Saturday is the

day of the week In a vast number of languages, the names given to the seven days of the week are derived from the names of the classical planets in Hellenistic astronomy, which were in turn named after contemporary deities, a system introduced by the Sume ...

between Friday and Sunday. No later than the 2nd century, the Romans named Saturday ("Saturn's Day") for the god Saturn. His planet, Saturn, controlled the first hour of that day, according to Vettius Valens. The day's name was introduced into

West Germanic languages The West Germanic languages constitute the largest of the three branches of the Germanic languages, Germanic family of languages (the others being the North Germanic languages, North Germanic and the extinct East Germanic languages, East Germ ...

and is recorded in the

Low German Low German is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language variety, language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide. "Low" ...

languages such as Middle Low German , ''saterdach'', Middle Dutch (Modern Dutch ), and Old English , ''Sæterndæġ'' or .

Origins

Between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD, the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

gradually replaced the eight-day Roman nundinal cycle with the seven-day week. The astrological order of the days was explained by Vettius Valens and Dio Cassius (and Chaucer gave the same explanation in his '' Treatise on the Astrolabe''). According to these authors, it was a principle of

astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...

that the heavenly bodies presided, in succession, over the hours of the day. The association of the weekdays with the respective deities is thus indirect, the days are named for the planets, which were in turn named for the deities. The

Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were tribal groups who lived in Northern Europe in Classical antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In modern scholarship, they typically include not only the Roman-era ''Germani'' who lived in both ''Germania'' and parts of ...

adapted the system introduced by the Romans but glossed their indigenous gods over the Roman deities in a process known as '' interpretatio germanica''. In the case of Saturday, however, the Roman name was borrowed directly by West Germanic peoples, apparently because none of the Germanic gods was considered to be a counterpart of the Roman god Saturn. Otherwise

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

and

Old High German Old High German (OHG; ) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally identified as the period from around 500/750 to 1050. Rather than representing a single supra-regional form of German, Old High German encompasses the numerous ...

did not borrow the name of the Roman god (Icelandic , German ). In the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

, Saturdays are days on which the Theotokos ( Mother of God) and All Saints are commemorated, and the day on which prayers for the dead are especially offered, in remembrance that it was on a Saturday that

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

lay dead in the tomb. The Octoechos contains hymns on these themes, arranged in an eight-week cycle, that are chanted on Saturdays throughout the year. At the end of services on Saturday, the dismissal begins with the words: "May Christ our True God, through the intercessions of his most-pure Mother, of the holy, glorious and right victorious

Martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

s, of our reverend and God-bearing Fathers…". For the Orthodox, Saturday — with the sole exception of Holy Saturday — is never a strict fast day. When a Saturday falls during one of the fasting seasons ( Great Lent, Nativity Fast, Apostles' Fast, Dormition Fast) the fasting rules are always lessened to an extent. The Great Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross and the Beheading of St. John the Baptist are normally observed as strict fast days, but if they fall on a Saturday or Sunday, the fast is lessened.

Name and associations

Today, Saturday has two names in modern

Standard German Standard High German (SHG), less precisely Standard German or High German (, , or, in Switzerland, ), is the umbrella term for the standard language, standardized varieties of the German language, which are used in formal contexts and for commun ...

. The first word, , is always used in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

, and the German-speaking part of

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, and generally used in southern and western

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It derives from

, the first part (''sambaz'') of which derives from Greek , and this Greek word derives from

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

, . However, the current German word for Sabbath is . The second name for Saturday in German is , which derives from Old High German , and is closely related to the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

word . It means literally "Sun eve", i.e., "The day before Sunday". is generally used in northern and eastern Germany, and was also the official name for Saturday in

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. Even if these two names are used regionally differently, they are usually understood at least passively in the other part. In Wes
Frisian
there are also two words for Saturday. In Wood Frisian it is , and in Clay Frisian it is , derived from , a combination of Old Frisian , meaning ''sun'' and ''joen'', meaning eve. In the Westphalian dialects of Low Saxon, in East Frisian Low Saxon and in the Saterland Frisian language, Saturday is called , also akin to Dutch , which has the same linguistic roots as the English word ''Saturday''. It was formerly thought that the English name referred to a deity named ''Sætere'' who was venerated by the pre-Christian peoples of north-western Germany, some of whom were the ancestors of the

Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

. Sætere was identified as either a god associated with the harvest of possible Slav origin, or another name for

Loki Loki is a Æsir, god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mythology), Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi (son of Lo ...

a complex deity associated with both good and evil; this latter suggestion may be due to

Jacob Grimm Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (4 January 1785 – 20 September 1863), also known as Ludwig Karl, was a German author, linguist, philologist, jurist, and folklorist. He formulated Grimm's law of linguistics, and was the co-author of the ''Deutsch ...

. Regardless,modern dictionaries derive the name from ''Saturn''. In most

languages of India Languages of India belong to several list of language families, language families, the major ones being the Indo-Aryan languages spoken by 78.05% of Indian people, Indians and the Dravidian languages spoken by 19.64% of Indians; both fami ...

, Saturday is , meaning day, based on Shani, the

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

god manifested in the planet Saturn. Some

Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

fast on Saturdays to reverse the ill effects of Shani as well as pray to and worship the deity Hanuman. In the Thai solar calendar of

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, the day is named from the

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

word for Saturn, and the

color Color (or colour in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though co ...

associated with Saturday is purple. In

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, Saturday is , meaning the week. In Eastern Indian languages like Bengali Saturday is called , meaning Saturn's Day and is the first day of the Bengali Week in the Bengali calendar. In Islamic countries, Fridays are considered as the last or penultimate day of the week and are holidays along with Thursdays or Saturdays; Saturday is called , (cognate to Sabbath) and it is the first day of the week in many Arab countries but is the (second-to-)last day in other Islamic countries such as

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, Brunei, and Central Asian countries. In Japanese, the word Saturday is , , meaning 'soil day' and is associated with , : Saturn (the planet), literally meaning "soil star". Similarly, in Korean the word Saturday is , , also meaning earth day. The element Earth was associated with the planet Saturn in Chinese astrology and philosophy. The modern Māori name for Saturday, , literally means "washing-day" – a vestige of early colonized life when Māori converts would set aside time on the Saturday to wash their whites for Church on Sunday. A common alternative Māori name for Saturday is the transliteration .

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

traditionally referred to Saturday as "Seventh Day", eschewing the " pagan" origin of the name. In

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

n countries, Saturday is called , , or , the name being derived from the old word '' laugr/laug'' (hence Icelandic name ), meaning bath, thus ''Lördag'' equates to bath-day. This is due to the Viking practice of bathing on Saturdays. The roots ''lör'', ''laugar'' and so forth are cognate to the English word '' lye'', in the sense of detergent. The Finnish and Estonian names for the day, and , respectively, are also derived from this term.

Position in the week

The international standard ISO 8601 sets Saturday as the sixth day of the week. The three

Abrahamic religions The term Abrahamic religions is used to group together monotheistic religions revering the Biblical figure Abraham, namely Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The religions share doctrinal, historical, and geographic overlap that contrasts them wit ...

(

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

, and

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

) regard Saturday as the seventh

. As a result, many refused the ISO 8601 standards and continue to use Saturday as their seventh day.

Saturday Sabbath

For

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, Messianics, Seventh Day Baptists and Seventh-day Adventists, the seventh day of the week, known as Shabbat (or Sabbath for Seventh-day Adventists), stretches from sundown Friday to nightfall Saturday and is the day of rest.

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

churches distinguish between Saturday (Sabbath) and the Lord's Day (Sunday). Other Protestant groups, such as Seventh-day Adventists, hold that the Lord's Day is the Sabbath, according to the fourth commandment (Exodus 20:8), and not Sunday.

Holy Saturday

Christian religious observance in the

Holy Week Holy Week () commemorates the seven days leading up to Easter. It begins with the commemoration of Triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, marks the betrayal of Jesus on Spy Wednesday (Holy Wednes ...

, before Easter Sunday.

Catholic liturgy and devotions on each Saturday

In the Catholic Church, Saturday is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the Catholic devotion of the Holy Rosary, the Joyful Mysteries are meditated on Saturday and also on Monday throughout the year.

Astrology

, Saturn is associated with Saturday, its planet's symbol , and the astrological signs Capricorn and Aquarius.

In popular culture

Regional customs

* In most countries, Saturday is a weekend day (see workweek). * In

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, elections must take place on a Saturday. * In

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, Saturday is the official day of rest, on which all government offices and most businesses, including some public transportation, are closed. * In

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

, Saturday is the last day of the week and is the only official weekly holiday. * In

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, Saturday is the only day on which elections can be held. * In

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, Saturday has usually been the only day of the week when especially younger children are allowed to eat sweets, in Swedish and in Norwegian. This tradition was introduced to limit dental caries, utilizing the results of the infamous Vipeholm experiments between 1945 and 1955. (See festivities in Sweden.) * In the U.S. state of

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, Saturday is the preferred election day.

Slang

* The amount of criminal activities that take place on Saturday nights has led to the expression, " Saturday night special", a

pejorative A pejorative word, phrase, slur, or derogatory term is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hosti ...

slang term used in the United States and Canada for any inexpensive handgun.

Arts, entertainment, and media

Comics and periodicals

* '' Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal'' is a single-panel

webcomic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on the internet, such as on a website or a mobile app. While many webcomics are published exclusively online, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or ...

by Zach Weiner. * '' The Saturday Evening Post'' * '' Saturday Night (magazine)'' (Canada) * '' Saturday Night Magazine (U.S.)''

Films

* The association of Saturday night with comedy shows on television lent its name to the film '' Mr. Saturday Night'', starring Billy Crystal. * It is common for clubs, bars and restaurants to be open later on Saturday night than on other nights. Thus "Saturday Night" has come to imply the party scene, and has lent its name to the films '' Saturday Night Fever'', which showcased New York discotheques, '' Uptown Saturday Night'', as well as many songs (see below).

Folk rhymes and folklore

* In the folk rhyme '' Monday's Child'', "Saturday's child works hard for a living". * In another rhyme reciting the days of the week, Solomon Grundy "Died on Saturday". * In folklore, Saturday was the preferred day to hunt vampires, because on that day they were restricted to their coffins. It was also believed in the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

that someone born on Saturday could see a vampire when it was otherwise invisible, and that such people were particularly apt to become vampire hunters. Accordingly, in this context, people born on Saturday were specially designated as in Greek In and in Bulgarian; the term has been rendered in English as " Sabbatarians".

Music

;Groups * The Saturdays is a female pop group ;Songs * The

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

popular song "''Bobo Waro Fero Satodeh''" ("Everybody Loves Saturday Night") became internationally famous in the 1950s and was sung translated into many languages * "Saturday" (Fall Out Boy song) from the album '' Take This to Your Grave'' * "Saturday" (Kids in Glass Houses song) from the album '' Smart Casual'' * " Saturday in the Park" is a song by

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

* "Saturday Night" is a song by the Misfits from '' Famous Monsters'' * " Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" is an Elton John song * " One More Saturday Night" is a Grateful Dead song.

Television

* Saturday morning is a notable television time block aimed at children while generally airing animated cartoons, although in the United States, this has generally been phased out due to American television regulations requiring educational content be aired, along with Saturday outside activities for children * Saturday night is also a popular time slot for comedy shows on television in the US. The most famous of these is ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'', a sketch comedy show that has aired on NBC nearly every week since 1975. Other notable examples include '' Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell''. * Saturday evenings are also a time slot in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, devoted to popular TV shows such as '' Strictly Come Dancing'', '' Britain's Got Talent'' and '' The X Factor''. Many family game shows, for example ''Total Wipeout'' and ''Hole in the Wall'', also air on a Saturday evening. * The Grand Final of the popular pan-European TV show, '' Eurovision Song Contest'', has always aired on a Saturday in May. * Saturday night is a popular time for professional wrestling on television in the United States. '' WCW Saturday Night'' ran weekly under various titles between 1971 and 2000. WWE ran '' Saturday Night's Main Event'' television specials between 1985 and 1992, with a second run coming between 2006 and 2008. '' AEW Collision'' has run weekly since 2023.

Video games

*'' Saturday Night Slam Masters'' – Published by Capcom Wrestling, 1993 video game *'' Saturday Morning RPG''

Sports

* In the

, Saturday is the day most domestic fixtures of football are played. * In the United States, most regular season

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

games are played on Saturday. Saturday is also a common day for college basketball games. Most

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

events organized by the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

occur on Saturday.

References

External links

{{Authority control 6 Saturday Eastern Christian liturgy Cronus