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ESL: DAYS OF THE WEEK IN ENGLISH 1

Complete each of the sentences below with the correct name of the day:

The third day is .✓

The fifth day is .✓

The second day is .✓

The seventh day is .✓

The fourth day is .✓

The sixth day is .✓

—

DID YOU KNOW?

Why are the days of weeks called what they are?

The names of the days of the week mostly come from a mix of ancient astronomy, mythology, and Roman tradition, later filtered through different languages.

The 7-day week: The idea of a 7-day week comes from ancient cultures (especially the Babylonians), who observed seven visible celestial bodies moving independently of the stars:

Sun
Moon
Mars
Mercury
Jupiter
Venus
Saturn

Each day was associated with one of these.

Roman names → modern English
The Romans named the days after their gods, each linked to one of those celestial bodies. English later adapted these names, sometimes swapping Roman gods for Germanic/Norse equivalents.

Here's the origin (name of day, origin, meaning):

Sunday / Sun / Day of the sun
Monday / Moon / Day of the moon
Tuesday / Tiw (Norse god of war) / Tiw's day
Wednesday / Woden/Odin / Woden's day
Thursday / Thor / Thor's day
Friday / Frigg/Freya / Freya's day
Saturday / Saturn (Roman god) / Saturn's day

So English is a hybrid:
Sun, Moon, Saturn → direct Roman/astronomical names
Tuesday-Friday → Germanic gods replacing Roman ones

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