Alex's Alliterative Adventures

Thoughts on Programming, Life, and Travel

Norse Mythology

Like most languages, the Swedish names of the days of the week have their roots in mythology:

Monday – MÃ¥ndag – MÃ¥ne – Moon

Tuesday – Tisdag – Tyr – One-handed God of Battle and Bravery

Wednesday – Onsdag – Odin – Chief God of Wisdom and War; God of Generally Being A Badass and Wielding a Giant Sword In Final Fantasy IV

Thursday – Torsdag – Tor – Thor (son of Odin), Norse God of Thunder and Lightning

Friday – Fredag – Frej – Freya, Norse God of Fertility

Saturday – Lördag – Löga – Old verb meaning “to wash”

Sunday РȘndag РȘl РSun

I find it kind of cool that religion has been such a profound part of human history that even the most literally every day words originate from religions.

And washing.

 

2 comments

2 Comments so far

  1. Dad September 10th, 2006 9:59 am

    I guess the link between religion and washing is made explicit in that old aphorism:
    “Cleanliness is next to Godliness.” And in terms of the days of the week, the washing day is right next to Sunday. Hmmmm …. does that explain how Sunlight detergent got its name? A blend of the two right there.

    Which kind of leads us to one of the most important aphorisms for healthy living:
    “Always wear clean underwear.”

  2. Alex September 10th, 2006 10:47 am

    You make an interesting point. I hadn’t considered things so literally before.

Leave a reply

*