I’m sure you learned the names of the days of the week in English very early on in your first English class, so I hope you know them well by now. Today I have a more advanced lesson on the days of the week in English. Today we will look at the days of the week within some cultural context.  Here we go…

Monday – This is the first day of the workweek (the workweek is 5 days long, Monday-Friday). Monday is so well known for the day we have to go back to work after the weekend that a song has even been written about this called Manic Monday.  This English song is so well known that often people refer to Monday as “Manic Monday.”
Take a listen here to the song:

Wednesday – This day of the week is also known as “hump day,” because Wednesday is in the middle of the workweek. What this means is that people have worked two days and they will have two days left to go until the weekend. So, they have reached the top of the “hump” for the week. I love this commercial about hump day; it makes me laugh every time. Note: Camels are known for having humps on their backs, that is part of what makes this video funny.
See is you get the joke now that you what hump day means: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWBhP0EQ1lA

Thursday – Recently Thursdays have become known to many Americans as “Throwback Thursday,” because people put up pictures (on social media) from a time in the past, to remind (or to poke fun at) friends.

Friday – A saying often associated with Friday is: “TGIF.” (Yes, just like the restaurant.) This acronym stands for ‘Thank God It’s Friday,’ which acknowledges the relief many people feel at reaching the end of the workweek.

Sunday – Although Sunday is considered a holy day to many, to others it is the last day to have fun over the weekend so some people refer to it as Sunday Funday. Young people often have Sunday Funday get-togethers or parties on Sunday.

As you may have noticed many of these other names associated with the days of the week revolve around getting through the workweek and trying to get to the weekend. Is this the same in your native language?