Friday

Friday (Anglo-Saxon frīgedaeg; from Old High German Frīa, a goddess; Old English daeg, “day”), English name of the sixth day of the week. The day was held sacred to Venus, the goddess of love, by the Romans, who called it dies veneris (“day of Venus”). In the Romance languages the name of the day is derived from the Latin, as in the French vendredi, the Italian venerdì, and the Spanish viernes. Germanic peoples held the day sacred to the Norse goddess of love, Frigg, or Frija. The Germanic languages, like English, use variations of the Old High German frīatag (“day of Frija”) to designate the day. The Hebrew name for Friday, yom shishi, means “sixth day.” Among many Slavic peoples, however, Friday is not regarded as the sixth day of the week, as evidenced by its Russian name, pyatneetza, or “fifth day.” Friday is the Muslim Sabbath and is the day for religious gatherings. The day was chosen by the Prophet Muhammad in commemoration of the creation of man on the “sixth day” of creation and to differentiate his followers from Christians and Jews.

In the Christian religion the day is consecrated to the memory of the crucifixion of Christ. The Greek theologian Clement of Alexandria and other early writers indicate that from the early days of Christianity, Friday was observed by fasting and prayer. In the Greek Orthodox church, as was formerly the practice in the Roman Catholic church, Friday is a day of abstinence from the eating of meat, except when it coincides with a major feast day, such as Christmas.

In Christianity, Friday has long been regarded as an unlucky day. This superstition may be due to the occurrence of the crucifixion of Christ on that day, and may have been strengthened by the fact that Friday was for many years the day of execution of criminals, commonly called “hangman’s day.”