{"id":10886,"date":"2019-07-18T10:04:13","date_gmt":"2019-07-18T10:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=10886"},"modified":"2019-07-18T10:04:26","modified_gmt":"2019-07-18T10:04:26","slug":"what-mittwoch-means","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/what-mittwoch-means\/","title":{"rendered":"What The German Mittwoch Means"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday was\u00a0Mittwoch\u00a0<\/em>(Wednesday), the third day of the German week<\/a>. It’s a\u00a0Tag\u00a0<\/em>(day) that does not even deserve to be called a Tag<\/em>,\u00a0Mittwoch\u00a0<\/em>simply indicates the middle of the\u00a0Woche\u00a0<\/em>(week). And even that is not true anymore. Why does this day have to suffer so much and be singled out like this? Let’s find out.<\/p>\n

From Wodan<\/em> to Jesus<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Wodan, the Hauptgott<\/em> (main deity) of Germanic mythology (Image from Commons.wikipedia.org, public domain)<\/p><\/div>\n

The days of the week in Germanic languages are derived from\u00a0Germanische G\u00f6tter\u00a0<\/em>(Germanic deities) and Himmelsk\u00f6rper <\/em>(celestial bodies).<\/a>\u00a0But not Mittwoch<\/em>.\u00a0Mittwoch\u00a0<\/em>simply indicates the\u00a0Mitte der Woche\u00a0<\/em>(middle of the week). Before the 10th century, it was called\u00a0Wodenstag\u00a0<\/em>(Wodan’s Day), referring to the Germanic Gott\u00a0<\/em>Wodan. The reference to the Germanische G\u00f6tter\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Himmelsk\u00f6rper\u00a0<\/em>can still be seen in the translation used by our neighbors: woensdag\u00a0<\/em>in Dutch and Wednesday\u00a0<\/em>in English. Mercury was put into mi\u00e9rcoles\u00a0<\/em>in Spanish and\u00a0mercredi\u00a0<\/em>in French. This type of naming, after deities and celestial bodies, is originally Babylonian. The Romans and Greek brought it to Europe, and the Germanic tribes made their own version. But the Germans lost their Wodenstag<\/em>. Why?<\/p>\n

Well, the\u00a0Kirche <\/em>(Church) tried\u00a0Christianisierung\u00a0<\/em>(Christianization) all over Europe in the Mittelalter <\/em>(Middle Ages). But the Germanic tribes were not easy to convince. Clearly, because the Church got only one of the week’s names. While not successful in other languages, the Germans accepted\u00a0Mittwoch<\/em>, the middle of the Christian week.<\/p>\n

However, since 1976, Germany defined that the week officially begins on Montag\u00a0<\/em>(Monday), not\u00a0Sonntag\u00a0<\/em>(Sunday). This skews the middle of the week to\u00a0Donnerstag\u00a0<\/em>(Thursday)! So\u00a0Mittwoch\u00a0<\/em>is not even a\u00a0Tag<\/em>, and now it is not even the\u00a0Mitte der Woche<\/em>!<\/p>\n

The only saving grace may just be what we made of it. Maybe.<\/p>\n

Das Bergfest<\/em><\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>

Image by Author<\/p><\/div>\n

Mittwoch <\/em>is one of the least popular Wochentage <\/em>(weekdays) out there. Known as “hump day” in the English world, the day at the peak of the work week, it is as close to the weekend as it is far away from the previous. You had time to reminisce the previous weekend, but yet it is too far off to get excited for the upcoming one.<\/p>\n

In Germany, this “hump day” is known as\u00a0das Bergfest\u00a0<\/em>(the mountain party). A\u00a0Bergfest\u00a0<\/em>is normally a\u00a0Fest\u00a0<\/em>(celebration) half-way through a project, to celebrate the accomplishments so-far. The work week, then, is seen as a week-long project to overcome, from the difficult Monday and Tuesday to the easier Thursday and Friday, with at the peak the Wednesday.<\/p>\n

In this sense, Mittwoch<\/em> actually is the middle of the work week!<\/p>\n

#MittelfingerMittwoch<\/h2>\n

However, not everybody is so happy to celebrate #Bergfest<\/em><\/a>, or to see it as having the hardest part of the week behind them. #MittelfingerMittwoch<\/em><\/a> shows people giving the finger to the\u00a0Mittwoch<\/em>, a horrible day, in the middle of the week!<\/p>\n

How was your\u00a0Mittwoch<\/em>? Does your language have a curiously different name for a weekday? Let me know in the comments below!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Yesterday was\u00a0Mittwoch\u00a0(Wednesday), the third day of the German week. It’s a\u00a0Tag\u00a0(day) that does not even deserve to be called a Tag,\u00a0Mittwoch\u00a0simply indicates the middle of the\u00a0Woche\u00a0(week). And even that is not true anymore. Why does this day have to suffer so much and be singled out like this? Let’s find out. From Wodan to Jesus…<\/p>\n

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