Sheshen Eceni: General History Page

Origins of our week days:

MONDAY:
Moon-daeg A.S.: Mona, moon day, daeg –day.

TUESDAY:
Tiwes-daeg A.S.: Tiw god of war.

WEDNESDAY:
Wodens-daeg : A.S. Woden; a teutonic god.

THURSDAY:
Thors-daeg : A.S. Thor; the Teutonic god of thunder.

FRIDAY:
Frige-daeg : A.S.Day of the goddess Frig, wife of Woden or Odin.

SATURDAY:
Saturns-daeg : A.S.This day is dedicated to the Roman god Saturn.

SUNDAY:
Sun-daeg: A.S. This day is dedicated to the ancient ones who worshipped the
Sun.

The Roman Calendar:
The Roman Calendar is said to have been established by Romulus. It contained 304 days, and was divided into ten months. Eventually two more months were added. As a result of this action a Roman year consisted of twelve months. The months were alternated consisting of 29 and 30 days. An extra day was added giving a total of 355 days in a Roman Year.

The Julian Calendar:
The original Roman calendar had a 355 day year, until Julius Caesar decided to adopt the Egyptian one which was more accurate having 365 days in a year. By adding an extra day every forth year to the month of February, this eventually became known as the Julian calendar. Although it has undergone many modifications it is the same calendar that is in use today.

Before the new calendar could be introduced to Rome 46BC had to be lengthened to 445 days. A Roman year started in March, and Caesar declared that the fifth month of Quintilis should be renamed Julius in his honour. Augustus his successor then followed suit and had the sixth named after himself.

The days were numbered with reference to three principal days in each month. And the calends, ‘day of the new moon’ was always the first day of the month. Although the nones and the ides changed around depending on the length of the month. With months such as March with thirty one days, nones would be on the seventh day and the ides the fifteenth, though in shorter months they became the fifth and thirteenth days.

Viking Ships and the origins of Starboard and Larboard:
In Viking Ships every warrior hung his shield or 'bord' on the side of the ship and, as a result of this 'bord' came to mean the side of the ship where the shields were hung. The 'steer oar' was fastened to the right-hand side of the ship which became known as the 'steer-side' or 'steer-bord'. In time this became known as 'starboard'. The left-hand side of a ship was called the 'lower side' or 'lower-bord' later changed to 'larboard'.