Sunday (that is, day of the sun, like Monday day of the moon), the first
day of the week, the Lord’s day, was sacred to Sol or the Sun.
Monday (that is, moon-day; Anglo-Saxon, _Monandæg_, German, _Montag_),
the second day of our week, was formerly sacred to the moon.
Tuesday, the third day of the week, is so called from _Tiwesdæg_, the
day of Tiw or Tiu, the old Saxon name for the god of war. The day bears
a corresponding name in the other Germanic dialects.
Wednesday, the fourth day of the week, the _Dies Mercurii_ of the
Romans, the _Mittwoch_ of the modern Germans. The name Wednesday is
derived from the Northern mythology, and signifies Woden’s or Odin’s
day. The Anglo-Saxon form was _Wôdanesday_, the Old German
_Woutanestac_. The Swedish and Danish is _Onsdag_.
Thursday, (Swedish _Thorsdag_, German _Donnerstag_), the fifth day of
the week, is so called from Donar, or Thor (see Dictionary of Myths),
who, as god of the air, had much in common with the Roman Jupiter, to
whom the same day was dedicated. (Latin _Jovis dies_, French _Jeudi_).
Friday, the sixth day of the week, from the Anglo-Saxon _Frige-dæg_, is
the day sacred to _Frigga_ or to _Freya_, the Saxon Venus.
Saturday (Anglo-Saxon _Sæterdæg_, _Sæterndæg_--_Sæter_, _Sætern_, for
Saturn, and _dæg_, a day--the day presided over by the planet Saturn),
is the seventh or last day of the week; the day of the Jewish Sabbath.