SABBATH

When is it?

  

  

  

Sabbath (Hebrew Shabbat, derived from the verb shavat, “to rest, cease”), a holy day of rest observed by the Jews and some Christian denominations on the seventh day of the week (see Saturday) and by most Christians on Sunday. The origin of the Sabbath is uncertain, but it is apparently connected with the Babylonian shapattu, the 15th day of the month, on which the full moon occurs, and the Babylonian cycle of “evil days” every seventh day.

The Bible describes the Sabbath as a reminder of God's rest after the Creation (see Exodus 20:11) and of the liberation from Egypt (see Deuteronomy 5:15). The prohibition of work (see Deuteronomy 5:12-14) is never fully explained in the Bible. Among the specific kinds of work prohibited are the kindling of fire (see Exodus 35:3), plowing and harvesting (see Exod. 34:21), and cooking (see Exod. 16:23). The rabbis of postbiblical times derived from Scripture 39 categories of prohibited activity. These main categories and their derivative prohibitions form the basis of modern Orthodox and Conservative Jewish observance of the Sabbath. The Reform and Reconstructionist movements view the laws as advisory rather than binding.

 

  

Why others celebrate on a Saturday?

Saturday, seventh day of the week, named in honor of the Roman god Saturn. In Latin, Saturday was called dies Saturni; it was called Sater-daeg by the Anglo-Saxons. It is the holy day of the Israelites of the Old Testament and in Hebrew is called Sabbath, the only day of the week with a name, the rest being numbered. The word sabbath derives from the Hebrew word meaning “to rest or cease”; the Jews were enjoined from working on the seventh day. It begins at sunset Friday and lasts until sunset Saturday. In the early days of Christianity, the holy day gradually shifted to Sunday, which, as the first day, was deemed more appropriate since it was the day of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the day on which creation began. In Sweden, however, Saturday is Lördag, or Lord's Day; and in Denmark and Norway it is Lørdag. In Spanish it is el sábado and in Italian sabato, both derived from sabbath. Several Christian sects, notably the Seventh-Day Adventist church, have reverted to Old Testament practice and observe Saturday as their day of worship.

Why others celebrate it on a Sunday?

Sunday, first day of the week. Its English name and its German name ( Sonntag) are derived from the Latin dies solis, “sun's day,” the name of a pagan Roman holiday. In the New Testament (see Revelation 1:10) it is called the Lord's Day (Dominica in the Latin version), from which the name of Sunday is derived in Romance languages (French Dimanche; Italian Domenica; Spanish Domingo; Roman Duminica). In the early days of Christianity, Sunday began to replace the Sabbath and to be observed to honor the resurrection of Christ. Sunday was instituted as a day of rest, consecrated especially to the service of God, by the Roman emperor Constantine the Great. Since the 4th century, ecclesiastical and civil legislation has frequently regulated work on Sunday and service attendance. In the United States, laws limiting business activity and amusements on Sundays have become known as blue laws.
Days of the Week
The names of the days are based on the seven heavenly bodies used in traditional astrology (the sun, the moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn). These were believed at the time (from 1100 to 1500) to revolve around the earth and influence its events. The seven-day week became part of the Roman calendar in ad 321.
English Latin Saxon German French Italian Spanish
Sunday Dies Solis Sunnandaeg–Sun's Day Sonntag dimanche domenica domingo
Monday Dies Lunae Monandaeg–Moon's Day Montag lundi lunedì lunes
Tuesday Dies Martis Tiwesdaeg–Tiw's Day 1 Dienstag mardi martedì martes
Wednesday Dies Mercurii Wodnesdaeg–Woden's Day 2 Mittwoch mercredi mercoledì miércoles
Thursday Dies Jovis Thunresdaeg–Thor's Day 3 Donnerstag jeudi giovedì jueves
Friday Dies Veneris Frigedaeg–Frigg's Day 4 Freitag vendredi venerdì viernes
Saturday Dies Saturni Sater–daeg– Saturn's Day Samstag samedi sabato sábado
1) Tiw: Anglo–Saxon name for Norse Tyr, son of Odin and god of war, closest to Mars (Greek Ares), son of Roman god Jupiter (Greek Zeus).
2) Woden: Anglo–Saxon name for Odin, Norse dispenser of victory, closest to Mercury (Greek Hermes), Roman messenger of victory.
3) Thor: Norse god of thunder, eldest son of Odin, closest to Roman Jupiter (Greek Zeus).
4) Frigg (or Freyja): wife of Odin, the Norse goddess of love, equivalent to Venus (Greek Aphrodite).

Monday, second day of the week, derived from the Anglo-Saxon monandaeg, which means “the moon's day.” Its Latin equivalent is dies lunae,”day of the moon.” For the Anglo-Saxons the second day was sacred to the goddess of the moon. In German the second day is Montag, in French lundi, and in Italian lunedì.

Black Monday is the name given to Easter Monday, April 14, 1360, when hundreds of troops of Edward III, king of England, who were besieging Paris, froze or starved to death. Blue Monday, a term used to indicate the dismal beginning of the workweek, was originally used because, on the Monday before Lent, churches were draped in blue cloth, symbolizing penitence.

Tuesday, third day of the week, named for the Norse god of war, Tiu, or Tyr, the son of Odin, or Woden. It is called tisdag in Sweden, Tirsdag in Denmark. The Romans honored their god of war, Mars, by naming the third day for him (dies Martis), and in France the day is mardi, in Italy martedì, and in Spain martes. In Germany it is Dienstag, originally meaning “assembly day.” It is called yom shlishi in Hebrew, meaning “third day.”

In the Christian religion, Shrove Tuesday is the day before Lent begins, when confession leads one to be shriven of sins for which the penitent is given absolution. In the Talmud, Tuesday is listed as a lucky day because on the third day of creation “God saw that it was good.” Among the Hindus, however, Tuesday is one of three unlucky days, the others being Saturday and Sunday, on which no important business or long journey may be undertaken.

Wednesday, fourth day of the week, named to honor Odin, or Woden, chief god in Norse mythology. In Sweden and Denmark, the day is Onsdag, from its Norse original. The Romans honored their god Mercury by naming the fourth day for him, in Latin, dies Mercurii. Languages of Latin origin retain the root: French, mercredi; Spanish, miércoles; and Italian, mercoledì. The Germans call the day Mittwoch, meaning “mid-week.” In Hebrew it is the equivalent of fourth day.

Thursday, fifth day of the week, named for Thor, Norse god of thunder. In Danish and Swedish, languages of Norse origin, the day is called Torsdag. In the Roman calendar, the fifth day was called in Latin dies Jovis, meaning “Jove's day,” for Jove, or Jupiter, the god of thunder and rain, the most important deity in Roman mythology. Languages of Latin derivation retain the root: French, jeudi; Spanish, el jueves; and Italian, Giovedì. In German it is Donnerstag,”thunder day.” In Hebrew, it is called fifth day.

In the Christian religion, Maundy Thursday, or Holy Thursday, is the day before Good Friday. It commemorates the day of the Last Supper, the last meeting of Jesus Christ with his disciples. Ascension Day, the 40th day after Easter, marking the ascension of Christ into heaven, also falls on Thursday. Thanksgiving Day, a national holiday in the U.S., is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November.

Friday (Anglo-Saxon frigedaeg; from Old High German Fria, a goddess; Old English daeg,”day”), English name of the sixth day of the week. The day was held sacred to Venus, the goddess of love, by the Romans, who called it dies veneris (“day of Venus”). In the Romance languages the name of the day is derived from the Latin, as in the French vendredi, the Italian venerdì, and the Spanish viernes. Germanic peoples held the day sacred to the Norse goddess of love, Frigg, or Frija. The Germanic languages, like English, use variations of the Old High German friatag (“day of Frija”) to designate the day. The Hebrew name for Friday, yom shishi, means “sixth day.” Among many Slavic peoples, however, Friday is not regarded as the sixth day of the week, as evidenced by its Russian name, pyatneetza, or “fifth day.” Friday is the Muslim Sabbath and is the day for religious gatherings. The day was chosen by the Prophet Muhammad in commemoration of the creation of man on the “sixth day” of creation and to differentiate his followers from Christians and Jews.

In the Christian religion the day is consecrated to the memory of the crucifixion of Christ. The Greek theologian Clement of Alexandria and other early writers indicate that from the early days of Christianity, Friday was observed by fasting and prayer. In the Greek Orthodox church, as was formerly the practice in the Roman Catholic church, Friday is a day of abstinence from the eating of meat, except when it coincides with a major feast day, such as Christmas.

Friday has long been regarded as an unlucky day. This superstition may be due to the occurrence of the crucifixion of Christ on that day, and may have been strengthened by the fact that Friday was for many years the day of execution of criminals, commonly called “hangman's day.”