It's all Latin to us...

[rebness]

What started off as a little aside in my previous post became the sort of academic discussion that makes me come over all geeky and very, very happy. So, thanks to the doubly nefarious and splendid input of ozfille, verastar99 and saffronlie, here is more than you ever wanted to know about the naming of the months and the days of the week:

Months of the Year

January -- Janus, the two-headed God o’D00m (I bet he was an Aquarian. Go, us!)
February – After Februa, the Roman festival of purification
March – Mars
April– Aphrodite
May– Maia, the Italian goddess of spring
June– The goddess Juno
July – Julius Caesar
August– Augustus Caesar
September– Seven
October– Eight, duh
November– Nine, ditto
December – Ten, ibid

Days of the Week

English            French            Latin           Nordic

Monday            Lundi               Moon           Moon

Tuesday            Mardi              Mars            Tiw

Wednesday      Mercredi          Mercury       Woden

Thursday          Jeudi                Jupiter           Thor

Friday              Vendredi          Venus           Freya

Saturday          Samedi             Saturn           Saturn

Sunday            Dimanche         "Sun"             Sun

The link with the sun has been broken in French, but Sunday was called dies solis (day of the sun) in Latin.

It is interesting to note that also some Asiatic languages (for example, Hindi, Japanese, and Korean) have a similar relationship between the week days and the planets.

ETA: kyuuketsukirui informs me that Japanese also references the sun for Sunday, and the moon for Monday. Dude!

English has retained the original planets in the names for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. For the four other days, however, the names of Anglo-Saxon or Nordic gods have replaced the Roman gods that gave name to the planets. Thus, Tuesday is named after Tiw, Wednesday is named after Woden, Thursday is named after Thor, and Friday is named after Freya.

And so there we have it. Most informative LJ around, baby!*

*Possibly sheer hyperbole, and a lie, to boot.

Comments

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

Japanese months are just numbered, so a bit boring there, but the days of the week are as follows:

Sunday = Nichiyoubi (日曜日) = Sun day
Monday = Getsuyoubi (月曜日) = Moon day
Tuesday = Kayoubi (火曜日) = Fire day
Wednesday = Suiyoubi (水曜日) = Water day
Thursday = Mokuyoubi (木曜日) = Wood day
Friday = Kinyoubi (金曜日) = Gold day
Saturday = Doyoubi (土曜日) = Earth day (earth as in ground, not the planet)

[rebness.livejournal.com]

I never knew that Japanese months are just numbered. Strange, but interesting.

Again-- parallels to the Latin and Nordic with Sun and Moon for Sunday and Monday, though I think "Fire day" and "Gold day" beat the other names...heehee.

[verastar99.livejournal.com]

so it falls in line with the elements? that makes total sense with the culture though...interesting

[avariecaita.livejournal.com]

He might have been an Aquarian, but he could also have been a stupid Capricorn! (Note to all Caps: No, you are not stupid! You're just not an Aquarian - so there :p Plus, you're a goat?! *baaaaaaah*)

hold me

[rebness.livejournal.com]

Exactly! What's cooler-- a hot man or a mermaid... a mermaid! And with a vase of sparkling, fresh aqua? Brilliant!

verastar99 and josh1975 are going to kill us now, the bloody goats.

[avariecaita.livejournal.com]

But can they swim?

[rebness.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Let's find out...

See! Another reason why Aquarius owns the other signs-- that massive jug of water is a far better weapon than some stupid scales or an evil twin, though Cancer might be harder.

[avariecaita.livejournal.com]

And as far as signs go - water makes up 70% of this planet called 'earth.' So there you have it, the water signs win!

[rebness.livejournal.com]

Right... let's see...

We could take on Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aries, Taurus, Leo, Gemini, Virgo, Scorpio and Libra.

Pisces is just a couple of fish. We'll beat them with our jug.

We still need a plan for Cancer. Those claws are really sharp, and Aquarians have weak ankles. :(

[avariecaita.livejournal.com]

Achilles must have been an Aquarian then. Also, we could just wash the crabs to shore and then blugeon them to death with our water jugs. Mmm, fresh crab!

[rebness.livejournal.com]

Achilles must have been an Aquarian then.

LMAO!!


Also, we could just wash the crabs to shore and then blugeon them to death with our water jugs. Mmm, fresh crab!

Sounds like a plan. It's time to take out the starry trash. >:)

[avariecaita.livejournal.com]

We really could rule the world, you and I. Too bad for all that lying about business. ;)

[rebness.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that sucks. I'm going to write a list of the things we need to accomp-- oh, forget it.

[avariecaita.livejournal.com]

Lists are a very eldest child thing to do. And, my lists are growing longer by the moment. G'damn lists! (Two things on there I can tell you about: Mail Holiday Cards and MAIL THE BLOODY HOLIDAY CARDS!!)

[rebness.livejournal.com]

But... *whines*... that's so much effort

It would involve:

1. Taking them off the shelf
2. Finding a pen
3. Writing good stuff
4. Switching the computer on and not getting distracted by the internet
5. Sealing the envelopes
6. Writing the addresses on them
7. Going to the post office
8. Getting stamps/weighed for international
9. Arguing that posting in Europe is not subject to the same strignent US stuff
10. Posting them

Waah.

I have to do it! I want to beat you, with your shades of dynamic Capricorn. >:p

[avariecaita.livejournal.com]

I just discovered (or just remembered, take your pick) that we're acutally an air sign. Odd.

I'm trying to remember this quote about 'good intentions' and saffronlie is no help. Quelle surprise. However, I know that it's quite fitting for our little situation. We need to send them out before Saturday. I've got them all written out, etc blah blah but I lack the fundage to send them. I get paid on Friday - hoorah!

I'm going to try and get away with massive amounts of glitter going to the southern hemisphere marked simply "cadeau" and see if it flies >:)

Oooooh, and have you thought of our other plan concerning other ... things? Cuz me? Not so much!

[rebness.livejournal.com]

Okay, let's make it a pact that we send them out before Saturn's day. (oh, the geekiness of me.)

Anyway, no, I forgot all about that, too. Let's pitch it to saffronlie and utilise her proactive soul to actually get it done. >:)

[saffronlie.livejournal.com]

It will require a preliminary report detailing my main obligations and estimated time required before anything can be added to my list. Evil plans require organisation, you know.

[rebness.livejournal.com]

Man, don't ask me... it took me three weeks to tell you about Mary, Queen of Scots. Help, avariecaita?

Or was it three months?

[verastar99.livejournal.com]

*flips bird at!*


LOL

[saffronlie.livejournal.com]

By 'informative' you actually mean pretentious. I know, what would you do without me to correct you?

[rebness.livejournal.com]

>:O

I think you should probably hurry up with that DVO, because I'm gonna pound you good!

[saffronlie.livejournal.com]

I'm so not going to joke about court orders anymore after working in a law office! (Jokes about conveyancing and veterans' affairs, however, are totally welcome. And also about those whingers who claim personal injuries)

[rebness.livejournal.com]

Conveyancing was why, when I was temping a couple of years ago, I decided that staying in bed one Wednesday was preferable to going to work. >:

[saffronlie.livejournal.com]

I KNOW. Most boring work known to man. I can't decide which I hate more, that or personal injuries. Give me criminal work any day, that's where all the juicy stuff is!

[rebness.livejournal.com]

Mental Health is where it's at, baby!

[saffronlie.livejournal.com]

I typed a letter to someone in the acute mental health unit and I thought of you. :D

[rebness.livejournal.com]

Bless. :)

Though I hope I remind you of less depressing stuff, too. o.O

[silverthoughts.livejournal.com]

A lot of the Asian languages are based off the Chinese language. Sort of like Latin for the Asian area. Sunday = Day of the Sun. The rest are just numbers. Monday = First Day of the Week, etc.

The Chinese calendar is based off the changes in the moon but is named with the word Dragon. Example : Dragon Month 1. But since the Western Calendar came into effect in the modern world, they are just named by numbers. Example : January is Month 1, etc.

[rebness.livejournal.com]

I wonder if Latin and Nordic took the cue from Chinese, then? Apparently, the Chinese layout of the week pre-dates that of the Western World, so it seems likely.

[silverthoughts.livejournal.com]

Are the Chinese an older civilization than the Greeks?

[rebness.livejournal.com]

Excuse me whilst I go and ask the divine god Google...

[rebness.livejournal.com]

"By about 430 BC the Greek astronomer Meton […] discovered that 235 lunar months correspond very closely to 19 solar years (the so-called Metonic cycle). Some fifty years later the astronomers of the Persian kings, who used the Babylonian calendar, heard of his discovery and used it to regulate the intercalations. Since 19 years of 12 months amount to 228 months, the additional 7 months were intercalated in years 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17 and 19. As a result the New Year moved within a period of 27 days around the spring equinox.



Chinese astronomers had established the solar year as 365.25 days and the lunation as 29.5 days well before 1300 BC. Their calendar used 12 lunar months of 29 or 30 days with an intercalation of 7 months of 29 or 30 days over a 19 year cycle (the Metonic cycle). The scientific description of this cycle appeared in Chinese texts between 770 and 476 BC and predates its discovery by Meton by at least 100 years."

And there we have it. ;)

[silverthoughts.livejournal.com]

Well, ain't that cool. The Chinese were also the more closely correct for days in a year and number of days in a month.

Probably the Chinese festivals are so accurate. Like the Autumn Moon Festival really does fall on a full moon. And the Winter Solstice really does fall on the coldest day of the year.

[avariecaita.livejournal.com]

Perhaps you'd know this one ...

Why is each year assigned to an animal? (ie: year of the dragon) And how do they determine that?

[silverthoughts.livejournal.com]

There is supposed to be some tale 12 animals participated in a contest that was set by the gods to see how they would rank in the cycle of life. The contest was for them to cross a river. The ox was the most brave and started to cross the river first. The cat was scared and the rat suggested he jump on the ox's back to get across. The ox agreed but the rat was the most devious by jumping on the back of the ox and shoving the cat off. When they reached the shore, he jumped off and made to the other side before the ox did, placing him first in the cycle of life and the ox, second. The cat never got a place in the cycle of life because he never crossed the river and swore to destroy all descendents of the rat.

So, each of the 12 animals is the order they finished the race. The rat being the first and the pig the last. Since there are 12 animals, there are 12 years in a cycle. Sort of like the modern equivalent to century.

[ozfille]

The fruits of my googling -

Any Chinese year invariably begins with the second new-moon day after the winter solstice. The Chinese New Year's day, therefore, is movable — just as Easter Day, which is also tributary of the moon — and takes place somewhere between January 21 and February 20 according to astronomic circumstances.


The Chinese zodiac is a cycle of twelve Chinese years placed under the signs of the twelve following symbolic animals: Rat, Buffalo (or Ox), Tiger, Cat (or Rabbit or Hare), Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat (or Sheep or Ram), Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig (or Boar).

The Chinese Lunar Calendar names each of the twelve years after an animal. Legend has it that the Lord Buddha summoned all the animals to come to him before he departed from earth. Only twelve came to bid him farewell and as a reward he named a year after each one in the order they arrived. The Chinese believe the animal ruling the year in which a person is born has a profound influence on personality, saying: "This is the animal that hides in your heart."

Chinese years also evolve in cycles of ten years each. Every set of two consecutive years is governed by a Chinese cosmic element. There are five elements in all: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water.

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

The rest are just numbers. Monday = First Day of the Week, etc.

Oh, really? That's interesting. I would have assumed it was the same as Japanese.

[verastar99.livejournal.com]

to tack on to your quandry regarding Sunday and how the sun element was lost in the french...

you'll remember that the spanish is Domingo
Italian is Domenica
portugese is also Domingo
Rumanian is Duminica


so the romance root seems to be the common dom/din/dum...hmmm

[rebness.livejournal.com]

Hmm...indeed. I don't quite understand how French "lost" the original root, while maintaining the original names for the other days.

As far as I know-- and I may be wrong-- "dimanche" doesn't point to any specific clue about its origins in French. Perhaps it's a mutation of one of the other Romantic names used there?

It could be that it is closer to something in Old French, or even the Galician tongue. Now I have to find that out!

[verastar99.livejournal.com]

i still hold the french root as being completely tied in with those D roots...its the romance root that ties it.

just the origin baffles me...i mean the sun is Sol, or derivitive...

its not really connected to Dios, or Deu...hmmm

[rebness.livejournal.com]

No, you're right... I think it is something to do with the similarities in the Latin languages. I'm just not sure where, though.

French for sun is soleil and day is jour. God is Dieu and the nearest thing I can think of, unless "di" was Old French for day or something. Hmm.

[zhonghua2000.livejournal.com]

I was born on a Saturday @ 8:20 a.m. in the Year of the Dog. :p

Jessica (Zhonghua) is a "rabbit".

[rebness.livejournal.com]

Bless! I usually get on with Dogs very well. ;)

Rabbit! Bless her!

I'm the Monkey/Aquarian-- very, very quirky but OMG TEH ISSUES sign.