#13 Mondays, Moon Day

Every Monday I hear complaints about how tough it is to end the weekend. I love my job, so Mondays are not an issue for me (ok, perhaps I'm one of those annoyingly positive people. sorry). This Blog is for those of you who have never considered what a blessing Mondays can be. Did you know that Monday was a common name for British girls born on Mondays? Going further back, it is the day dedicated to the Moon.

Interestingly, this Moon referance occurs across many cultures throughout history. According to cybersamurai:

Monday

- Latin = Dies Lunis ("Moon's Day", Luna was the name of their moon-goddess)
- Italien = Lunedi ("Moon's Day", latin origin)
- French = Lundi ("Moon's Day", latin origin)
- Spanish = Lunes ("Moon's Day", latin origin)- Portuguese = Segunda-Feira ("Second Day")

- Greek = Hemera Selenes ("Selene's Day", Selene was the greek goddess of the moon)

- Skandinavian = the origin of the skandinavian "Manudagur" is Mano, the god of the moon)
- Icelandic = Manudagur ("Mano's Day", Mano or Mani was the skandinavian moon-god)
- Swedish = Måndag
- Danish = Mandag
- Norwegian = Mandag
- Dutch = Maandag ("Moon's Day", skandinavian origin)
- German = Montag ("Moon's Day", from the Anglo-Saxon moon-god Mano or the skandinavian god Mani)
- English = Monday ("Moon's Day", from the Anglo-Saxon moon-god Mano or the skandinavian god Mani)

- Japanese = Getsu Yo Bi ("Moon Day")

Apparently, somewhere in the world's collective history, there was something significant about the second day of the week (uh, when they started counting I guess) that must have been moon related. A full moon perhaps?

Interestingly, in the book of Genesis, the moon doesn't get created until the third day.  Anyhow, the moon is pretty important, so I don't mind acknowledging that as a mental note once a week.

Thhe moon is moving, slowly, away from the Earth towards the sun. Over time, this will affect our tidal shifts and possibly our plate tectonics. The moon also has frozen water particles and some useful mineral deposits, which means we won't have to ship them via rocket from Earth if we decide to settle there.

In our present time, the moon's gravitational pull affects our tides, and also many other things, like the world's largest atom smasher!

http://www.space.com/16202-moon-tides-lhc-atom-smasher.html

And of course, many people have a firm belief that the mood affects both human and animal behavior. Being a former EMT, I share this belief, though this article says it's doubtful:

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/moon.html

In conclusion, next time you wake up on a Monday morning, dreading the day ahead, think about what day it is, and more importantly, WHY it is. Our world would not exist in it's present state if it wasn't for the moon. Some may worship it, some may be frightened of it, some may just use it as a time tracking device. As long as werewolves aren't real, I'm enamoured of it. Happy Monday!