The only widespread exception were Jewish workers: they generally got Saturdays off instead of Sundays.Īmerican businessman Henry Ford played a significant role in inventing the modern weekend. Sundays would be reserved for going to church, at least if you were Christian or lived in a Christian country. Until about 100 years ago, people worked six days a week, every week. How come half the world is not following along? The Invention of the Weekend Sunday has been the first day of the week for the entire recorded history of civilization. Sunday became the Christian day of worship, later known as Lord’s Day. They finally decided to worship on Sunday when Christianity became the Roman Empire’s state religion under Emperor Constantine in 321 CE. So, early Christians worshipped not on the Sabbath but one day earlier or one day later. When Christianity started to emerge as a separate religion from Judaism, early Christians tried to differentiate themselves from Jews and one way to be different was to pray on a different day. In the Gregorian calendar, Shabbat falls on Saturday in Judaism, Shabbat is followed by Yom Rishon, or “first day.” Shabbat, or Sabbath, has always been the day where Jews pray and worship God. The ancient Israelites followed this example and called their seventh day Shabbat, the day of rest. ©/cowii Sabbath And the Christian Sundayīut what about the Christian component? Isn’t Sunday the first day because it is the Lord’s day? Well, it’s complicated.Īccording to the Bible, God created the world in seven days. Getting closer to the Sun has likely always been a religious exercise. The other days were named after other celestial bodies and the corresponding Babylonian gods. The Babylonians already had a 7-day week, starting with the day of the Sun. Our oldest historical records go back to the Babylonians, roughly 5800 years ago. The last day became known as the day of rest, the Sabbath. The first day of the week for the last 5800 years has been named after the mightiest celestial body in our night sky- the Sun. Find out the first day of the week anywhere in the world by selecting a country in our online calendar. There are countries starting neither on Sunday nor on Monday: Countries like Afghanistan, Iran, and Somalia start their week on Saturday. The world’s most populated continents are split: roughly half the countries in Africa and Asia are on team Sunday, the other on team Monday. In terms of population, it is almost 50/50: Half the world’s population begins on SundayĪlmost all countries in North and South America start their week on Sunday, while countries in Europe and Oceania overwhelmingly start on Monday.160 countries and roughly 3.3 billion people start on Monday.67 countries and over 4 billion people start the week on Sunday.Most countries start the week on Monday, but most people start on Sunday: Whether the Gregorian calendar shows Sunday or Monday as the first day of the week depends on where you live. Roughly 55% of the world's population start their week on a Sunday, 44% on a Monday. Business Date to Date (exclude holidays).
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