DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post - 'Lord's Day': the return of the old title for Sunday

**Pete789** · 09-21-2006, 08:00 AM

Dear Kosmas,

Among traditionalist Orthodox circles in the English speaking world, this is becoming the practice. Just like, we are saying Pascha instead of Easter, Theophany instead of Epiphany, Nativity instead of Christmas (although there is nothing wrong linguistically or theologically with using Christmas or Epiphany).

As for the days of the week, Old English never used Lordsday, rather Sunnandaeg, following the other Germanic languages from which it is rooted.
Thus:
Sunday= day of the Sun
Monday= day of the Moon
Tuesday= Tiwaz day (Germanic pagan god of war
Wednesay= Odin or Woden's day (chief Nordic and German pagan god)
Thursday= Thor's day (Nordic pagan god of thunder)
Friday= Frigga's day (Odin's wife, Nordic pagan goddess)
Saturday= Saturn's day (Roman pagan god of agriculture)

It is a strange phenomenon with English that even after England was Christianized, the language retained names for the days that are clearly rooted in Paganism. Perhaps this is mainly because the ecclesiastical language of the English Church, even when it was Orthodox, was Latin.

09-21-2006, 08:00 AM	#6
Pete789 Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 536 Senior Member	Dear Kosmas, Among traditionalist Orthodox circles in the English speaking world, this is becoming the practice. Just like, we are saying Pascha instead of Easter, Theophany instead of Epiphany, Nativity instead of Christmas (although there is nothing wrong linguistically or theologically with using Christmas or Epiphany). As for the days of the week, Old English never used Lordsday, rather Sunnandaeg, following the other Germanic languages from which it is rooted. Thus: Sunday= day of the Sun Monday= day of the Moon Tuesday= Tiwaz day (Germanic pagan god of war Wednesay= Odin or Woden's day (chief Nordic and German pagan god) Thursday= Thor's day (Nordic pagan god of thunder) Friday= Frigga's day (Odin's wife, Nordic pagan goddess) Saturday= Saturn's day (Roman pagan god of agriculture) It is a strange phenomenon with English that even after England was Christianized, the language retained names for the days that are clearly rooted in Paganism. Perhaps this is mainly because the ecclesiastical language of the English Church, even when it was Orthodox, was Latin.
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