Immersion, and the days of the week.

[Svrtnsse]

Do you know of a fantasy setting where the days of the week have the same names as they do in the real world, and that isn't just a fantasy version of the real world? Did you read a story taking place in that setting, and how did you feel about the names for the days?

My story is taking place in a setting that's in roughly the same time period as the present day real world, but which differs in many other aspects. People have regular five day work weeks and two day weekends. I've referenced the weekend already, but I've so far avoided naming any of the days.
I'm now pondering whether to just copy the names of the days from the real world or whether to come up with my own names. What will it do for the immersion if the characters talk about what they're going to do on Monday as opposed to Gruelsday?

 

[Ban]

Do you know of a fantasy setting where the days of the week have the same names as they do in the real world, and that isn't just a fantasy version of the real world? Did you read a story taking place in that setting, and how did you feel about the names for the days?

My story is taking place in a setting that's in roughly the same time period as the present day real world, but which differs in many other aspects. People have regular five day work weeks and two day weekends. I've referenced the weekend already, but I've so far avoided naming any of the days.
I'm now pondering whether to just copy the names of the days from the real world or whether to come up with my own names. What will it do for the immersion if the characters talk about what they're going to do on Monday as opposed to Gruelsday?

Tad Williams' "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn" almost uses our days of the week. Sunday, Moonday, Tiasday, Udunsday, Drorsday, Frayday, Satrinsday. He really only put a cultural twist on the names.

 

[TheKillerBs]

It wouldn’t bother me very much. There might be the passing thought of why they’re using the 7-day week if they don’t have our Judeo-Christian tradition but if you already have that may as well equate their days of the week with their corresponding days in our world.

 

[Viorp]

I think you need a lore-reason for renaming the days.

 

[Devor]

Honestly, I think it's better to skip the names all together and duck the issue.

 

[Viorp]

Honestly, I think it's better to skip the names all together and duck the issue.

It's not like you can always do that though XD

 

[CupofJoe]

It wouldn’t bother me very much. There might be the passing thought of why they’re using the 7-day week if they don’t have our Judeo-Christian tradition but if you already have that may as well equate their days of the week with their corresponding days in our world.

I hadn't thought of the week as a judeo-christian construct. I thought it was more to do with easily dividing the 28 days of the moon's cycle.
In the past I have spent a long time preparing creating calendars, days of the weeks and months and all that went with them. Now I just use relative dates or made up "holidays". So something might happen in three weeks/twenty days time on the eve of Star-fall night or Saint Glem's day...
I do wish there was a word in English for "the day after tomorrow" and "the day before yesterday". They would be very useful.

 

[TheKillerBs]

I hadn't thought of the week as a judeo-christian construct. I thought it was more to do with easily dividing the 28 days of the moon's cycle.

If the moon’s cycle were 28 days and not 29 and a half, that would be true. I suspect the early Near Eastern concept of the week as 7 days does, however, tie into that. It isn’t hard to imagine they didn’t go, “Well, 28 is close enough, let’s go with that.”

 

[pmmg]

I had invented new days of the week in some of my game worlds, and have also done so in my current written world, but they don't actually come up too much. In the WIP, I don't think they have come up at all. I do think it unlikely these things would get the same names as we have here on earth, as we would not share the same organic process that would create such names. So, I favor these for immersion. But, like someone said above, I tend to count days in general terms, and not by names. It took 3 days to get to X, as opposed to the arrived on torsday.

 

[Ban]

I hadn't thought of the week as a judeo-christian construct. I thought it was more to do with easily dividing the 28 days of the moon's cycle.
In the past I have spent a long time preparing creating calendars, days of the weeks and months and all that went with them. Now I just use relative dates or made up "holidays". So something might happen in three weeks/twenty days time on the eve of Star-fall night or Saint Glem's day...
I do wish there was a word in English for "the day after tomorrow" and "the day before yesterday". They would be very useful.

Make those words or revive them. They would be very useful for writers and I at least am willing to start using them in my own stuff. In Dutch we have "eergisteren" for the day before yesterday, maybe work off of that

 

[Heliotrope]

It would bug me. The days of the week each are named for viking gods and goddesses. Sun day and moon day are easy enough to get away with, but Tyr's day, Woden's day and Thor's day are dead give always. I would do what we did and name your days after ancient gods or beings in your world.

 

[CupofJoe]

Make those words or revive them. They would be very useful for writers and I at least am willing to start using them in my own stuff. In Dutch we have "eergisteren" for the day before yesterday, maybe work off of that

I think my inspiration and want for the words came from a German speaker I know being surprised that we didn't have the words.
The nearest I've come is "eeryest" and "aftmorrow"for the days before yesterday and the after tomorrow. They will work but aftmorrow sounds a bit too constructed...

 

[Chessie2]

Well, don't hate me, but in Tamriel I believe it's:

• Morndas.
• Tirdas.
• Middas.
• Turdas.
• Fredas.
• Loredas.
• Sundas.

Sounds similar to me and I loved it, actually, because it helped me know what day it was. Not like it mattered much in the grand scheme of things but for immersion it's nice.

 

[Svrtnsse]

Like I mentioned above, the regular calendar has the seven day week we have in the real world. However, there's also the anfylk calendar which has an eight day week:

• Truthsday (Monday)
• Infday (Tuesday)
• Annsday (Wednesday)
• Pipesday (Thursday)
• Ladysday (Friday)
• Choresday
• Feastday (Saturday)
• Restday (Sunday)

They've got five working days and two weekend days, and then one day for doing chores you didn't have time to do while you were working.

Truthsday is for the day on which you hear the truth of what you did over the weekend.
Annsday is Anna's day where Anna is the goddess who created the anfylk.
Pipesday is for smoking the pipe which is a form of religious worship.
Ladysday is for when the housewives get the evening off after having stayed home to watch the kids all week.
Feastday and Restday are self explanatory, and I don't remember if Infday is something I just made up or if I meant for Inf to be a reference to Inferior day as it's really just a filler.

 

[Chessie2]

Honestly, I like Choresday. That'd be my favorite day because please tell me there's beer afterwards!

 

[Svrtnsse]

Honestly, I like Choresday. That'd be my favorite day because please tell me there's beer afterwards!

Cider more likely, although the Winter Fylk might go for beer.

 

[Ban]

I think my inspiration and want for the words came from a German speaker I know being surprised that we didn't have the words.
The nearest I've come is "eeryest" and "aftmorrow"for the days before yesterday and the after tomorrow. They will work but aftmorrow sounds a bit too constructed...

Well if we stick to deriving these words from german/dutch, than maybe Eryest and Namorrow would work. Those sound a little nicer to me.

 

[Devor]

Ginday
Tequiladay
Wineday
Rumsday
Vodkaday
Whiskeyday
Beerday

^ This is the calendar I use.

Not in a story, this is the one on my wall.

 

[Svrtnsse]

Well if we stick to deriving these words from german/dutch, than maybe Eryest and Namorrow would work. Those sound a little nicer to me.

Yeasterday and Overyeastearday?

 

[pmmg]

Ginday
Tequiladay
Wineday
Rumsday
Vodkaday
Whiskeyday
Beerday

Hard to tell when one days stops and the other begins though...