G. Adam Stanislav scripsit:
> Does ISO say anything about this? If not, is there a most commonly used system
> for determining the first day of the week in "most of the world"?
I can't comment on ISO, but I can discuss the history.
The 7-day week is of Jewish origin, and in the Jewish calendar, the
7th day or sabbath has always been Saturday (= Saturn's day in ROman
and English calendars). Therefore Sunday = 1st day. This was the
traditional religious day among Jews (and still is) as well as among
early Christians.
Around the 4th or 5th centuries, the custom appeared among Christians
of celebrating the 1st day rather than the 7th day, in commemoration
of the Resurrection. In order to harmonize with 7th-day-oriented
commandments, some Christian societies renumbered the days, making
Monday the 1st day and Sunday the 7th, in defiance of calendrical
history.
In the U.S. today, both conventions are used: Sat & Sun are collectively
the "weekend", suggesting a Monday start, but calendars generally
begin on Sunday, except for appointment calendars, which usually begin
on Monday and combine Saturday and Sunday into a single slot.
--
John Cowan cowan@ccil.org
I am a member of a civilization. --David Brin
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : Tue Jul 10 2001 - 17:20:47 EDT