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What day starts the week?

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We have traditionally produced our backwards calendar with the week starting on a Monday, which is the standard format in the UK, but in the USA it is normal to have calendars starting the week on a Sunday - which is correct?

The short answer is it is a matter of choice and tradition but here are some thoughts we found...

  • Saturday and Sunday are generally know as "the weekend", so if Sunday is the end of the week it must start on a Monday
  • Most people do not work on a Sunday so Monday is their first working day of the week
  • Biblical references refer to the Sabbath being the day of rest at the end of the week but that day can be either Sunday or Saturday in different religions.
  • In the Middle East, the week is considered to start on a Saturday
  • In Portuguese, the names for the days are actually numbers, so Monday is "Segunda-feira" - referring to the second day of the week, or the week starting on a Sunday
  • Russian uses the name "second" for Tuesday, indicating that they regard Monday as the first day of the week
  • Sunday is the first day of the week in Australia
  • In international standard ISO-8601 the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has decreed that Monday shall be the first day of the week.

We are happy to let you decide for yourself and we have now produced our famous Backwards calendar in both formats.

The one page annual backwards calendar is available free of charge for Left-Handers Club members - if you have not already joined, it is free and you can register using the link in the sidebar.

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Comments 20

  1. Jeanne LaFrantz
    My week begins on Sunday.
  2. Gilman Sault
    Happy to receive 2025 calendar.
  3. Margaret Laing
    I understand both viewpoints, but I consider Sunday the first day of the week and Monday the first day of the work week -- when I haven't had my weekends on other days. When I worked at a museum that was open around the week, the expressions were "When is your Friday?" and "When is your Monday?" to try to find another person's schedule.
    1. Pesach Kremen
      Sunday is the first day of the week and it always has been For example in Hebrew the days of the week are numerical and the word for Sunday means day 1, day 2 for Monday etc except for Saturday translates as Sabbath
  4. SRM
    Love your site and enjoyed this article, thanks!
  5. Kat
    In Europe the week starts on Monday. The first time I heard that Sunday could be the first day is when I moved to the Middle East. They start the week on Sunday but in every meaning, the weekend is Friday and Saturday. This makes sense. But calling Sunday the first day and starting the actual week (working, school) on Monday is confusing and doesn’t make sense. Then the weekend should be Friday and Saturday.
  6. Hildebrando
    I'm Brazilian, so speek Portuguese. I prefer Monday as the first day, even though 'segunda/second' is the first day.
    Things are usually done on Saturday and Sunday together, so it's easier to plan if the week ends on Sunday.
  7. Pesach Kremen
    Hebrew also does it like Portuguese where Sunday is translated as first day,Monday as second day and so forth up to Friday translated as sixth day. The only exception is Saturday which is translated as Sabbath.
  8. Ahmed Shorbagy
    Sunday in Arabic is ( Al- Ahad ) which is derived from the number 1 (Wahed)
    Monday ( Al- Ethnein ) is derived from the number 2 ( Ethnein )
    Tuesday ( Al- ThulaTha' ) is dreived form the number 3 ( ThalaTha) ...and so on and so forth.
    and the weekend days are Friday and Saturday.
    so in Middle East, we can consider that the week actually starts on Sunday.
  9. Tav-El
    People who think the week MUST start on Monday because Sunday is part of the "weekend" are equivocating the word "end" with finality, but it doesn't always mean that. Take a piece of rope. Hold it at one end. Now hold it at the other end. See? It has two ends, and they're opposite each other. Ends mark both the beginning, and the "end" of something. Otherwise, what prevents Thursday and Friday from belonging to the weekend? They're close to the end, and the fact that you only choose the last two to finish off the week is just arbitrary. I'm not saying it's better that the week starts with Sunday, but a "weekEND" argument is invalid.
  10. Ahmed Alamayreh
    I disagree with the part where it says" in the middle east the week starts on saturday", because the week starts on sunday not saturday. Actullay saturday and friday are considered the weekend days.
  11. Amanda Broomfield
    Saturday and Sunday are the weekend so to me they are the end of the week why else call it the weekend????
    1. Med
      Its because the ends are the beginning and last part of something. And its impossible to have two ends because only one of the days are actually at the end.
    2. Auntypizza
      I'm Australian and the first day of the week here is Monday on my calendar.

      Maybe you're confusing us with Austria.
    3. Auntypizza
      I'm Australian and the first day of the week here is Monday on my calendar.

      Maybe you're confusing us with Austria.
  12. Pesach Kremen
    In Hebrew it is quite obvious as well. The translation for Sunday is Day 1, for Monday Day 2...etc thru Friday as Day 6, but Saturday is called Sabbath.
  13. Ochenga
    In actual sense Sunday is the first day of the week in accord with the biblical scriptures.Bible was established as earlier as B.c and those years Sunday was actually regarded as the first day of the week as the day when whom all of us believe as the Creator GOD made Heavens and Earth.SUNDAY being made the first day doesn't mean People with their interests can not change it to be seventh day of the week.In the book of Matthew it shows that Jesus was nailed on the cross on Friday then regarded as the sixth day of the week.On the Seventh day-SATURDAY,JESUS was in the TOMB then On Sunday the first day of the week he raised from the Tomb.ALL are shown in the BIBLE the most holy,truthful,reliable,believable and trustable book and the earliest book in the world.so the Real day that starts the week or the first day is Sunday. And the real day that ends the week or the seventh day is Saturday.
  14. kiah madison
    Norse god Twu -a lefthander. Origin of Tuesday (Twusday). Perfect for a lefthanded calender.

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