Why do we have a 7 day week? Why not 5 or 8 days, for example?

Question

The month and the day come from nature, but the week is surely just a cultural construct? Why was it invented? Who invented it? Did old societies like Sumeria and Vedic India have a week? If so, was it a 7 day week?

No religious fundies, please, I HAVE read Genesis.

Thanks Almethod for the first sensible answer. 7 is a sacred number in ancient cultures because of the seven chakras in the human body.

I'm amused by the idea of halving the week. A three and a half day week?? You must be half joking!

Answer 1

Origin of the seven-day week
Babylonian, Hindu, and Jewish seven-day week:
Hindu civilization is known to have had the concept of seven-day week with instances in the Ramayana, a sacred epic written in Sanskrit about 300 BC, in which there is a mention of Bhanu-vaar meaning Sunday, Soma-vaar meaning Moon-day and so forth.
The ancient Babylonians are known to have observed a seven-day week; each day dedicated to a different deity. The significance of seven comes from Babylonian astronomy. There are the seven heavenly bodies or luminaries normally visible to the naked eye (the Sun, Moon, and 5 visible planets), and they associated each with a deity.
Other theories speculate that the fixed seven-day period is a simplification of a quarter of a lunar month.
The Hebrew and therefore Christian 7 day week corresponds to the creation of earth in 6 days and the seventh being a day of rest.

Answer 2

Why Is A Week 7 Days

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Why do we have a 7 day week? Why not 5 or 8 days, for example?
The month and the day come from nature, but the week is surely just a cultural construct? Why was it invented? Who invented it? Did old societies like Sumeria and Vedic India have a week? If so, was it a 7 day week?

No religious fundies, please, I HAVE read Genesis.

Answer 4

You don’t need to exercise for hours on end. Short, sharp sets of exercise will produce better results should you work hard. Get a skipping rope, skip for two a few minutes, do push ups for 60 seconds or so, skip for two minutes, rest first minute. Then change the push up to something else like sit ups in addition to do the set again. Repeat it five times and it’s a simple, effective workout that will progress results than a long run or swim.

Answer 5

You don’t need to exercise for long periods of time. Short, sharp sets of exercise will produce better results in the event you work hard. Get a passing up rope, skip for two minutes, do push ups for about a minute, skip for two minutes, rest first minute. Then change the push around something else like sit ups along with do the set again. Repeat it five times and it’s a simple, effective workout that will get better results than a long manage or swim.

Answer 6

The Sumerians were probably the originators of the seven day week. Seven is a "magical" number in many primitive cultures, for some reason. It may be because there are seven noteworthy astronomical objects to primitive people: sun, moon, and the five planets visible to the naked eye. These were usually personified as "gods". The primitive tribes who invented the biblical fairy tales would have used seven, since their stories ultimately came from Sumerian mythology. Also, four weeks of seven days approximates the time between successive phases of the moon. This is purely coincidence, but to superstitious people it would seem important.

Answer 7

If you look back, 7 has always been prominant. I think that even the Epic of Gilgamesh makes reference to the number seven-- and that predated Genesis, by the reckoning of the scientific community.

It IS a cultural construct, I know that other cultures have constructed the week differently (I'm pretty sure the Maya, for example, used a different system) but the literal application of the Bible in Europe from the time of Constantine onward ensured that the Jewish construct of a seven-day week became fundamental.

The month, by the way, isn't strictly natural. It perhaps was in its origins, but people (and particularly rulers) like to make their mark on things. Hence the Romans first made it 10 (they liked order) and then added a couple more months, July and August, which pushed back September through December so that they no longer correspond to the 7-10 that was their origin. They were then adjusted later on in length to reflect a careful rebalancing that includes the leap year.

Time is so fundamental to who we are, and how we measure time is perhaps the ultimate expression of a society. It used to be that the calendar would be marked by the passing of rulers, or from one catastrophe to the next. Now it is measured from an arbitrary spot in time that is straddled by the lifetime of a carpenter from serially conquered land.

Answer 8

Music enables you to eat more. According to a survey by the journal Psychology and Marketing, soft, classical tunes encourage that you take time over your meal, so you consume more meal. So, switch off – silence could make you more aware of what you’re adding your mouth.

Answer 9

Set performance-based goals. Always set yourself incrementally larger goals each week to be sure you’re engaged and have something to strive for. Each little achievement is also an incentive that you’re going in the best direction. From doing 10 more squats to mastering the latest yoga pose, whatever floats your boat.

Answer 10

Don’t count calories after you consume. Check the calories before you dive in and you will find it puts you away from that extra chocolate chip cookie.

Answer 11

Hold it natural. Avoiding processed foods will keep the digestion working efficiently as well as minimise your salt intake.