to sunset) as did all of the followers of God in the Old Testament.

Sunday in Mandaeism

Sunday in Mandaeism is called ''Habshaba'' (''Habšaba''). Mandaeans perform communal masbuta (baptism) every Sunday.

Common occurrences on Sunday

In government and business

In the United States and Canada, most government offices are closed on both Saturday and Sunday. The practice of offices closing on Sunday in government and in some rural areas of the United States stem from a system of blue laws. Blue laws were established in the early puritan days which forbade secular activities on Sunday and were rigidly enforced. Some public activities are still regulated by these blue laws in the 21st century. In 1985, twenty-two states in which religious fundamentalism remained strong maintained general restrictions on Sunday behavior. In Oklahoma, for example, it is stated: "Oklahoma's statutes state that "acts deemed useless and serious interruptions of the repose and religious liberty of the community," such as trades, manufacturing, mechanical employment, horse racing, and gaming are forbidden. Public selling of commodities other than necessary foods and drinks, medicine, ice, and surgical and burial equipment, and other necessities can legally be prohibited on Sunday. In Oklahoma, a fine not to exceed twenty-five dollars may be imposed on individuals for each offense." Because of these blue laws, many private sector retail businesses open later and close earlier on Sunday or do not open at all.

Many countries, particularly in Europe such as Sweden, France, Germany and Belgium, but also in other countries such as Peru, hold their national and local elections on a Sunday, either by law or by tradition.

In media

Many American and British daily newspapers publish a larger edition on Sundays, which often includes color comic strips, a magazine, and a coupon section; may only publish on a Sunday; or may have a "sister-paper" with a different masthead that only publishes on a Sunday.

North American radio stations often play specialty radio shows such as Casey Kasem's countdown or other nationally syndicated radio shows that may differ from their regular weekly music patterns on Sunday morning or Sunday evening. In the United Kingdom, there is a Sunday tradition of chart shows on BBC Radio 1 and commercial radio; this originates in the broadcast of chart shows and other populist material on Sundays by Radio Luxembourg when the Reithian BBC
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