Sabbath

This article is about the general day of rest or worship time in Abrahamic religions. For the rest day in Judaism, seeShabbat.For Sabbath in the Bible, seeBiblical Sabbath.For the Talmudic tractate, seeShabbat (Talmud).

Welcoming the Sabbath with the lighting ofShabbat candlesaccording toJewish custom.

InAbrahamic religions,theSabbath(/ˈsæbəθ/) orShabbat(fromHebrewשַׁבָּתŠabbāṯ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to theBook of Exodus,the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day,commandedbyGodto be kept as aholy dayof rest, as God rested fromcreation.The practice of observing the Sabbath (Shabbat) originates in the biblical commandment "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy".

The Sabbath is observed inJudaism,Sabbatarianforms ofChristianity(such as someProtestantandEasterndenominations) andIslam.Observances similar to, or descended from, the Sabbath also exist in other religions. The term may be generally used to describe similar weekly observances in other religions.

Biblical Sabbath

Further information:Biblical Sabbath

For theJudaism,Seventh-day Adventist Christians,andSamaritanism,Sabbath begins Friday at sundown and ends at Saturday sundown. Thus the sunset is a commonsymbologyof the Sabbath.

Sabbath (as the verb שָׁבַת֙shabbat) is first mentioned in theGenesis creation narrative,where the seventh day is set aside as a day of rest (in Hebrew,shabbat) and made holy byGod(Genesis 2:2–3). Observation and remembrance of Sabbath (Hebrew:שַׁבָּתshabbat) is one of theTen Commandments(thefourthin the originalJewish,theEastern Orthodox,and mostProtestanttraditions, the third inRoman CatholicandLutherantraditions).

Most Jews who observe the Sabbath regard it as having been instituted as a perpetualcovenantfor theIsraelites(Exodus 31:13–17), as a sign respecting two events: the day during which God rested after having completedCreationin six days (Exodus 20:8–11) and the Israelites'deliverance from Egypt(Deuteronomy 5:12–15). However, mostSabbath-keeping Christiansregard the Sabbath as having been instituted by God at the end of Creation week and that the entire world was then, and continues to be, obliged to observe the seventh day as Sabbath.

Observance in theHebrew Biblewas universally fromsixth-day sundownto seventh-day sundownon aseven-day week.The Sabbath was considered a day of joy,and an occasion for consultation with prophets.Sabbath corporate worship was not prescribed for the community at large, and the Sabbath activities at the shrines were originally a convocation of priests for the purpose of offering divine sacrifices, with family worship and rest being centered in homes.Originally,Sabbath-breakerswere officially to becut off from the assembly or potentially killed(Exodus 31:15).

Judaism

Main article:Shabbat

See also:Hebrew calendar

JewishShabbat(Shabbath,Shabbes,Shobos,etc.) is a weekly day of rest, observed from sundown on Friday until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night.Thirty-nine activities prohibited onShabbatare listed in TractateShabbat (Talmud).Customarily,Shabbatis ushered in by lightingcandlesshortly before sunset, athalakhicallycalculated times that change weekly and geographically.

Shabbatis a widely noted hallmark of the Jewish people. Several weeklyShabbats per year are designated asSpecial Sabbaths,such asShabbat haGadol,prior toPesach(literally, "the High Sabbath", but not to be confused with otherHigh Sabbaths); andShabbat Teshuvah,prior toYom Kippur( "Repentance Sabbath" ).

While Shabbat is universally considered by Jews to take place between Friday at sundown and Saturday at sundown, theclassical Reformmovement at its height produced innovations in practice, exemplied by someReformrabbis such asSamuel Holdheim,who shifted his congregation's Shabbat services to Sundays in imitation of Christians' observance of their sabbath, which takes place on Sunday.(Reform Judaism has since abandoned the practice of holding Shabbat services on Sundays.)

Shabbaton

Main article:Shabbaton

Colloquially, in contemporary Israel, the termShabbatonorShabosonmay mean an event or program of education and usually celebration held onShabbat,or over an entireweekendwith main focus onShabbat.Such events are held by youth groups, singles groups, synagogues, schools, social groups, charitable groups or family reunions, can be either multi-generational and wide-open or limited-group, and can be held where a group usually meets or offsite. "Shabbaton",rather than just"retreat",signifies recognition of the importance ofShabbatin the event or program..

Christianity

Main article:Sabbath in Christianity

See also:Gregorian calendar

InEastern Christianity,the Sabbath is considered still to be onSaturday,the seventh day, in remembrance of the Hebrew Sabbath. InCatholicismand most branches of Protestantism, the "Lord's Day"(Greek Κυριακή) is considered to be on Sunday, the first day (and" eighth day "). Communal worship, including the Holy Mysteries, may take place on any day, but a weekly observance of the resurrection is made consistently on Sunday.Western Christianitysometimes refers to the Lord's Day as a "Christian Sabbath", distinct from the Hebrew Sabbath, but related in varying manner.

Subbotniks(literally, Sabbatarians) are a Russian sect, categorizedJudaizingChristians, which became particularly branded by strictShabbatobservance.

First-day

Further information:Puritan Sabbath

SincePuritantimes, most English-speakingProtestantsidentify the "Lord's Day"(viz., Sunday) with a"Christian Sabbath",a termRoman Catholicsin those areas may also celebrate with theEucharist.It is considered both the first day and the "eighth day" of the seven-day week. InTonga,all commerce and entertainment activities cease on Sunday, starting at midnight and ending the next day, at midnight, as Tonga's constitution declares the Sabbath sacred forever.InOriental Orthodoxy,theEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Churchhas observed both Sunday Resurrection Day andSaturday Sabbathin different ways for several centuries, as have otherEastern Orthodoxtraditions.

PuritanSabbatarianism orReformedSabbatarianism is strict observance ofSabbath in Christianitythat is typically characterized by its avoidance ofrecreationalactivities. "Puritan Sabbath", expressed in theWestminster Confession of Faith,is often contrasted with "ContinentalSabbath ": the latter follows the ContinentalReformed confessionssuch as theHeidelberg Catechism,which emphasize rest andworshiponLord's Day,but do not forbid recreational activities.

Seventh-day

Main articles:Sabbath in seventh-day churchesandList of Sabbath-keeping churches

Several Christian denominations observe Sabbath in a similar manner to Judaism, though with observance ending at Saturday sunset instead of Saturday nightfall. Early church historiansSozomenandSocratescite the seventh day as the Christian day of worship except for the Christians in Rome and Alexandria. Many Sabbatarian Judeo-Christian groups were attested during the Middle Ages. TheWaldensians,a religious group founded during the 12th century, are regarded as one of the first Post-Constantinian Christian groups to observe the seventh-day Sabbath. TheSzekler Sabbatarianswere founded in 1588 from among theUnitarian Church of Transylvaniaand maintained a presence until the group converted to Judaism in the 1870s.Seventh Day Baptistshave observed Sabbath on Saturday since the mid-17th century (either from sundown or from midnight), and influenced the (now more numerous)Seventh-day Adventistsin America to begin the practice in the mid-19th century. They believe that keepingseventh-day Sabbathis a moral responsibility equal to that of any of the otherTen Commandments,based on theFourth Commandment's injunction toRemember the sabbath day, to keep it holy,as well as the example ofJesus.They also use "Lord's Day" to mean the seventh day, based on Scriptures in which God calls the day "my Sabbath" (Exodus 31:13) and "to the LORD"(Exodus 16:23) and in which Jesus calls himself "Lord of Sabbath" (Matthew 12:8). The question of defining Sabbath worldwide on a round earth was resolved by someseventh-day Sabbatariansby making use of theInternational Date Line(i.e., permitting local rest-day adjustment,Esther 9:16–19), while others (such as someAlaskanSabbatarians) keep Sabbath according toJerusalemtime (i.e., rejecting manmade temporal customs,Daniel 7:25). Adherents ofMessianic Judaism(a Christian sect or grouping of sects), also generally observe the Sabbath on Saturdays.

Seventh-day versus First-day

Main articles:Sabbath in ChristianityandSabbath in seventh-day churches

In 321 AD, Roman emperorConstantine the Greatenacted the first civil law regarding Sunday observance. The law did not mention the Sabbath by name, but referred to a day of rest on "the venerable day of the sun."

On the venerable day of the sun let the magistrate and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country however, persons engaged in agricultural work may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits; because it often happens that another day is not so suitable for grain growing or for vine planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost.

New moon

See also:New moon

The new moon, occurring every 29 or 30 days, is an important separately sanctioned occasion in Judaism and some other faiths. It is not widely regarded as Sabbath, but somemessianicandPentecostalchurches,keep the day of the new moon as Sabbath or rest day, from evening to evening. New-moon services can last all day.

Some modern sects who are Sabbath keepers have suggested a Sabbath based on the New MooncitingPsalm 104:19andGenesis 1:14as a keyprooftexts.Observers recognize the 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th days of the month of the Hebrew Calendar as Sabbath days which should be observed.They reject the 7 day week as non-biblical.The Lunar Sabbath theory is rejected by most Sabbatarian groups and Judaism as false and misleading but the recently discovered Dead Sea Scrolls translated by Eisenman and Wise show the Essene Jewish calendar revealing the first sabbath of the month of Nisan being on the 4th day 3 days after the new moon and kept every 7 days for the rest of the year. While some of the writings at the Dead Sea sect or Qumran state the 4th day, other writings such as HaYubilim XLIV:1 or The Jubilees 44:1 mention the seventh day of the 3rd moon a sacrifice takes place and Yaakob stays seven days later because travel in not permitted on Shabbat. Philo of Alexandria also mentions in Decalogue XXX (161) But to the seventh day of the week he has assigned [the beginning of] the greatest festivals, those of the longest duration [Unleavened Bread and Tabernacles], at the periods of the equinox both vernal and autumnal in each year; appointing two festivals for these two epochs, each lasting seven days; the one which takes place in the spring being for the perfection of what is being sown, and the one which falls in autumn being a feast of thanksgiving for the bringing home of all the fruits which the trees have produced. And seven days have very appropriately been appointed to the seventh month of each equinox, so that each month might receive an especial honour of one sacred day of festival, for the purpose of refreshing and cheering the mind with its holiday.

Day of the Vow

Main article:Day of the Vow

Day of the Vow orDingane's Day (AfrikaansGeloftedagorDingaansdag,December 16) was the name of a religious public holiday inSouth Africacommemorating a famousBoervictory over theZulu.Celebrated as annual Sabbath (a holy day of thanksgiving) since 1838, it was renamedDay of Reconciliationin 1994. The anniversary and its commemoration are intimately connected with various streams ofAfrikanerand South African nationalism.

Millennial Sabbath

Main article:Millennial Day Theory

SinceHippolytus of Romein the early third century, Christians have often considered that some thousand-year Sabbath, expected to begin six thousand years after Creation, might be identical with themillenniumdescribed in theBook of Revelation.This view was also popular among 19th- and 20th-centurydispensationalpremillennialists.The term "Sabbatism" or "Sabbatizing" (GreekSabbatismos), which generically means any literal or spiritual Sabbath-keeping, has also been taken inHebrews 4:9to have special reference to this definition.

Spiritual Sabbath

Some modern Christians uphold Sabbath principles but do not limit observance to either Saturday or Sunday, instead advocating rest on any one chosen day of the week as following the spirit of Sabbath, or advocating Sabbath as instead a symbolic metaphor for rest in Christ. These look upon Sabbath as a principle to be observed in spirit rather than in letter, regarding the rest offered inJesusas the only New Testament admonishment containing the root word of "Sabbath" (Matthew 11:28) and sometimes as a more permanent rest than a day could fulfill (Hebrews 4:9).

Latter Day Saint Movement

In 1831,Joseph Smithpublished a revelation commanding his related movement, theLatter Day Saint movement,to go to the house of prayer, offer up their sacraments, rest from their labors, and pay their devotions on the Lord's day (D&C 59:9–12).

That thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day; for verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High.

— D&C 59:9–10

Latter-day Saints believe this means performing no labor that would keep them from giving their full attention to spiritual matters (Ex. 20:10). LDS prophets have described this as meaning they should not shop, hunt, fish, attend sports events, or participate in similar activities on that day.ElderSpencer W. Kimballwrote in hisThe Miracle of Forgivenessthat mere idle lounging on the Sabbath does not keep the day holy, and that it calls for constructive thoughts and acts.

Members of the Church are encouraged to prepare their meals with "singleness of heart" on the Sabbath(D&C 59:13) and believe the day is only for righteous activities (Is. 58:13.) In most areas of the world, this means worship on Sunday, though there is adaptation for Israel and many majority-Muslim countries.

In harmony with this revelation, members of the LDS church attendsacrament meetingeach week. Other Sabbath-day activities may include: praying, meditating, studying the scriptures and the teachings of latter-day prophets, writing letters to family members and friends, reading wholesome material, visiting the sick and distressed, and attending other Church meetings.

Islam

Main article:Friday prayer

See also:Islamic calendar

TheQuranshares the six-partAbrahamic creation narrative(32:4, 50:38) and the Sabbath as the seventh day (yaum as-Sabt:2:65, 4:47, 154, 7:163, 16:124), butGod'smounting the throne after creation is taken in contradistinction toElohim's concluding and resting from his labors. The Quran states that since Sabbath was only for Jews, Muslims replace Sabbath rest withjumu'ah(Arabic:جمعة). Also known as "Friday prayer",jumu'ahis a congregational prayer (salat) held every Friday (the Day of Assembly), just after midday, in place of the otherwise dailydhuhrprayer;

The Quran states: "When the call is proclaimed to prayer on Friday, hasten earnestly to the Remembrance of Allah, and leave off business: That is best for you if ye but knew" (62:9). The next verse ( "When the prayer is ended, then disperse in the land..." ) leads many Muslims not to consider Friday a rest day, as inIndonesia,which regards the seventh-day Sabbath as unchanged; but many Muslim countries, such asSaudi ArabiaandBangladesh,do consider Friday a nonwork day, a holiday or a weekend; and other Muslim countries, likePakistanand theUnited Arab Emiratescount it as half a rest day (after the Friday prayer is over).Jumu'ahattendance is strictly incumbent upon all free adult males who areresidents of the locality (and not travelling).

Samaritanism

The Sabbath is observed weekly by the Samaritan community every Friday to Saturday beginning and ending at sundown, for twenty four hours the families gather together to celebrate the rest day, all electricity with the exception of minimal lighting (kept on the entire day) in the house is disconnected, no work is done, neither is cooking or driving allowed. The time is devoted to worship which consists of sevenprayer services(divided into two for Sabbath eve, two in the morning, one in afternoon and one at eve of conclusion), reading the weekly Torah portion (According to the Samaritan yearly Torah cycle), spending quality time with family, taking meals, rest and sleep, and within the community visiting each other is encouraged.Shabbat candlesare not used in Samaritan custom and would be considered a violation of the biblical commandment of "You shall not kindle fire".

Other religious traditions

Seven-day week

Main article:Seven-day week

Bysynecdoche(naming the whole for a part), in Jewish sources by the time of theSeptuagint,the term "Sabbath" (GreekSabbaton,Strong's4521) also came to mean an entire "se'nnight"or seven-day week, the interval between two weekly Sabbaths.Jesus'sparableof thePharisee and the Publican(Luke 18:9–14) describes thePhariseeas fasting "twice a week" (Greekdis tou sabbatou,literally, "Twice of the Sabbath" ). Philo of Alexandria states in Decalogue XX. (96) The fourth commandment has reference to the sacred seventh day, that it may be passed in a sacred and holy manner. Now some states keep the holy festival only once in the month, counting from the new moon, as a day sacred to God; but the nation of the Jews keep every seventh day regularly, after each interval of six days; (97) and there is an account of events recorded in the history of the creation of the world, constituting a sufficient relation of the cause of this ordinance; for the sacred historian says, that the world was created in six days, and that on the seventh day God desisted from his works, and began to contemplate what he had so beautifully created; (98) therefore, he commanded the beings also who were destined to live in this state, to imitate God in this particular also, as well as in all others, applying themselves to their works for six days, but desisting from them and philosophising on the seventh day, and devoting their leisure to the contemplation of the things of nature, and considering whether in the preceding six days they have done anything which has not been holy, bringing their conduct before the judgment-seat of the soul, and subjecting it to a scrutiny, and making themselves give an account of all the things which they have said or done; the laws sitting by as assessors and joint inquirers, in order to the correcting of such errors as have been committed through carelessness, and to the guarding against any similar offences being hereafter repeated.

High Sabbaths

Main article:High Sabbaths

"High Sabbaths" are observed by Jews and some Christians. Seven annual Biblical festivals, calledmiqra( "called assembly" ) in Hebrew and "High Sabbath" in English and serving as supplemental testimonies to Sabbath, are specified in the books ofExodusandDeuteronomy;they do not necessarily fall on weekly Sabbath. Three occur in spring: the first and seventh days ofPesach(Passover), andShavuot(Pentecost). Four occur in fall, in the seventh month, and are also calledShabbaton:Rosh Hashanah(Trumpets);Yom Kippur,"Sabbath of Sabbaths" (Atonement); and the first and eighth days ofSukkoth(Tabernacles). "High Sabbaths" is also often a synonym of "High Holy Days",viz., Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Shmita

Shmita(Hebrew:שמטה,Strong's 8059 assh^emittah,literally "release" ), also called sabbatical year, is the seventh (שביעי, Strong's 7637 assh^ebiy'iy) year of the seven-year agricultural cycle mandated byTorahfor theLand of Israel,relatively little observed in Biblical tradition, but still observed in contemporaryJudaism.DuringShmita,the land is left to liefallowand all agricultural activity, including plowing, planting, pruning and harvesting, is forbidden by Torah andJewish law.By tradition, other cultivation techniques (such as watering, fertilizing, weeding, spraying, trimming and mowing) may be performed as preventive measures only, not to improve the growth of trees or plants; additionally, whatever fruits grow of their own accord during that year are deemedhefker(ownerless), not for the landowner but for the poor, the stranger, and the beasts of the field; these fruits may be picked by anyone. A variety of laws also apply to the sale, consumption and disposal ofShmitaproduce. When the year ended, all debts, except those of foreigners, were to be remitted (Deuteronomy 15:1–11); in similar fashion, Torah requires a slave who had worked for six years to go free in the seventh year.Leviticus25 promises bountiful harvests to those who observeShmita,and describes its observance as a test of religious faith. The termShmitais translated "release" five times in theBook of Deuteronomy(from the root שמט,shamat,"desist,remit",8058).

Babylonian rest days

Main articles:Babylonian calendar § Days,andShappatum

Counting from thenew moon,the Babylonians celebrated the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th as "holy-days", also called "evil days" (meaning "unsuitable" for prohibited activities). On these days officials were prohibited from various activities and common men were forbidden to "make a wish", and at least the 28th was known as a "rest-day". On each of them, offerings were made to a different god and goddess. Tablets from the 6th-century BCE reigns ofCyrus the GreatandCambysesindicate these dates were sometimes approximate. Thelunationof 29 or 30 days basically contained threeseven-day weeks,and a final week of nine or ten days inclusive, breaking the continuous seven-day cycle. The Babylonians additionally celebrated the 19th as a special "evil day", the "day of anger", because it was roughly the 49th day of the (preceding) month, completing a "week of weeks", also with sacrifices and prohibitions.Difficulties withFriedrich Delitzsch'sorigin theoryconnecting HebrewShabbatwith the Babylonianlunar cycleinclude reconciling the differences between an unbroken week and a lunar week, and explaining the absence of texts naming the lunar week asShabbatin any language. Reconstruction of a broken tablet seems to define the rarely attested BabylonianAkkadianwordSapattu^morSabattu^mas thefull moon:this word is cognate or merged with HebrewShabbat,but is monthly rather than weekly. It is regarded as a form ofSumeriansa-bat( "mid-rest" ), attested inAkkadianasum nuh libbi( "day of mid-repose" ). This conclusion is a contextual restoration of the damagedEnûma Elišcreation mythos,which is read as: "[Sa]pattu shalt thou then encounter, mid[month]ly."

Thepentecontad calendar,thought to be ofAmoriteorigin, includes a period known toBabyloniansasShappatum.The year is broken down into seven periods of fifty days (made up of seven weeks of seven days, containing seven weekly Sabbaths, and an extra fiftieth day, known as theatzeret), plus an annual supplement of fifteen or sixteen days, calledShappatum,the period of harvest time at the end of each year. Identified and reconstructed by Hildegaard and Julius Lewy in the 1940s, the calendar's use dates back to at least the 3rd millennium BCE in WesternMesopotamiaand surrounding areas; it was used by theCanaanitetribes, thought by some to have been used by theIsraelitesprior toKing Solomon,and related to theliturgicalcalendar of theEssenesatQumran.Used well into the modern age, forms of it have been found inNestorianismand among thePalestinianfellaheen.Julius Morgenstern believed that the calendar of theJubileeshad ancient origins as a somewhat modified survival of the pentecontad calendar.

Buddhist rest day

Main article:Uposatha

TheUposathahas been observed sinceGautama Buddha's time (500 BCE), and is still being kept today inTheravada Buddhistcountries. It occurs every seven or eight days, in accordance with the four phases of the moon. Buddha taught thatUposathais for "the cleansing of the defiled mind", resulting in inner calm and joy. On this day,disciplesandmonksintensify their practice, deepen their knowledge, and express communal commitment through millennia-old acts of lay-monastic reciprocity.

Further information:Wan Phra

Thai Chineselikewise observe their Sabbaths andtraditional Chinese holidaysaccording to lunar phases, but not on exactly the same days asUposatha.These Sabbaths cycle through the month with respect to theThai solar calendar,so common Thai calendars incorporate Thai andChinese calendarlunar dates, as well asUposathadates, forreligiouspurposes.

Cherokee rest days

The first day of thenew moon,beginning at sunrise, is aholidayofquiet reflectionandprayeramong theCherokee.Monthlyfastingis encouraged, for up to four days. Work, cooking, sex and childbirth were also prohibited during the empty moon days, called "un-time" or "non-days"; childbirth during these days was considered unlucky. The Cherokeenew year,the "great new moon" or "Hunting Moon", is the first new moon inautumn,after the setting of thePleiadesstar cluster and around the time of theLeonidsmeteoric shower.

Sabbath as Saturday

Further information:Saturday

Onefolk traditionin English is the widespread use of "Sabbath" as a synonym of midnight-to-midnight "Saturday" (literally,Saturn's day in at least a dozen languages): this is a simplification of the use of "Sabbath" in other religious contexts, where the two do not coincide. (Using midnight instead of sundown as delimiter dates back to theRoman Empire.) In over thirty other languages, thecommon namefor this day in theseven-day weekis a cognate of "Sabbath". "Sabbatini",originally" Sabbadini ", often" Sabatini ", etc., is a very frequent Italian name form ("Sabbatos"is the Greek form), indicating a family whose ancestor was born on Saturday, Italiansabato;"Domenico" indicated birth on Sunday.

Invampire hunterlore, people born on Saturday were specially designated assabbatianoíinGreekandsâbotnichaviinBulgarian(rendered in English as "Sabbatarians" ). It was also believed in theBalkansthat someone born on a Saturday could see avampirewhen it was otherwise invisible.

Wicca

See also:Sabbat,Esbat,andWitches' Sabbath

The annual cycle of the Earth's seasons is called the Wheel of the Year inWiccaandneopaganism.Eightsabbats(occasionally "sabbaths", or "Sun sabbats" ) are spaced at approximately even intervals throughout the year.Samhain,which coincides withHalloween,is considered the first sabbat of the year.

An esbat is a ritual observance of thefull moonin Wicca and neopaganism. Some groups extend the esbat to include the dark moon and the first and last quarters. "Esbat" and "sabbat" are distinct and are probably notcognateterms, although an esbat is also called "moon sabbat".

European records from theMiddle Agesto the 17th century or later also place Witches' Sabbaths on similar dates to sabbats in modern Wicca, but with some disagreement; medieval reports of sabbat activity are generally not firsthand and may be imaginative, but many persons were accused of, or tried for, taking part in sabbats.

Unification Church

See also:Ahn Shi Il

TheUnification Churchhas a regular day of worship on Sunday, but every eight days Unificationists celebrate the day of Ahn Shi Il, considered as Sabbath but cycling among the weekdays of the Gregorian calendar. TheFamily Pledge,formerly recited at 5:00 a.m. on Sundays, was moved to Ahn Shi Il in 1994 and includes eight verses containing the phrase "by centering on true love".

Baháʼí Faith

See also:Baháʼí calendar

The day of rest in theBaháʼí Faithis Friday.

Secular traditions

See also:Secular day of restandWeekend

Secular use of "Sabbath" for "rest day", while it usually refers to the same period of time (Sunday) as the majority Christian use of "Sabbath", is often stated inNorth Americato refer to different purposes for the rest day than those ofChristendom.InMcGowan v. Maryland(1961), theSupreme Court of the United Statesheld that contemporaryMarylandblue laws(typically, Sunday rest laws) were intended to promote the secular values of "health, safety, recreation, and general well-being" through a common day of rest, and that this day coinciding with majority Christian Sabbath neither reduces its effectiveness for secular purposes nor prevents adherents of other religions from observing their own holy days.Massachusetts,uncharacteristically, does not specify which day of the week its "Day of Rest" statute applies to, providing only that one day off from work is required every week; an unspecified weekly day off is a very widespread business production cycle. TheSupreme Court of Canada,inR. v. Big M Drug Mart Ltd.(1985) andR. v. Edwards Books and Art Ltd.(1986), found some blue laws invalid for having no legitimate secular purpose, but others valid because they had no religious purpose.

The weekend is that period of the week set aside by custom or law for rest from labor. In many countries the non-working days are Saturday and Sunday, and in that case "the weekend" is often considered to begin when Friday's workday ends. This five-day workweek arose inAmericawhenlabor unionsattempted to accommodate Jewish Sabbath, beginning at aNew Englandcotton milland also instituted byHenry Fordin 1926; it became standard in America by about 1940 and spread among English-speaking and European countries to become the international workweek.Chinaadopted it in 1995 andHong Kongby 2006. Businesses inIndiaand some other countries might follow either the international workweek or a more traditional plan that is nearly the same but includes half a day of work on Saturday. WhileIndonesiaandLebanonhave the international workweek, in most Muslim countries Friday is the weekend, alone or with Thursday (all or half) or Saturday. Some universities permit a three-day weekend from Friday to Sunday. The weekend inIsrael,Nepal,and parts ofMalaysia,is Friday (all or half) and Saturday. Only the one-day customary or legal weekends are usually called "Sabbath".

State-mandated rest days

See also:Blank day,Chinese week,Décadi,andSoviet week

State-mandated rest days are widespread. Laws of theHan dynasty(206 BCE – 220 CE) required imperial officials to rest on everymu(every fifth day), within a ten-day Chinese week. The rest day was changed tohuanorxún(every tenth day) in theTang dynasty(618–907).

Thereform calendarof theFrench Revolutionwas used from 1793 to 1805. It used ten-day weeks, contained in twelve months of three weeks each; the five or six extra days needed to approximate thetropical yearwere placed at the end of the year and did not belong to any month. The tenth day of each week,décadi,replaced Sunday as the day of rest and festivity in France.

From 1929 to 1931, theSoviet Unionmandated afive-day weekin which each day designated by color as a state rest day for a different 20% of the workforce; members of the same family did not usually have the same rest day. Three weeks each year were longer (six or seven days instead of five), because those weeks were interrupted by holidays. From 1931 to 1940, the Soviets mandated a six-day week, with state rest days for all upon the 6th, 12th, 18th, 24th, and 30th of eachGregorian month,as well as upon March 1. This also necessitated varying weeks of five to seven days over the year.

Among many calendar reform proposals that eliminate the constantseven-day weekin exchange for simplified calculation of calendrical data likeweekday namesfor given dates, some retain Sabbatical influences. TheHermetic Lunar Week Calendarusesmoon phases,resulting in weeks of six to nine days. TheInternational Fixed CalendarandWorld Calendarboth use 364-day years containing exactly 52 weeks (each starting on a day designated as Sunday), with an additional one or twointercalary"blank" days not designated as part of any week (Year Day and Leap Day in the International Fixed Calendar; Worldsday and Leapyear Day in the World Calendar). Supporters of reform sought to accommodate Sabbatical observance by retaining the modified week and designating the intercalary days as additional Sabbaths orholidays;however, religious leaders held that such days disrupt the traditional seven-day weekly cycle. This unresolved issue contributed to the cessation of calendar reform activities in the 1930s (International Fixed Calendar) and again in 1955 (World Calendar), though supporters of both proposals remain.

Subbotnik

Thesubbotnikis a weekly day of volunteer work on Saturday inRussia,other (former)Soviet republics,theEastern Bloc,and theGerman Democratic Republic,sporadically observed since 1919. Thevoskresnikis a related volunteer workday on Sunday. They focus on community service work; "Lenin's Subbotnik "was also observed annually around his birthday.

Sabbatical

Main article:sabbatical

From the biblical sabbatical year came the modern concept of asabbatical,a prolonged, often one-year, hiatus in the career of an individual (not usually tied to a seven-year period). Such a period is often taken in order to fulfill some goal such as writing a book or traveling extensively for research. Some universities and other institutional employers of scientists, physicians, or academics offer paid sabbatical as an employee benefit, called "sabbatical leave"; some companies offer unpaid sabbatical for people wanting to take career breaks.

See also

• Christianity portal
• Islam portal
• Judaism portal

External links

• "Sabbath".The New Student's Reference Work.1914.
• "Sabbath".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 23 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 959–962.
• Nekrutman, David(2022).Your Sabbath Invitation: Partnership in God's Ultimate Celebration.Isaiah Projects.ISBN978-0578262512.