Saturday

From TheBestLinks.com

Saturday is the day of the week between Friday and Sunday. Its name is unique among the names of days, in that it is derived from the Roman god Saturn, while the other six names are derived from Saxon gods.

By tradition derived from ancient Jews, Saturday is the last day of the week. That convention remains universally standard in the United States, but in modern Europe many people now consider Saturday the sixth (penultimate) day of the week, and Sunday the last. The modern European convention has been formalized by ISO 8601.

In the popular rhyme, "Saturday's Child works hard for a living".

In ancient Jewish tradition Saturday is the sabbath. Many languages lack separate words for "Saturday" and "sabbath". Eastern Orthodox churches distinguish between the sabbath (Saturday) and the Lord's day (Sunday). Roman Catholics put so little emphasis on that distinction that many among them follow – at least in colloquial language – the Protestant practice of calling Sunday the sabbath.

In Scandinavian countries, Saturday is called L�rdag or L�verdag etc., the name being derived from the word laugr, meaning bath, thus L�rdag equates to bath-day.

The modern Maori name for it, Rahoroi, means "washing-day".

Saturday is part of the weekend, and traditionally is a day of relaxation. Many parties are held on Saturdays, because it precedes Sunday, another day of rest, and oftentimes clubs, bars and restaurants are open later Saturdays than on weeknights.