What is the first day of the week?

[schildi]

I always thought it was Monday.
Now we have a calendar that shows Sunday as the first day of the week. Why is that, who came up with that idea? Because of that, I made a mistake with a bill payment (caught it on time though).
Hmmm, weird.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

Sunday has traditionally been the first day of the week for approximately 2,000 years.

[schildi]

Nope.
I guess I just found out. It is the first day in the U.S. In most other countries, it apparently is Monday, Sunday is the last day of the week. Never thought much about it, until now.
Where I grew up, Monday is the first day, and so it is shown on most calendars in the house, just not that single one from my son's school, the one I looked at from a distance when setting up this payment.

Shhesh, even the U.S. billion is not a billion in Europe, it's off by three zeros. OMG.

[schildi]

Isn't Saturday and Sunday the weekend, as in end of the week?
LOL, this is funny. I once got into trouble with the modified billion in the US as well.

[Deleted]

Where do you live? In the States, we typically refer to the days of the week as Sun, Mon, Tues, etc. and most calendars are printed this way. When I was learning French, the days were taught as Mon, Tues, Wed order. I don't know if that is all of Europe or just France or what (I'm too lazy to google this at the moment) but I suspect the convention varies with other locations as well.

I've gotten burned on a few parking tickets because their fine "if paid within 7 days" counts all days. So if I don't get my payment in my Sunday (even though mail isn't delivered and their office is closed), the price goes up. (It probably serves me right for never carrying change for the parking meter, but that's another thread)

[schildi]

I guess Europe starts with Monday. Makes sense to me, if nothing else then for Saturday & Sunday being the weekend.

Stupid bill payment, lol.

[Deleted]

Mar 26, 2011 20:06:17 GMT -5 ❤ mollymouser ❤ said:

Sunday has traditionally been the first day of the week for approximately 2,000 years.

In Judeo-Christian cultures, this is where the Saturday vs. Sunday Sabbath complicates things. If the 7th day was the day of rest, which day was 7th?

[schildi]

Yeah, this is similar to that "billion" thing.
In the U.S., a billion is a thousand million. In Europe, a billion is a million million.
This can seriously mess things up, every time I transfer money! ;D

[Deleted]

So what is a thousand million in Europe? I mean what do they call it?

ETA - schildi how much money are you transferring and for who?

[schildi]

Mar 26, 2011 20:18:56 GMT -5 @justaposter said:

So what is a thousand million in Europe? I mean what do they call it?

Milliarde
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zahlennamen
(scroll down to the table)

Mar 26, 2011 20:18:56 GMT -5 @justaposter said:

ETA - schildi how much money are you transferring and for who?

LOL, just kidding. I wish .... ;D

[schildi]

Looks ugly, but here is the table in text format:



1 Eins Million0,0 = 100
10 Zehn Million1/6 = 101
100 Hundert Million1/3 = 102
1 000 Tausend Million0,5 = 103
1 000 000 Million Mi- -llion Million1,0 = 106
1 000 000 000 Milliarde Mi- -lliarde Million1,5 = 109
1 000 000 000 000 Billion Bi- -llion Million2,0 = 1012
1 000 000 000 000 000 Billiarde Bi- -lliarde Million2,5 = 1015
1 000 000 000 000 000 000 Trillion Tri- -llion Million3,0 = 1018
1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 Trilliarde Tri- -lliarde Million3,5 = 1021
1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 Quadrillion Quadri- -llion Million4,0 = 1024
1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 Quadrilliarde Quadri- -lliarde Million4,5 = 1027

[DVM gone riding]

yeah and in German!
I had no idea we defined billion different all US calenders are going to show Sun as the first day of the week and i agree it has been this way in judeo-Christian culture since the time of Rome, obviously at some point in time Europe decided that it made sense to start with the day you go back to work.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

Mar 26, 2011 20:12:49 GMT -5 @craftysarah said:

Mar 26, 2011 20:06:17 GMT -5 ❤ mollymouser ❤ said:

Sunday has traditionally been the first day of the week for approximately 2,000 years.

In Judeo-Christian cultures, this is where the Saturday vs. Sunday Sabbath complicates things. If the 7th day was the day of rest, which day was 7th?

Saturday was considered the Sabbath, until that was changed to Sunday ... I think that was done by Constantine, but I'd have to Google who did it. Jews, Messianic Christians, 7th Day Adventists (and others) still consider Saturday as the Sabbath, where most Catholics and Protestants consider Sunday the Sabbath.

[gobermitcheese]

I have two jobs right now and both work schedules run monday to sunday. The pay periods also end on Sunday for the paycheck issued the following friday. FYI I work in retail so we are open weekends and it might make sense to do the schedules sunday thru saturday but tht is not how they work.

[schildi]

This message has been deleted.

[schildi]

So what is the weekend? Friday and Saturday, or Saturday only?
At my work place we consider Sunday to be the end of the week also. If something is due by the end of week xx, that means by end of day Sunday.

[TD2K]

When I was in Saudi, the 'weekend' is Thursday and Friday as Friday is the Muslim equivalent of Sunday. So Saturday was the first day back at work and the first day of the week.

It all depends where you are.

[schildi]

Yeah, TD2K, kinda took me 15 years to figure that one out, lol.

[so1970]

Mar 26, 2011 20:26:27 GMT -5 schildi said:

Looks ugly, but here is the table in text format:



1 Eins Million0,0 = 100
10 Zehn Million1/6 = 101
100 Hundert Million1/3 = 102
1 000 Tausend Million0,5 = 103
1 000 000 Million Mi- -llion Million1,0 = 106
1 000 000 000 Milliarde Mi- -lliarde Million1,5 = 109
1 000 000 000 000 Billion Bi- -llion Million2,0 = 1012
1 000 000 000 000 000 Billiarde Bi- -lliarde Million2,5 = 1015
1 000 000 000 000 000 000 Trillion Tri- -llion Million3,0 = 1018
1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 Trilliarde Tri- -lliarde Million3,5 = 1021
1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 Quadrillion Quadri- -llion Million4,0 = 1024
1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 Quadrilliarde Quadri- -lliarde Million4,5 = 1027

now my head hurts......what a way to start the week.

[so1970]

in the old testament it says the world was created in 6 days and god rested on the 7th or sabbath . since the old testament was written by the jews and the jewish sabbath was and still is saturday that would make sunday the first day of the week.

[daisylu]

Up until about 3 years ago, the company that I worked for considered Monday the start of the week. Then they discovered it was more cost effective to work hourly laborers 13 days straight followed by a weekend off, than it was to work them 6 days with Sundays off. So they changed the calendar to start on Sunday - that way they still were paying for 6 days each week, and saved the downtime.

[schildi]

Mar 27, 2011 7:24:02 GMT -5 Lady Gaga Gaga Snerd said:

Um..Sunday has always been the first day of the week as far as i ever knew. And, i have never had a calender that didn't have Sunday as the first day of the week! So, really?

Yep, really. All calendars in our house except one show Monday as the first day of the week.
So again, what day(s) is (are) the weekend then?

[TD2K]

All my calendars have Sunday as the first day (taking the left hand position as the first day). However, I personally think of Monday as the first day of the week.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

This is painful!!!

I keep my work calendars set with Monday as the first day, which I suppose, is against the American tradition.

[Plain Old Petunia]

Mar 26, 2011 23:00:07 GMT -5 ❤ mollymouser ❤ said:

Saturday was considered the Sabbath, until that was changed to Sunday ... I think that was done by Constantine, but I'd have to Google who did it. Jews, Messianic Christians, 7th Day Adventists (and others) still consider Saturday as the Sabbath, where most Catholics and Protestants consider Sunday the Sabbath.

The Sabbath wasn't changed, the day of worship was changed. Sabbath means seven, it meant seven then and means seven now. The New Testament plainly states that Christians began to worship on the first day of the week. It is widely speculated that this was to differentiate themselves from the Jews (many of the new Christians were Jews who had converted). Whether true or not, it is clear that the day of worship changed.

[daylight]

Wow, being from Europe, I have not seen a calendar with any other day than Monday as the first day of the week. Just wow.

[Regis]

Mar 26, 2011 20:08:55 GMT -5 schildi said:

Isn't Saturday and Sunday the weekend, as in end of the week?

Yes, they're the ends. Sunday is at the front end and Saturday is at the back end. ;D

[schildi]

Mar 27, 2011 17:49:19 GMT -5 Regis said:

Mar 26, 2011 20:08:55 GMT -5 schildi said:

Isn't Saturday and Sunday the weekend, as in end of the week?

Yes, they're the ends. Sunday is at the front end and Saturday is at the back end. ;D

LOL, that was good. End still means end though, and not beginning.

[debtheaven]

I don't know German Shildi, but both in English and in French, weekend = Sat and Sun. So I would say Monday is the beginning of the week.

If Sunday was the beginning of the week I'm guessing we'd all be at work on Sundays, but we're not.

I do know that Arabic countries have different days off (often Fri and Sat).

[teen persuasion]

Mar 27, 2011 17:49:19 GMT -5 Regis said:

Mar 26, 2011 20:08:55 GMT -5 schildi said:

Isn't Saturday and Sunday the weekend, as in end of the week?

Yes, they're the ends. Sunday is at the front end and Saturday is at the back end. ;D

This is always how I have thought of it - like bookends. The workweek is in the middle, and the weekends are on either end.