You may have heard the rhyme which foretells the personality of someone born on any particular weekday, but you may be wondering to yourself on what day of the week was I born? Well, puzzle no more - our amphibian hero Springfrog leaps to the rescue once again with our quick and easy Day of Week Calculator. Now you can discover the weekday of not just your own birth but any event in the past or future. Whether you're wondering what day of the week your parents got married or want to check the weekday that a significant historical event like the terrorist attacks on the USA on September 11th 2001 happened, our Day of the week calculator will be able to work it out in a jiffy. Are you considering planning ahead for Christmas early? Our calculator can help there too by telling you what day the big holiday falls on this year, or any year in the future.

On what day of the week were you born, or when did a special event occur?

Enter your date of birth, or date of the special event (then click the "What Day was it?" button):

Day of the Week Rhyme for a child born on a particular weekday

Whilst we're talking about the day of week that you were born, let's take a little more detailled look at what each weekday signifies.

Monday's child is fair of face

In ancient times the Romans and North Germanic tribes named Monday after the moon, and even today in many languages including English, Monday is still named after earth's natural satellite. Luna was the Roman moon Goddess, from which comes the french word Lundi for this day. The face of the moon, being a fair and beautiful sight to behold, is where the line of the rhyme comes from.

A few other languages have a slightly different derivation of Monday, for example in the Basque language the day is called astelehena which derives from "the first day of the week", whereas in Prortuguese the day is called "segunda-feira" which means second day of the week. In Turkish the name for Monday is "pazartesi" which originates from "day after sunday".

In the Middle Ages, Monday morning marked the end of the Truce of God whereby knights were forbidden to fight. Appropriately Neil Armstrong took mankind's first steps on the moon on a Monday, on July 21st 1969.

Tuesday's Child is Full of Grace

Tuesday is named after the Norse God, Tyr, protector of all things and God of War and single-handed combat.

In France, ancient pagans dedicatied this day to Mars, the Roman God of War, and the planet of the same same, resulting in the french word Mardi for this day. This gave rise to similar names in Spanish where one says martes and in Italian where the day is called martedi. In japanese the name is Kayobi which means "Day of Fire".

The sign for Tuesday is ? which also represents, among other things, a male individual and the planet Mars.

In some cultures, Tuesday is considered to be an unlucky day. Russian superstition advises that you should not undertake large projects on a Tuesday, with a saying "On Tuesday birds do not build a nest". Also in Greek and Spanish cultures Tuesday is considered unfortunate. For Greek people this originates from the falling of Constantinople occuring on a Tiesday. The Spanish have a saying "On Tuesday neither marry nor travel, and do not separate from your family". In addition, in the Spanish-speaking world the 13th day of the month 13 is unlucky if it falls on a Tuesday (similar to Friday 13th being unlucky in English-speaking cultures).

It is thought that the phrase "full of grace" in the poem represents God's grace and protection, impyling that a child born on this day will radiate goodwill, mercy and consideration for others.

Wednesday's Child is Full of Woe

According to Germanic paganism, Wednesday is the day of the Norse God Odin, who was also known as Woden. Therefore this day of the week is Wodensday, which has evolved over time into the modern form, Wednesday.

Woden was a father figure among the Norse Gods and was known for his wisdom and shrewdness as well as for being the father of poetry. He was also leader of the wild hunt.

In Swedish, Dutch and Danish languages this day is also namd after Woden. In the rhyme, the assertion that Wednesday's child is full of woe could itself be considered to be a reference to Woden. Rather than being a doomful day to be born, if you came into the world on a Wednesaday you could have Woden's characteristics of being a smart,wise and mature in thought.

During the first century AD, Tacitus, a Roman Senator and historian, wrote a book called the Germania. In this, the first reference to Woden being recognised as the Roman God Mercury was made. It is from Mercury that the name for this day in many languages is derived, for example Mercredi in France or Mercoledi in Italy.

As well as having a planet dedicated to him, Mercury was the god of commerce and of travelers. This is why his temples were built at the entrance of villages.

Other languages including Icelandic and most Slavic languages simply go for a positional name for this day, for example Mittwoch in Germany, meaning middle of the week, thus avoiding the reference to prechristian deities.

It was on a Wednesday that Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver at the Sanhedrin. As a result, Wednesday is a day of fasting for Orthodox Christians except in some celebratory weeks.

In the Middle Ages, a Wednesday evening marked the beginning of the truce of God, when warfare between knights was forbidden.

Thursday's Child has Far to Go

This day owes it's English, Danish, Swedish and Ductch names to the Norse God, Thor, known for his great hammer which he carried. Thor was responsible for the protection of humanity, as well as being the God of thunder and lightning, healing and fertily.

Thor closely parallels the Roman god Jupiter, who was king of the god and also responsible for thunder, lightning and expansion. Indeed it is after the god and planet Jupiter that this day is named in France (Jeudi) as well as in Spanish (Jueves) and many other languages. The Japanese word for this day is Mokuyobi which means Day of the Tree and remains appropriately faithful to the western naming of the day, due to to the fact that Thor was associated with Oak Trees.

Thor had many adventures, celebrated in a number of Norse poems. It could be interpreted that the phrase "Thursday's Child has Far to Go" may mean that if you are born on this day then, like Thor, you will have an eventful and interesting journey through life.

In more recent times, Thusdays are important in producing calendars and in counting the week number that we may be in at any point of the year. The first week on a calendar, and therefore week number one, is the first week containing a Thursday. From there the week number can be counted throughout the year.

Colloquially Thursday is sometimes called "small Friday", expressing the anticipation for the forthcoming weekend.

Friday's Child is Loving and Giving

The characteristics of a child born on a Friday clearly come directly from the deities after whom this day is named. The name of the day in English, as well as some other Northern European languages including German where the day is called Frietag, is derived either from Freya, the Norse goddess of love, fertility and beauty, or from Frigg, the protective Goddess of marriage and motherhood.

Freya and Frigg correspond closely to the Venus, the Roman Goddess of Love, beauty and fertility, and it as after Venus that this day is named in Romanic countries like France where the day is known as Vendredi, or Spain where it is called Viernes.

The most important Friday of the church year is Good Friday in memory of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. In Christian tradition, every Friday is an anniversary of the death of Jesus, and according to strict Catholic and Christian-orthodox faith, no meat except fish should be eaten on Fridays during Lent.

Fridays are a holy day of prest and prayer at Mosques for Islam. It is thought by those practising Islam that Doomsday will fall on a Friday. In Jewish faith the sabbath starts a few minutes before sunrise on Friday.

In Russia in villages Friday afternoon was considered unfavourable for spinning and sewing. Indeed, according to superstition in Christian countries Friday is an inaspicious day. This may stem from the fact that Jesus' death happened on this day. Also it was on Fridays that the Romans collected taxes and caried out condemnations to death in general.

In particular, some people consider a Friday which falls on 13th of the month to be an unlucky day, perhaps because Jesus and the apostles were thirteen in number, combined with Jesus crucifixion on a Friday. Also, the massive and unexpected arrests of the knights of the order of the Temple took place at the dawn of Friday, October 13th, 1307. Others connect this day with the increased activity of evil ghosts. American psychologist Donald Dossey has thought up the special term Paraskevidekatriaphobics for people with an irrational fear of Friday 13th. According to his research, America loses 900 million dollars on each Friday 13th from decreased productivity.

However, for Sicilians, if you are born on a Friday you will be brave and lucky throughout your life.

Saturday's Child Works Hard for a Living

The Roman Empire dedicated this day to the planet and god Saturn, which gave rise in English to Saturn's day, subsequently abbreviated to Saturday. Saturn was the Roman God of agriculture, justice, strength and harvest. It is probably from this that the characteristic of a child born on this day working hard for a living came about, as agriculture is generally hard manual work (and certainly was before the days of massive harvesters and huge mechanical machinery).

In non-English languages, the name for this day originates from "day of bathing" or often from "sabbath day" or "day of rest". The jewish word "Shabat" means "rest" and in the Jewish week this is the seventh day, dedicated to prayer and rest, recalling the seventh day of the week in which God rested after six days of Creation of the universe. Sabbath starts at sunset on Friday and ends at sunset on Saturday according to the biblical method of counting of days. Sabbath is also recognised by some Christians, but in a much less strict way than in orthodox Judaism. Jesus Christ himself rested on Saturday and attended the synagogue on this day.

In France, to protect cinemas, restrictions exist on the showing of recent movies on television on Saturday evenings.

The Child who is born on the Sabbath Day is Bonny and Blithe and Good and Gay

Sunday is literally the day of the sun. Although it is the seventh day of the week in most countries, in Jewish countries it is the first weekday.

In the original Babylonian 7-day- week the names of the days were adopted from Romans and Greek names after 7 planets. Thus the first day which was dedicated to the sun was called hemera or heliou in Greek and Solis in Latin.

Christianity reinterpreted the day and celebrated Christ as the "true light" and the "sun of the justice". In Romanesque languages the name for this day comes from the Latin dies Dominicus, which means "day of the lord", and has developed into dimanche in French for example or Domingo in Spanish. Taking these origins into consideration, it is not surprising that a child born on this day has the positive qualities predicted in the rhyme.

In most Christian countries, Sunday is the Sabbath day. On this day, in almost all Christian churches, a service is held. Sunday has been considered to be a day of rest in Europe, since the reign of Constantine 1st in the 4th Century AD, the first Roman emperor to become a convert to Christianity, who decreed this day as a day of rest in 321 AD.

Acording to James Ussher, an Anglican theologian from the 17 th century the date of creation of the world was on Sunday, 23rd October 4004 BC.

In the 1924 Olympic games in Paris, Scottish athlete Eric Liddell , being a deeply religious Christian, refused to take part in the preliminary heat of his speciality discipline, the 100-metre run, because this took place on a Sunday. Instead, he became unexpectedly and with a new world record, a winner in the 400-metre run which had preliminary heats and finals during working days. These events were later celebrated in the 1981 film, Chariots of Fire.

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