Thursday, May 31, 2007

wednesday's child

Monday's child is fair of face
Tuesday's child is full of grace
Wednesday's child is full of woe
Thursday's child has far to go
Friday's child is loving and giving
Saturday's child works hard for a living
But the child that is born on the Sabbath day
Is bonny and blithe and good and gay


By my count, the poem has four unalloyedly positive days (Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Sunday), two that are ambiguous (Thursday and Saturday) and one that is, well, not so good.

I was always mildly resentful that I managed to be born on the one inauspicious day of the week, especially since, according to the rhyme, my brother, born on a Friday, was loving and giving (which, in fact, he was and is). If I were superstitious, I might be concerned. On the other hand, I'd feel extremely silly believing I was fated to a life of misery by a nursery rhyme.

Which day of the week were you born on?

If you're not sure, use this handy calculator.

NB: the calculator doesn't work if you were born before 1900 or after 2004.

Edited to add: Hey, lurkers, (and that includes you Katie W) why not participate in this? All it takes is a one-word answer. Would it help if I said please very sweetly?

65 comments:

Caro said...

Hmm, also a Wednesday. I wonder why I didn't know this?

Julia said...

Friday, turns out. As was Monkey.
A was born on a Wednesday. His due date was a Friday, though.

S said...

I'm a Thursday. What a bummer. I don't like Thursday's rhyme.

Jack's a Tuesday.

And Ben? Well, apparently he hit the freakin' jackpot by being born on a Sunday.

Sara said...

I was born on a Thursday. I've seen this poem before - always made me feel pressured....Julia, Natan was born on a Wednesday too. I still don't like this poem.

Bea said...

I'm a Monday (fair of face), Pie is a Tuesday (full of grace), but Bub is a Wednesday (full of woe). That was certainly true of him for the first nine months or so, but I like to think maybe he outgrew his nursery-rhyme destiny by the time he was a year old.

willoughby said...

I'm a Friday, but I think the Saturday fits me better. I most certainly am not fair of face or full of grace!

Katie said...

As requested!
Thursdays child, unsure wether I have far to go! I was inspired/ unable to think up of any ideas for my own blog so I stole the rhyme and wrote about it, if you're intrigued go and read about it there (shameles plug!)

Bon said...

i'm a Monday. a shallow, vain Monday.

both my children - Friday. i secretly feared they'd come on Wednesday. the first time, it might have fit. the second, i was just scared of a repeat.

Anonymous said...

I'm another Thursday, and always did wonder whether it was a positive or a negative. My mother always spun it as a positive, assuming that it meant that I would "go far" in the colloquial sense, but it may just as well mean that I have a long way to go to achieve happiness, success, whatever. Or it could mean that a Thursday child will travel a lot or live abroad, and I haven't really done that, yet.

Wednesday's child really does get the shaft. I wonder why...

(Sidenote: A quick google search reveals that there are many organizations called "Wednesday's Child," all dealing with disadvantaged or disabled kids.)

Each day of week is attributed to a god, and what I found out about Wednesday is that it was Odin's -- or Woden's-- day, whose responsibilities included transporting the dead to the afterlife. Pretty woeful business. [Wikipedia article]

Anna said...

I guess I'm a Monday Barbie, too. Hah. Tell it to the ginormous pimple on my right cheek.

Magpie said...

I'm a Thursday. I think it's why I was a late bloomer. I didn't talk 'til I was three (and my mother thought I was retarded), but when I spoke, I spoke in paragraphs.

Anonymous said...

Funny. My mother had always told me that I was born on a Thursday, and I never questioned her. But according to the calculator it was a Tuesday.

Kind of changes my destiny...

Lori said...

I was born on a Saturday, which thus proves yet again this little nursery rhyme cannot actually predict the future. I do in fact work hard, in my opinion, but it is not for my living. My husband, in fact, works very hard for our living, I work very hard for our lives.

Of my three living children, I have a Saturday, a Sunday and a Monday. So I guess that will mean we will have our hard worker, our all around happy guy, and our pretty boy. Oh, and my twins were born on a Sunday.

S. said...

Z. and I are both Wednesday (though I consider the exact day of her birthday to be pretty arbitrary because of the freaky length of my labor). I was always secretly proud of being a Wednesday--it's the most interesting and the toughest one. I once came across a prettied-up version of the poem where Wednesday was just another piece of pablum, and was appalled.

But I'm not sure I embrace it for my daughter.

Anonymous said...

Tuesday. Hmm. Maybe that full of grace phase is still to come (or long over).

Anonymous said...

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday...although I'm not sure that the rhyme fits me too well.

-Suz

Phantom Scribbler said...

Tuesday. So you'd think I could walk across the room without tripping over my own feet.

Anonymous said...

Delurking to say I'm a Wednesday's child. May explain why I have AA on speed dial.

Both kids are Monday's children; as a proud mama I think they belong there. Doesn't every mom think their babies are pretty?

niobe said...

Phantom: Mostly likely, the poem's meaning is not limited to the narrow confines of the physical plane, but refers, instead, to your spiritual and authorial grace.

Frumious b: Aren't you that you can, at long last, understand your true nature and essence, casting off those futile years of nescience fostered by your mom's unfortunate error?

Anon: Thanks for delurking. Hope to see you again in the comments if the spirit moves you.

Lori: I guess you could say that you and your husband are a team, working together (though in different roles) for the family's living and the family's life.

But, now that I think about it, it's not exactly in my interest to challenge your idea that the poem is not particularly accurate. So I retract my earlier statement and now agree with you completely.

niobe said...

Amelie See comment to Phantom above.

delphi said...

Thursday... far to go... hmmm....

C. was Friday
BB was Monday

There might be a post in this for me...

Aurelia said...

Monday for me, Tuesday for Mac, and Thursday for Kaz and Mr.Cotta. Mine sort of fits, depending on my mood, Mac I don't know, and Kaz and Mr.Cotta, yes, in a way, it does.

ms. G said...

Tuesday for me. I don't know, however you define the meaning of grace, not sure it applies to me in any form.

Iselyahna said...

Friday.

Ruby said...

According to the calculator I was born on Sunday. NO. I am none of those.

Little One on a Friday. It fits him well (when he chooses.)

Isabel was born on a Saturday. It fits. She fought (worked) hard to stay with us (live) for the few hours that she did.

Betty M said...

Delurking as a Wednesday's child. Never really thought of myself as full of woe though - bit sarcastic and jaded maybe but not woeful.
Betty M

Anonymous said...

I'm a Monday - boy do I feel pretty. Which is odd, cuz I usually don't feel pretty at all.

But I guess I've been wrong all these years. Score …

missing_one said...

Friday. But I dont' think I'm at all giving by nature.

Felicia said...

I was born on a sunday and so was my daughter. That is kind of cool.

Yankee T said...

Two of my three siblings and I were born on Thursdays...the other on a Sunday. I have always taken the Thursday one to mean I would travel a lot. And I have, and I do.

Chris, Renae & Annie said...

Can't remember if I've commented before or not but consider this a delurking moment.

I am a Monday's child, although my t-zone would disagree. But my husband says I'm beautiful. And I like believing him. So I'll go with it.

Renae

M said...

I'm a Friday - but I think I lost all my loving and giving somewhere along the way!

Roxanne said...

I'm a Tuesday, but I am definitely not graceful.

I think it would be cool to be a Wednesday, but then again I really like The Addams Family.

niobe said...

Vixanne: It's funny that you say that. As a very young child I had a huge (well, huge in comparison to me, anyway) Wednesday doll that sat on my little red rocking chair.

Anonymous said...

Monday My nine-years-younger twin on a Friday, and my three-years-older twin spouse on a Thursday.

I think Thursday is more appropriate: far to go.

Nifty calculator.

Anonymous said...

I am a Friday.

wannabe mom said...

i'm a friday, and i'm loving and giving most of the time. my girls were born on a saturday, and here's hoping they'll work hard at bringing us another set of twins.

thanks for the fun exercise.

msfitzita said...

I was born on a Monday. My poor little boy, a Wednesday.

Still Born said...

woe is me. born on wednesday.

Clare said...

I'm another Wednesday's Child and unfortunately it's a pretty accurate fit with my character. I struggle with pessimism and depression at times. and I have had a few moments of spectacular bad luck. but I do have degrees of optimism and luck also. My DD and my deadbaby were both born on Thursday. My DH is a Saturday and he works pretty darn hard IMO. We're probably luck we only have one Wednesday's child in our household!

BasilBean said...

What a good idea for a post!

I had always thought I was a Wednesday's child, since that is what I remember my mom telling me (that I was born on a Wednesday, not that I am full of woe). Thanks to the nifty calculator I now know that I am a Friday's child.

William was born on a Wednesday :(

Anonymous said...

Tuesday.

Sam was born on a Sunday, which means that my husband is good and gay. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Unknown said...

Friday. I am SO not loving and giving.

Rosepetal said...

Wednesday

Anonymous said...

wednesday

Casey said...

Tuesday

Cassie said...

I was born on a Friday, but just barely. I was due on Thursday and was late (just the begining of a life-long pattern). I think I was born just past midnight. I think that sort of fits, though, as I try to be loving and giving most of the time, but also feel in many aspects that I have a long way to go.

Anonymous said...

Saturday, but my little girl was born on a Wednesday.

Paula

Heesun said...

I was born on a Sunday, my husband on a Tuesday. The kids are Monday and Thursday.

That was fun!

Take good care,
Heesun

Anonymous said...

I'm a Sunday's child Wouldn't you know :)

My H. is a Monday's child and is fair of face.

LaLa is a VERY early Friday morning child and she is just as the poem says too :)

Very accurate, impressed :)

jo(e) said...

I was born on a Tuesday. My kids area all Thursdays and Fridays ....

Melissa said...

Tuesday. My husband was born on a Tuesday too and my daughter was born on a Friday.

Angel Mom said...

DH, K, and I were all born on Monday. I think it is fitting for them but not myself. :-p

N and G both were born on Saturday. Poor A was a Wednesday.

Our angel S was born on Sunday.

cinnamon gurl said...

Jackpot!!! Apparently, I was born on a Sunday... I've always wondered what the other days of the week meant AND what day of the week I was born on. Thanks for clearing both of those up for me.

And Swee'pea was born on a Tuesday... full of grace would not be the first words I would choose to describe but I don't suppose they are completely inaccurate either.

Anonymous said...

I'm a Sunday baby, and found it quite amusing when I identified myself as a lesbian.

Anonymous said...

Dh and I were both born on a Thursday, each of the girls were born on Saturday.

AJW5403 said...

I was born on a Sunday.

sara h. said...

I was born on Superbowl Sunday,1978

A said...

thursday...

SWH said...

tuesday

laura said...

thank you for the exercise. now i finally understand why my first son was stillborn; it was because i was born on a wednesday. if only i had known this information earlier, i could have avoided wasting so much time pouring over his autopsy.

h2o girl said...

I was born on a Friday.
My daughter was born on a Monday.

Claudia said...

Monday

Hales Family said...

I'm a new lurker (catching up because your writing is addicting), and I guess I'll play too.

Saturday.

Anonymous said...

Sunday!!!!!!