There are 7 days in a week and 4 weeks in a month. Be it Hindu calendar, English calendar, or Islamic calendar, this is one thing common in all. But have you ever wondered why there are only seven days in a week? Why not eight, ten, or five-four days? Do they have any relation with the nine planets? If so, then why do all calendars follow it? After all, where did this concept come from? The answer is very shocking.
According to a report by the Royal Museum Greenwich, the number 7 has been important for all cultures, not just Hindu. According to the earliest evidence available, a 7-day week was created during the reign of Sargon I, the ruler of Akkad, around 2300 BC. Sargon was the astronomically talented king of the Babylonians (today’s Iraq). He used to worship the number 7. These seven days were named after the seven planets that the people here could see through the telescope. Like Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. Of these, 5 planets could then be seen with the naked eye.
Why were the planets made the basis?
Now you might be wondering why these planets were made the basis? According to the report, months, years and days are directly related to astronomical events. Like the Earth rotating on its axis or completing its revolution around the Sun. The Moon completes its revolution around the Earth in approximately 27.3 days. The period between new moon to full moon or full moon to new moon is approximately 14.5 days. Half of it is 7.25. That means about seven days. Similarly, a month was divided into two parts, each part of two weeks. Then one year was made by combining 52 weeks. It is believed in Judaism that the world was created in these 7 days only. In the Roman Empire, standards were set by placing these seven ‘planets’ in a sequential order. In almost all cultures, the days of the week are named in these two ways.
Yagya festival used to last for 7 days
In Indian tradition, during the Vedic period, there was a 7-day Yagya festival. But, the days were not given names along with it. Later, when Alexander came to India, he started spreading Greek culture. From here the concept of seven-day week also spread. Probably its oldest form here is in Garuda Purana written in the third century. It was composed after contact with the Yavanas of India. After India, China started the seven-day week. People of Jewish and Islamic religions used to reserve one day a week for worship. Used to work the rest of the day. Later it was decided that one should set aside one day for religious work.
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FIRST PUBLISHED: February 7, 2024, 17:27 IST