First day of the week is Sunday, isn't it?

[Greythorne]

Argument with a friend about the first day of the week.

I say Sunday.

He says Monday.

I tried to explain it (pretty fuzzy, something about the first day of the week being day of worship but felt on shaky ground) and couldn't but remain convinced it is Sunday.

MN jury?

Where I work it is Friday for pay and Saturday for work.

When you add that to the fact that we work with week numbers that start on the first Saturday in April and don't quite align with the tax weeks used by payroll, it gets ever so confusing.

In real life I was always told it was Sunday and therefore, stubbornly, insist the week begins on Monday.

The Business week runs from Monday to Sunday. With the days of the week numbered from 1 to 7, Monday to Friday are therefore days 1 to 5 in a business calendar.

The Cultural week runs from Sunday to Saturday in many Western countries.

It's Monday. Sunday if you're Christian, I suppose - which I am not. The week ends with Sunday, a relaxing family day, and begins with Monday, a busy, get things done day. In my world, anyway.

(Sunday is part of the 'weekend', innit?)

I use Monday, but the government (for working out tax, SMP, MA etc.) use Sunday.

Don't think it really matters.

For Income Tax, weeks start on whatever day the previous 6th of April was.

SMP is complicated - for some purposes weeks run Sunday-Saturday, but for others they start on the day that the employee starts her maternity leave and becomes entitled to SMP which can only be a Sunday if that Sunday is a normal working day.

In UK business, the convention is that weeks start on a Monday, in the US business it is that weeks start on a Sunday.

I'd say it was Monday - as the seventh day, when God rested is Sunday in the Christian faith. But it is culturally variable, as for some the main day of prayer may be Saturday (as nickelbaalamb posted) or Friday in Islam.

Perhaps this is one on which differing views must be accepted.

No.

Sunday is part of the WEEKEND, hence at the end of the week. It is also deemed the "seventh day". There would be no point in a day of rest at the beginning of the week.

Stupid question but (regarding the Sabbath) how exactly are we to know which day the Sabbath is anyway? Surely no one has been counting along since the beginning of all days? And, even if: If we accept for argument's sake the story of Adam and Eve, how were Adam and Eve supposed to have known which day it was? It's not like anyone would have been there to count before they arrived, is it?

FWIW, payroll where I work are adamant that Thursday is the last and Friday the first day of each week.

On only needs to look at the Hebrew words for the days of the week. The word for Sunday translated directly means Day 1, the word for Monday Means Day 2 and so forth with the word for Friday translated as Day 6. The only exception to this pattern is Saturday which translated directly means Sabbath. Therefore as Friday is translated Day 6 and Saturday follows Friday,it is the 7th day of the week which ends the week. In addition as mentioned above Sunday translate as Day 1, thus is the first day of the week.

On only needs to look at the Hebrew words for the days of the week.

How do you justify that "only"? Word origins in a different language might be one reason to take a particular approach, but they don't have authority over us here today in the UK.

Anyway, "September" means the seventh month, but I've got news for you...

It's a convention - there is no right or wrong. I usually think of Monday as the first day of the week, others prefer Sunday. I can't see the big deal! (Yes, I know these things are a big deal on Pedants' Corner).

Also - ZOMBIE THREAD!!