The things you think about on a Monday afternoon. Sitting quietly, I started to reflect over where the Swedish words for the days of the week come from. After a little research, I found that all of them stem from Norse mythology. Additionally all, but one, are named after the Gods and Goddesses of that period.
Do you know which day is not named after a Norse God or Goddess?
- Måndag – Monday – named after the Norse God ‘Måne’, which means moon.
- Tisdag – Tuesday- named after the Norse God ‘Tyr’, a God of War
- Onsdag – Wednesday – named after the Norse God ‘Oden’, the King God of Wisdom, War and Death
- Torsdag – Thursday – named after the Norse God ‘Thor’, the God of Thunder
- Fredag – Friday – named after the Norse Goddess ‘Freya’ or ‘Frigg’, the Goddess of Love and Fertility (also by the way Oden’s wife)
- Lördag – Saturday – named not after a god, but after the Norse tradition of bathing – called ‘att löga sig’
- Söndag – Sunday – named after the Nordic Goddess of the Sun – ‘Sol’ or ‘Sunna’.
If you’re interested in knowing how to pronounce the Swedish days of the week, check out this little film, and put your dancing shoes on!
Watching the Swedes 