Saturday

The Saturday ( in western and southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland ) or Saturday ( in northern Germany and East Middle German language area) is the sixth day of the week according to internationally standardized counting ( ISO 8601 ), according to Abrahamic count ( Jews, Christians, Muslims) the seventh and final. Originally represented the Saturday as the "Day of Saturn" the first day of the week, as Saturn occupies the top rank of the seven weekday names in the downward oriented sidereal ranking among the planets. Cassius Dio referred to the first direct evidence as first day of week in connection with the city of Pompeii, which the " fourth week" (24 August AD 79 ) was destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius. In the further course of Saturday shifted to Christian counting from the first to the last day.

Saturday is a working day, even when he is not working in most occupations in the industry and crafts.

In the calculation of time limits on Saturdays but is treated as a public holiday: If the deadline falls on a Saturday, so the deadline is extended to the next working day ( § 193 BGB).

The day in the High German language area two terms that are regional differences in some cases almost exclusively, partially parallel, used in recent times, however, is a trend towards Saturday detectable.

Saturday

The name Saturday, Old High German sambaztac comes from a developed vulgar Greek form sambaton the Greek word sabbaton which ultimately equating the term "day of Saturn " in reference to the Hebrew term Sabbatai ( "Star (Saturn ) of the Sabbath " ) goes back. It spread with the missionary work of the Southern German -speaking area upriver and today, South and West Germany used in Austria. Especially in the Jewish religion and the Free Church of Seventh- day Adventist Church, he is considered holiday ( see also Sabbath ). The Romance languages ​​go uniformly on back: French le samedi, Italian il sabato, Spanish el sábado.

Linguistically untenable is the interpretation that the Old High German form was due to S'Ambeths day, so on a day to honor an alleged Norican- Celtic earth goddess Ambeth, one of the three Bethen. While this thesis may explain the geographical distribution in Austria and southern Germany quite good, but already the theory of the existence of Bethen as pagan Göttinnentrinität based solely on the dubious interpretations of amateur researchers Hans Christoph Scholl (1936: The Three Eternal ) and Richard Fester ( 1962: Language of the Ice Age ), whose theories of linguists be unanimously rejected.

Saturday

The term Saturday ( Old High German: sunnunaband, Old English sunnanæfen ) has come from the Old English in the German-speaking world, perhaps with the Anglo-Saxon Mission. The second part originally meant " (previous ) night ." In the early Middle Ages, the appointment extended to the whole day, as the day before the first day of Christmas (Christmas Eve or before the New Year, see also English New Year's Eve ( Silvester ) or fortnight = 14 days from OE feorwertyne niht ). " Saturday" is used mainly in northern Germany and in the East Middle German.

" Saturday" in the GDR was ( according to the prevailing regional distribution ) the official name. Even in today's German legal texts ( among others in § 193 BGB or shop closing laws of some northern and eastern German states), the term is used Saturday.

In Austria, Switzerland and southern Germany, the term is largely uncommon and is more than the passive vocabulary known as typical North German.

Other forms

In Westphalia and in the East Frisian Platt of Low German Saterdag has received ( cf. Dutch Zaterdag, Saterdag Afrikaans, and English. Saturday ), a calque of Latin This Saturni ( "Day of Saturn ").

From the Russian word for Saturday, Subbota (Russian Суббота ), the Subbotnik is derived which voluntary unpaid work on Saturday. Such work assignments, there were at times more common in the GDR.

Place names

Place names with " Saturday " are derived from the medieval street markets and court days on Saturdays from (Latin Sabbatum, poln sobota, ungar szombat ). Examples are:

• Saturday Mountain, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
• Saturday, Canton Zurich, Switzerland
• Soboth (Styria ), Austria
• Sobotka, okres Jičín, Czech Republic
• Sobotka ( Zobten ), Lower Silesia, Poland
• Sobotín ( Zöptau ), Olomouc Region, Czech Republic
• Sobotište, okres Senica, Slovakia
• Subotica, Serbia
• Szombathely, Hungary
• Rimavská Sobota, Slovakia
• Spišská Sobota, Slovakia
• Murska Sobota, Slovenia