Norse Mythology - Modern Influences

Modern Influences

Day (Old Norse) Meaning
Mánadagr Moon's day
Týsdagr Tyr's day
Óðinsdagr Odin's day
Þórsdagr Thor's day
Frjádagr Freyja's day
Laugardagr Washing day
Sunnudagr/Dróttinsdagr Sun's day/Lord's day

The Nordic gods have left numerous traces in modern vocabulary and elements of every day western life in most North Germanic language speaking countries. An example of this is some of the names of the days of the week: modelled after the names of the days of the week in Latin (named after Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn), the names for Tuesday through to Friday were replaced with Nordic equivalents of the Roman gods and the names for Monday and Sunday after the Sun and Moon. In Scandinavia, Saturday is called "Lørdag", the "Bath Day", in English and Dutch, "Saturn" was not replaced, while in German, Saturday was renamed after the definition of Sabbath (meaning the day of rest).

Day Swedish Danish/Norwegian German Dutch Origin
Monday Måndag Mandag Montag Maandag Day of the Moon
Tuesday Tisdag Tirsdag Dienstag Dinsdag Day of Tyr (Swedish, Danish and Norwegian), day of the thing (assembly) (Dutch and German)
Wednesday Onsdag Onsdag Mittwoch Woensdag Day of Odin (Woden or Wotan), middle of week (German)
Thursday Torsdag Torsdag Donnerstag Donderdag Day of Thor/Donar or thunder (both words derive from the same root)
Friday Fredag Fredag Freitag Vrijdag Day of Freyja or Frigg
Saturday Lördag Lørdag Samstag Zaterdag Day of Saturn (English and Dutch), day of bath (Swedish, Danish and Norwegian), Sabbath (German)
Sunday Söndag Søndag Sonntag Zondag Day of the Sun

Read more about this topic:  Norse Mythology

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