Wednesday#Cultural usage

{{see also-text|Names of the days of the week|for more on naming conventions.}}

The name Wednesday continues Middle English {{Lang|enm|Wednesdei}}. Old English still had {{Lang|ang|wōdnesdæg}}, which would be continued as *Wodnesday (but Old Frisian has an attested {{Lang|ofs|wednesdei}}). By the early 13th century, the i-mutated form was introduced unetymologically.{{Clarify|date=July 2018}}

The name is a calque of the Latin {{Lang|la|dies Mercurii}} 'day of Mercury', reflecting the fact that the Germanic god Woden (Wodanaz or Odin) during the Roman era was interpreted as "Germanic Mercury".

The Latin name dates to the late 2nd or early 3rd century. It is a calque of Greek {{lang|grc|ἡμέρα Ἕρμου}} ({{Lang|grc-latn|heméra Hérmou}}), a term first attested, together with the system of naming the seven weekdays after the seven classical planets, in the Anthologiarum by Vettius Valens (c. AD 170).{{cn|date=June 2025}}

The Latin name is reflected directly in the weekday name in most modern Romance languages: {{Lang|sc|mércuris}} (Sardinian), {{Lang|fr|mercredi}} (French), {{Lang|it|mercoledì}} (Italian), {{Lang|es|miércoles}} (Spanish), {{Lang|ro|miercuri}} (Romanian), {{Lang|ca|dimecres}} (Catalan), {{Lang|co|marcuri}} or {{Lang|co|mercuri}} (Corsican), {{Lang|vec|mèrcore}} (Venetian). In Welsh it is {{Lang|cy|Dydd Mercher}}, meaning 'Mercury's Day'.

The Dutch name for the day, {{Lang|nl|woensdag}}, has the same etymology as English Wednesday; it comes from Middle Dutch {{Lang|dum|wodenesdag}}, {{Lang|dum|woedensdag}} ('Wodan's day').

The German name for the day, {{Lang|de|Mittwoch}} (literally: 'mid-week'), replaced the former name {{Lang|de|Wodenstag}} ('Wodan's day') in the 10th century. (Similarly, the Yiddish word for Wednesday is {{Lang|yi|מיטוואך}} ({{Lang|yi-latn|mitvokh}}), meaning and sounding a lot like the German word it came from.)

Most Slavic languages follow this pattern and use derivations of 'the middle' (Belarusian {{Lang|be|серада}} {{Lang|be-latn|serada}}, Bulgarian {{Lang|bg|сряда}} {{Lang|bg-latn|sryada}}, Croatian {{Lang|hr|srijeda}}, Czech {{Lang|cs|středa}}, Macedonian {{Lang|mk|среда}} {{Lang|mk-latn|sreda}}, Polish {{Lang|pl|środa}}, Russian {{Lang|ru|среда}} {{Lang|ru-latn|sredá}}, Serbian {{Lang|sr|среда}} {{Lang|sr-latn|sreda}} or {{Lang|sr|cриједа}} {{Lang|sr-latn|srijeda}}, Slovak {{Lang|sk|streda}}, Slovene {{Lang|sl|sreda}}, Ukrainian {{Lang|uk|середа}} {{Lang|uk-latn|sereda}}).

The Finnish name is {{Lang|fi|keskiviikko}} ('middle of the week'), as is the Icelandic name: {{Lang|is|miðvikudagur}}, and the Faroese name: {{Lang|fo|mikudagur}} ('mid-week day'). Some dialects of Faroese have {{Lang|fo|ónsdagur}}, though, which shares etymology with Wednesday. Danish, Norwegian, Swedish {{Lang|mis|onsdag}}, ({{Lang|mis|Ons-dag}} meaning {{Lang|mis|Odens dag}} 'Odin's day').

In Japanese, the word for Wednesday is {{Nihongo krt|2=水曜日|3=sui youbi}} meaning 'water day' and is associated with {{Lang|ja|水星}} ({{Lang|ja-latn|suisei}}): Mercury (the planet), literally meaning 'water star'. Similarly, in Korean the word for Wednesday is {{Korean|hangul=수요일|rr=su yo il|labels=no}}, also meaning 'water day'.

In most of the languages of India, the word for Wednesday is {{Lang|sa-latn|Budhavāra}} — {{Lang|sa-latn|vāra}} meaning 'day' and Budha being the planet Mercury.

In Armenian ({{Lang|hy|Չորեքշաբթի}} {{Lang|hy-latn|chorekshabti}}), Georgian ({{Lang|ka|ოთხშაბათი}} {{Lang|ka-latn|otkhshabati}}), Turkish ({{Lang|tr|çarşamba}}), and Tajik ({{Lang|tg-latn|chorshanbiyev}}) languages the word literally means 'four (days) from Saturday' originating from Persian ({{lang|fa|چهارشنبه}} {{Lang|fa|cheharshanbeh}}).

Portuguese uses the word {{Lang|pt|quarta-feira}}, meaning 'fourth day', while in Greek the word is {{Lang|el-latn|Tetarti}} ({{lang|el|Τετάρτη}}) meaning simply 'fourth'. Similarly, Arabic {{Lang|ar|أربعاء|rtl=yes}} means 'fourth', Hebrew {{Lang|he|רביעי}} means 'fourth', and Persian {{Lang|fa|چهارشنبه|rtl=yes}} means 'fourth day'. Yet the name for the day in Estonian {{Lang|et|kolmapäev}}, Lithuanian {{Lang|lt|trečiadienis}}, and Latvian {{Lang|lv|trešdiena}} means 'third day' while in Mandarin Chinese {{Lang|zh|星期三}} ({{Lang|zh-latn|xīngqīsān}}), means 'day three', as Sunday is unnumbered.

File:US Navy 080206-N-7869M-057 Electronics Technician 3rd Class Leila Tardieu receives the sacramental ashes during an Ash Wednesday celebration.jpg]]

The Creation narrative in the Hebrew Bible places the creation of the Sun and Moon on "the fourth day" of the divine workweek.

Quakers traditionally referred to Wednesday as "Fourth Day" to avoid the pagan associations with the name "Wednesday",{{cite web |url=http://iymc.org/calendarnames.html |title=Guide to Quaker Calendar Names |author= |publisher=Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative) Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) |access-date=30 March 2017 |quote=In the 20th Century, many Friends began accepting use of the common date names, feeling that any pagan meaning has been forgotten. The numerical names continue to be used, however, in many documents and more formal situations."}} or in keeping with the practice of treating each day as equally divine.

The Eastern Orthodox Church observes Wednesday (as well as Friday) as a fast day throughout the year (with the exception of several fast-free periods during the year). Fasting on Wednesday and Fridays entails abstinence from meat or animal products (i.e., four-footed animals), poultry and dairy products. Unless a feast day occurs on a Wednesday, the Orthodox also abstain from fish, from using oil in their cooking and from alcoholic beverages (there is some debate over whether abstention from oil involves all cooking oil or only olive oil). For the Orthodox, Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year commemorate the betrayal of Jesus (Wednesday) and the Crucifixion of Christ (Friday). There are hymns in the Octoekhos which reflect this liturgically. These include special Theotokia (hymns to the Mother of God) called {{Lang|grc-latn|Stavrotheotokia}} ('Cross-Theotokia'). The dismissal at the end of services on Wednesday begins with these words: "May Christ our true God, through the power of the precious and life-giving cross...."

In Irish and Scottish Gaelic, the name for Wednesday also refers to fasting, as it is {{Lang|ga|Dé Céadaoin}} in Irish Gaelic and {{Lang|gd|Di-Ciadain}} in Scottish Gaelic, which comes from {{lang|ga|chéad}}, meaning 'first', and {{lang|ga|aoine}}, meaning 'fasting', which combined means 'first day of fasting'.{{cite web|url=http://www.bitesizeirishgaelic.com/blog/days-of-the-week/ |title=The Days of the Week in Irish |publisher=Bitesizeirishgaelic.com |date=4 August 2012 |access-date=7 August 2014}}

In American culture many Catholic and Protestant churches schedule study or prayer meetings on Wednesday nights. The sports calendar in many American public schools reflects this, reserving Mondays and Thursdays for girls' games and Tuesdays and Fridays for boys' games while generally avoiding events on Wednesday evening.

In the Catholic devotion of the Holy Rosary, the glorious mysteries are meditated on Wednesday and also Sunday throughout the year.

Wednesday is the day of the week devoted by the Catholic tradition to Saint Joseph.

In Hinduism, Budha is the god of Mercury (planet), Wednesday, and of merchants and merchandise. Krishna, Vithoba, and Ganesha are also worshipped on Wednesday.

According to the Thai solar calendar, the color associated with Wednesday is green.{{Cite web|url=http://dukelanguage.com/2014/01/color-meaning/|title=Did you know that in Thailand, there's an auspicous color for every… |publisher=Duke Language School|location=Bangkok, Thailand|date=2 January 2014|access-date=12 December 2016}}

In the folk rhyme Monday's Child, "Wednesday's child is full of woe". In the rhyme Solomon Grundy, Grundy was "married on Wednesday". In Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, the disagreeable nature of the weather is attributed to it being "Winds-Day" (a play on Wednesday). In Richard Brautigan's In Watermelon Sugar Wednesday is the day when the sun shines grey.{{Full citation needed|date=November 2011}} Wednesday Friday Addams is a member of the fictional family The Addams Family. Her name is derived from the idea that Wednesday's child is full of woe. Additionally, Wednesday sometimes appears as a character's name in literary works. These include Thursday's fictions by Richard James Allen, Wednesday Next from the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde and Neil Gaiman's novel American Gods. In the 1945 John Steinbeck novel Sweet Thursday, the titular day is preceded by "Lousy Wednesday".

Wednesday is sometimes informally referred to as "hump day" in North America, a reference to the fact that Wednesday is the middle day—or "hump"—of a typical work week.{{cite web|url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/hump-day|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104214031/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/hump-day|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 4, 2013|title=Definition of hump day in English|work=Oxford Dictionaries|publisher=Oxford University Press|access-date=3 September 2013}} Lillördag, or "little Saturday", is a Nordic tradition of turning Wednesday evening into a small weekend-like celebration.{{Cite web|last=Woolsey|first=Barbara|date=2 February 2025|title=Lillördag: Sweden's workers de-stress with 'Little Saturday'|url=https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210129-lillrdag-swedens-workers-destress-with-little-saturday|access-date=5 February 2021|website=BBC|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205172655/https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210129-lillrdag-swedens-workers-destress-with-little-saturday|archive-date=5 February 2021}} Humpday is also a name of a 2009 film.

In Poland, Wednesday night is often referred by young people as "time of vodka", after song by Bartosz Walaszek "Środowa noc to wódy czas"

The astrological sign of the planet Mercury, ☿, represents Wednesday—{{Lang|la|dies Mercurii}} to the Romans, it had similar names in Latin-derived languages, such as the Italian {{Lang|it|mercoledì}} ({{Lang|it|dì}} means 'day'), the French {{Lang|fr|mercredi}}, and the Spanish {{Lang|es|miércoles}}. In English, this became "Woden's Day", since the Roman god Mercury was identified by Woden in Northern Europe and it is especially aligned by the astrological signs of Gemini and Virgo.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

• Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent in the Western Christian tradition, occurs forty-six days before Easter (forty, not counting Sundays).
• Black Wednesday, the day of a financial crisis in the United Kingdom
• Holy Wednesday, sometimes called Spy Wednesday in allusion to the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot, is the Wednesday immediately preceding Easter.
• Red Wednesday, the Yezidi festival celebrated in Iraq{{cite journal|title=And the Pearl Became an Egg: The Yezidi Red Wednesday and Its Cosmogonic Background|first=Artur|last=Rodziewicz|date=19 December 2016|journal=Iran and the Caucasus|volume=20|issue=3–4|pages=347–367|doi=10.1163/1573384X-20160306}}

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3 Wednesday

Category:Fasting

Category:Hermes

Category:Odin