Thursday is nearly the weekend, and for many people it is the start of the social week. It is also the day Britain goes to the polls, Americans give thanks and the Royal Maundy is given out. Here are 16 fun facts about Thursday.
1Thursday is Thor’s day.
The name comes from the Old English Þūnresdæg, the day of Thunor, or Thor, the god of thunder. In Norse myth he rode a chariot pulled by goats and carried a mighty hammer.
2In other languages it belongs to Jupiter.
The Romans named Thursday after Jupiter, king of the gods and god of the sky and thunder. That is why it is jeudi in French, jueves in Spanish and giovedì in Italian.
3In Portuguese and Greek it is the “fifth day”.
Thursday is quinta-feira in Portuguese and Pémpti in Greek, both meaning “fifth day”, counting from Sunday. In Hindi it is Guruvar, the day of Guru, the planet Jupiter.
4Officially, Thursday is the fourth day of the week.
Under the international standard ISO 8601, the week starts on Monday, so Thursday is day four.
5Thursday’s child has far to go.
According to the nursery rhyme “Monday’s Child”, children born on a Thursday have a long journey ahead of them, which many take to mean they will go far in life.
6British general elections are held on Thursdays.
Every UK general election since 1935 has been held on a Thursday. It is not required by law, just a long-standing custom.
7The monarch gives out money on Maundy Thursday.
On the Thursday before Easter, the monarch presents specially minted Maundy money to elderly people in recognition of their service to their communities. The number of men and women who receive it matches the monarch’s age.
8Ascension Day is always a Thursday.
Christians celebrate Jesus’s ascension into heaven 40 days after Easter Sunday, which always falls on a Thursday. It is a public holiday in many European countries.
9Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday in November.
In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving a week earlier to give shops a longer Christmas season, causing such confusion that people called it “Franksgiving”. In 1941, Congress fixed it by law as the fourth Thursday of November.
10The Wall Street Crash began on Black Thursday.
Panic selling began on Thursday 24 October 1929, five days before the even worse Black Tuesday.
11Arthur Dent could never get the hang of Thursdays.
“I never could get the hang of Thursdays,” says Arthur Dent in Douglas Adams’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, on the Thursday the Earth is demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass.
12In Thailand, Thursday is teachers’ day.
Thursday is traditionally linked with teachers in Thailand, and schools usually hold their wai khru ceremonies, where students honour their teachers, on a Thursday.
13America chose the bald eagle on a Thursday.
On Thursday 20 June 1782, the US Congress approved the design of the Great Seal of the United States, with the bald eagle at its centre.
14Throwback Thursday started on social media.
The hashtag #TBT, for sharing old photos on a Thursday, became popular on Instagram in the early 2010s.
15Thursday is late-night shopping night in Australia.
Many Australian shopping centres stay open until 9pm on Thursdays, a tradition linked to the fact that many workers used to be paid on a Thursday.
16Many Muslims fast on Thursdays.
Following the example of the Prophet Muhammad, many Muslims choose to fast on Mondays and Thursdays outside the month of Ramadan.
FAQs about Thursday
Why is it called Thursday?
Thursday means “Thor’s day”, after the Norse god of thunder.
Why are UK elections on a Thursday?
Nobody is quite sure. It has been the custom since 1935, and one popular theory is that Thursday was traditionally market day, when people would be in town anyway.
What is Maundy Thursday?
The Thursday before Easter, when Christians remember the Last Supper. In the UK, the monarch gives out Maundy money on this day.
Sources and further reading
Explore more: facts about Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
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