Sunday

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For other uses, see Sunday (disambiguation).

Sunday is traditionally the first day of the Judaeo-Christian seven-day week, between Saturday and Monday, and the second day of the weekend in some cultures. It is considered a holiday in lands of Christian tradition, and is the day when most Christians attend Church.

In India, Sunday is Ravivar. It is based on Ravi - Vedic God of Sun.

In the Gregorian calendar, no century can start on a Sunday. In the Hebrew calendar, no year can start on a Sunday. Any month beginning on a Sunday will contain a Friday the 13th.

1 The name Sunday
2 Position during a week
3 Sunday and the Sabbath
4 Common occurrences on Sunday
5 Named days
6 Sunday in popular culture
7 See also
8 External Link

[edit] The name Sunday

The name "Sunday" (Day of the Sun) apparently originated in pre-Christian Egyptian culture. (See T. Slater's article "Sunday" in the 1908 Catholic Encyclopedia.) In Ptolemaic Egyptian astrology, the seven planets, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and the Moon, each had an hour of the day assigned to them, and the planet which was "regent" during the first hour of any day of the week gave its name to that day. The Egyptian form of the seven-day week spread from Egypt to Rome during the first and second century, when the Roman names of the planets were given to each successive day. Germanic-speaking nations apparently adopted the seven-day week from the Romans, so that the dies Solis became Sunday (German, Sonntag). See also Sol Invictus.

The first Christian reference to Sunday is found in the First Apology of St. Justin Martyr (circa 150 A.D.). In a well-known passage of the Apology, Justin describes the Christian custom of gathering for worship on Sunday. "And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place . . .", he writes. Evidently Justin used the term "Sunday" because he was writing to a non-Christian, pagan audience. In Justin's time, Christians usually called Sunday the Lord's Day (because they observed it as a weekly memorial of Jesus Christ's resurrection) or "the Eighth Day" (because of the Christian belief that Christ's resurrection on the day following the seventh-day Sabbath is a portal to timeless eternity that transcends the seven-day weekly cycle).

[edit] Position during a week

In the tradition of ancient Jews via Ecclesiastical Latin Sunday is seen as the first day of the week in some parts of the world; including the United States, Canada, and in parts of Africa. However in few countries, especially in Europe, Sunday is the last day of the week. Consequently, the standard for international date and time formats, ISO 8601, states that Monday is the first day of the week. In some languages the name for Wednesday reflects Sunday's status as the first day of the week: German has Mittwoch ("midweek"); Finnish has keskiviikko ("center of the week"); and Icelandic has Miðvikudags ("mid-week day").

[edit] Sunday and the Sabbath

Among Christians (with the exception of seventh-day Sabbatarians, such as the denominations listed above) Sunday is considered holy and often a day of rest and church-attendance.

The first Christians were Jews and maintained the observance of the Jewish Sabbath rest on Saturday, but by the first half of the second century most Christians no longer observed the Sabbath, instead gathering for worship on Sunday (although for some time the Sabbath continued to be held in a special regard even among Christians who observed Sunday). Consequently, Christians would avoid secular activities to allow time for worship. However, it is not until the fourth century that ecclesiastical and civil legislation was enacted forbidding work in a manner similar to the observance of the Jewish Sabbath. Throughout history there have been Christians, especially Protestants, who believe Sunday must be observed with just the sort of rigorous abstinence from work associated with the Jewish Sabbath, but for most Christians the custom and obligation of Sunday rest has not been as strict.

In Orthodox Christian families and communities, some activities are not done, e.g. working, doing something that requires somebody else to work such as buying goods or services (including the use of public transport), driving a car, gardening, washing a car, etc. Exceptions which are allowed are making use of religious services, and, usually, using electricity, and urgent medical matters. In Roman Catholicism, those who work in the medical field, in law enforcement, or soldiers in a war zone are dispensed from the usual obligation to avoid work on Sunday.

The majority of Christians have continued to observe Sunday ever since, although throughout history one sometimes finds Christian groups that continued or revived the observance of the Saturday Sabbath. More recently in history, Christians in the Seventh-day Adventist, Seventh Day Baptist, and Church of God (Seventh-Day) denominations (along with many related or similar sects), as well as many Messianic Jews, have revived the practice of gathering for worship, and abstaining from work, on the Saturday Sabbath.

Many languages lack separate words for "Saturday" and "Sabbath". Eastern Orthodox churches, as well as many Roman Catholics, distinguish between the Sabbath (Saturday) and Sunday, which some Christians traditionally call the Lord's Day. However, many Protestants and Roman Catholics refer to Sunday as the Sabbath, though this is by no means a universal practice among Protestants and Catholics. Quakers traditionally refer to Sunday as "First Day" eschewing the pagan origin of the name.

[edit] Common occurrences on Sunday

In the United States, professional football is usually played on Sunday, although Saturday and Monday (via Monday Night Football) also see some professional games. College football usually occurs on Saturday, and high-school football tends to take place on Friday night or Saturday afternoon. It is not uncommon for church attendance to shift on days when a late morning or early afternoon game is anticipated by a local community.

Also in the United States, many federal government buildings are closed on Sunday. Privately owned businesses also tend to close or are open for shorter periods of the day than on other days of the week.

Many American and British television networks and stations also broadcast their political interview shows on Sunday mornings.

Many American and British daily newspapers publish a larger edition on Sundays, which often includes color comic strips, a magazine, and a coupon section.

In Ireland, Gaelic football and hurling matches are predominantly played on Sundays, with the second and fourth Sundays in September always playing host to the All-Ireland hurling and football championship finals, respectively.

Radio stations often play specialty radio shows such as Casey Kasem's countdown or other nationally syndicated radio shows that may differ from their regular weekly music patterns on Sunday morning and/or Sunday evening.

[edit] Named days

Easter Sunday, the day in the Bible on which Christ rose from the dead, celebrated across the Christian world and regarded as the most important day in the Christian calendar.
Low Sunday, first Sunday after Easter, is also known as the Octave of Easter, White Sunday, Quasimodo Sunday, Alb Sunday, Antipascha Sunday, and Divine Mercy Sunday.
Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter.
Passion Sunday, formerly denoting the fifth Sunday of Lent, since 1970 the term applies to the following Sunday also known as Palm Sunday.
Septuagesima Sunday, before 1970, was the third from the last Sunday before Lent.
Stir-up Sunday, is the last Sunday before Advent.
Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost.
Laetare Sunday
Gaudete Sunday
Whitsunday
Super Bowl Sunday
Bloody Sunday
Selection Sunday

[edit] Sunday in popular culture

In the popular rhyme, "The child born on Sunday is fair and wise and good and gay". Another version of the rhyme was "And the child born on Sabbath Day is bonny and blithe, and good and gay."
"Sunday" is also the name of the first song on David Bowie's 2002 album Heathen
Character in G.K. Chesterton's book "The Man Who Was Thursday"