From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The god Woden, after whom 'Wednesday' was named. "Odin, the Wanderer" 1886 by Georg von Rosen (1843-1923)

Wednesday is considered either the third or the fourth day of the week, between Tuesday and Thursday. The name comes from the Middle English Wednes dei, which is from Old English Wodnes dæg, meaning the day of the Germanic god Woden (Wodan) who was a god of the Anglo-Saxons in England until about the 7th century. Wodnes dæg is like the Old Norse Oðinsdagr ("Odin's day"), which is an early translation of the Latin dies Mercurii ("Mercury's day"). Although Mercury (the messenger of the gods) and Woden (the king of the Germanic gods) are not equivalent in most regards, both gods guided the souls of the dead to the underworld.

When Sunday is taken as the first of the week, the day in the middle of each week is Wednesday. Arising from this, the German name for Wednesday has been Mittwoch (literally: "mid-week") since the 10th Century, having displaced the former name: Wodanstag ("Wodan's day"). The Finnish name is similarly practical: Keskiviikko (literally: "center of the week") as is the Icelandic name: Miðvikudags ("Mid-week day").

According to the Hebrew Bible, Wednesday is the day when the Sun and Moon were created.

Wednesday is also in the middle of the common 5-day working week which starts on Monday and finishes on Friday. However, see also Thursday.

In Romance languages it is derived from the name of the Roman god Mercury: mercredi (French), mercoledì (Italian), miércoles (Spanish), miercuri (Romanian), dimecres (Catalan), dies Mercurii (Latin). Similarly, the Hindi name for Wednesday, Budhvar is derived from the Vedic name for Mercury, Budh. Russian does not use pagan names but instead uses sredá, meaning "middle," similar to the German Mittwoch. Likewise, Portuguese uses the word quarta-feira, meaning "fourth day."

An English language idiom for Wednesday is "hump day", a reference to making it through to the middle of the work week as getting "over the hump". It is also unofficially referred to as "the peak of the week".

Quakers traditionally refer to Wednesday as "Fourth Day", eschewing the pagan origin of the name "Wednesday". Most eastern languages also use a name with this meaning, for much the same reason. Faithful Orthodox Christians observe a vegetarian / fish-only fast on Wednesdays (and Fridays) in some countries such as Greece.

In Thailand, a certain amount of people believe cutting hair on Wednesday will bring bad luck, many traditional barber shops in Thailand close on this day.^[1]

Wednesday The Movie is a short film produced by Joel Nassan. It has won many awards including the Jimmy Stewart Crystal Heart Award at the Heartland Film Festival. you can see the 9 minute film at www.wednesdaythemovie.com.

In the nursery rhyme, "Wednesday's Child is full of woe".

The film Angel Heart includes a scene where Harry Angel refers to Wednesday as "Anything Can Happen Day," in reference to the original Mickey Mouse Club television program.

In the 19th century in some northern counties of England, particularly Yorkshire, Wednesday was a designated half-day (afternoon) off work. The English Association Football team Sheffield Wednesday was formed according to the day on which they played their matches. The team was officially known as The Wednesday until in 1929, when under the stewardship of manager Bob Brown, the club was renamed to Sheffield Wednesday.

Wednesday Friday Addams is a member of the fictional Addams Family, created by cartoonist Charles Addams for The New Yorker.

For residents of New England, Wednesday is "Prince Spaghetti Day", as proclaimed by Lowell, Massachusetts.

Along with every other day of the week, Drowned Wednesday is the third book in the Keys to the Kingdom series.

The lead singer of The Murderdolls is called Wednesday.

From comedian Dane Cook: -"Back in the day, which is always a Wednesday."

Wednesday Mourning is an American Gothic Model.

Wednesday Morning, 3 a.m. is a song by Simon and Garfunkel.

In Neil Gaiman's American Gods, the god Odin (Woden being the origin of the word Wednesday) refers to himself as Wednesday.

The astrological sign of the planet Mercury represents Wednesday -- Dies Mercurii to the Romans, with similar names in Latin-derived languages, such as the French Mercredi and the Spanish Miércoles. In English, this became "Woden's Day", since the Roman god Mercury was identified with Woden in northern Europe.

• Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, occurs forty days before Easter, not counting Sundays.
• Spy Wednesday is an old name given to the Wednesday immediately preceding Easter, in allusion to the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot.

1. ^ http://www.hdamm.de/kultur/sct-th07.htm