Born on a Monday

The name and its planet

Monday is the dies Lunae, the day of the Moon: Old English Mōnandæg, German Montag, French lundi, Italian lunedì and Spanish lunes all keep the lunar name. In Hindi it is Somavār, from Soma, the Moon, and in Japanese Getsuyōbi, the "moon day". Other calendars simply count: in Hebrew it is Yom Sheni, "the second day", in Arabic al-Ithnayn, "the second", and in Portuguese segunda-feira. Russian ponedelnik means "the day after the day of no work".

Born on a Monday

The rhyme opens with "Monday's child is fair of face", and the Moon's associations with beauty, imagination and changeable feeling colour the Western astrological picture of the day. According to a hadith in the collection of Muslim, the Prophet Muhammad, asked why he fasted on Mondays, replied that it was the day on which he was born and on which revelation first came to him; voluntary fasting on Mondays and Thursdays is a widespread Muslim practice. Among the Akan of Ghana a Monday-born boy is Kwadwo (Kojo) and a girl Adwoa; the root dwo is usually explained as "calm" or "peace". In Thailand Monday's colour is yellow, and because King Bhumibol Adulyadej was born on a Monday in 1927, yellow became the colour of loyalty to the monarchy. The Thai Monday Buddha stands with a raised hand, calming quarrels. Burmese astrology gives the Monday-born the tiger.

Lore and observance

Many Hindus dedicate Monday to Shiva, who wears the crescent moon in his hair, and some fast on Mondays, especially during the month of Shravan. In Vedic astrology the day belongs to Chandra, the Moon (see Vedic astrology). In Western magical correspondences Monday is linked with silver, dreams and travel by water.