Have you ever asked yourself the first time you heard happy "Hump" Day? I asked myself the same question the first time I've heard of it!
It does not sound very appealing for others because they associate it with getting laid while for others this is the day they get to celebrate of getting by the week.
Wednesday
- The middle of a work week (Wednesday); used in the context proverbial hill to get through a tough week.After hump day, the weekend gets closer.
- also implying that you have to get "over the hump" before you can anticipate the weekend.
- the middle of the workweek or the beginning of the weekend.
it refers to the idea that a week -- especially a work week -- is like a hill. Monday and Tuesdays are days when you climb up, since they are the beginning or start of your work week. At the end of Wednesday, you've reached the pinnacle of the week, and your work on Thursday and Friday represents climbing down toward the weekend.
also refers specifically to that middle of the week point, where you reach the crest of your journey and begin to pace downward toward the end of the week . If you have tedious job or just work hard, it can be comforting to reach hump day. Then, the weekend doesn't seem so far off and nebulous as when you started work on Monday
Pagan Etymology
The name come from the Middle English Wednes dei, which is from Old English Wōdnesdæg, meaning the day of the English god Woden (Wodan), a god in Anglo-Saxon England until about the 7th century. Wednes daeg is like the Old Norse Oðinsdagr ("Odin's day"), which is an early translation of the Latin dies Mercurii (Mercury's day), and reflects the widespread association of Woden with Mercury going back to Tacitus.
In Romance languages, it is derived from the name of the Roman god Mercury: mercredi (French), mercoledi (Italian), miercoles (Spanish), miercuri 9Romanian), dimecres (Catalan), Marcuri or Mercuri (Corsican), dies Mercurii (Latin). Similarly, in most of the Indian Languages the name for Wednesday, Budhavar is derived from the Vedic name for the planet, Budha (often confused with Gautama Buddha or Buddha)Buddh is also used in Urdu.
~ Wikipedia.com
Weekday Etymology
Wednesday is in the middle of the common Western 5-day workweek that starts on Monday and finishes on Friday. Also, when Sunday is taken as the first of every week, Wednesday is the day in the middle.
~Wikipedia.com
Religious observances
The Creation narrative in the Hebrew Bible places the creation of the Sun and Moon on "the fourth day" of divine workweek.
Quakers traditionally refer to Wednesday as "Fourth Day" to avoid the pagan associations that exist with the name "Wednesday".
The Eastern Orthodox Church observes Wednesday (as well as Friday) as a fast day throughout the year (with the exception of several fast-free periods during the year). Fasting on Wednesday and Fridays entails abstinence from meat or meat products (i.e. four-footed animals), poultry and dairy products. Unless a feast day occurs on a Friday. The Orthodox also abstain from fish, from using oil in their cooking and from alcoholic beverages (there is some debate over whether abstention from oil involves all cooking oil or only olive oil). For the Orthodox, Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year commemorate the betrayal of Jesus (Wednesday) and the Crucifixion of Christ (Friday). There are Hymns in the Octoekhos which reflect this liturgically. These include special Theotokia (hymns to the Mother of God) called Stavrotheotokia ("Cross-Theotokia"). The dismissal at the end of services on Wednesday begins with these words. "May Christ our true God, through the power of the precious and life-giving cross..."
In Irish and Scottish Gaelic, the name for Wednesday also refers to fasting, as it is Dé Céadaoin in Irish Gaelic and Di-Ciadain in Scottish Gaelic, which comes from aoine, "fasting" and means "first day of fasting".
In American culture many Catholic and Protestant churches and some Jewish synagogues schedule study or prayer meetings on Wednesday nights. The sports calendar in many American public schools reflects this , reserving MOndays and Thursdays for girls' games and Tuesdays and Fridays for boys' games while generally avoiding events on Wednesday evening
~Wikipedia.com
Cultural References
Wednesday is sometime referred to as "hump day" in American English slang. According to the Thai solar calendar,
the color associated with Wednesday is green. In the folk rhyme, "Wednesday's child is full of woe".
In another rhyme reciting the days of the week. Solomon Grundy was Married on Wednesday.
In Winnie the Pooh and the Bluster Day, the disagreeable nature of the weather is attributed to it being "Winds-Day" ( a play on " Wednesday")
In Richard Brautigan's in Watermelon Sugar Wednesday is the day when the sun shines grey
~Wikipedia.com
Astrology
The astrological sign of the planet Mercury represents Wednesday -- Dies Mercurii to the Romans, with similar names in Latin-derived languages, such as the Italian mercoledi (di means "day"), the French mercedi and the Spanish miércoles. In English, this became "Woden's Day", since the Roman god Mercury was identified with Woden in northern Europe.
~Wikipedia.com
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Debbie P.
My Life is Beautiful
www.jewelrydays.com
Sources: Wikipedia.com
urbandictionary.com
wiseguy.com
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