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Renethe names of deities from northern mythology
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With the exception of Wednesday, the names of the German days of the week have the same origin as the English names:
Montag - Monday - named after the moon
Dienstag - Tuesday - named after the Germanic wargod Tiw (German Ziu)
Mittwoch - literally middle of the week but used to be known as Wodanstag - Wednesday - named after the the Germanic god Wodan (or Woden, known in Norse mythology as Odin)
Donnerstag - Thursday - named after the Germanic weather god Donar (known in Norse mythology as Thor)
Freitag - Friday - named after the Germanic God Frigg
Samstag - Saturday - named after the Roman god Saturn (ironically the German name is derived from the the Jewish word Å abbatai star (Saturn) (explains also why Saturday is known as the Å abbath), via corruption of the greek word sabbaton to sambaton.
Sonntag - Sunday - named after the sun
n.b. in Northern Germany Saturday is commonly known as Sonnabend (literally sunevening). This term harks back to Germanic time-keeping when the day started with the evening before (opposite of what we have today). Eventually the term was applied to the whole of the day rather than just the evening. Some scholars believe that remnants of this ancient method of time-keeping still exist in English in the terms Hallowe'en, Christmas Eve and New Years Eve, and the contraction of Evening to Eve. As a result of these days being before the actual day in question, eve has since taken on the meaning of the day or period of time immediately before an event or occasion.
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