Monday gets its name from the old English Mōnandæg, or Moon day. The Greek Goddess of the moon is Selene, or Luna to the Romans. She is depicted as a beautiful woman with long black hair. She rides across the sky in a silver chariot that is pulled by either a pair of horses, a team of oxen, or even dragons. She is well known for her love affairs, including one with Zeus, the king of gods. Selene is a favorite among poets and authors for the love of the moonlight.

Despite the name, Monday has a far darker side. According to Wikipedia, Monday is the most popular day to commit suicide, call in sick, and surf the web in the Netherlands. It also receives the criticism of every member of the standard working class. The constant wavering and inconsistency has come out in English as the word ‘lunacy.’

And as I publish this, the moon is about to experience a total lunar eclipse. So, go out and enjoy it. And give thanks to Selene for the lights she shines.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monday
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selene
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/s/selene.html
http://www.indepthinfo.com/weekdays/monday.shtml

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Filed under: Blog - @ December 20, 2010 9:24 pm

Tags: days of the week, goddess, monday