How Many Weeks in a Year?

Are you curious to know how many weeks in a year? Let’s check out how many general weeks, work weeks, school weeks, pay weeks in a year, including history and facts of the weeks.

A year typically has 365 days in an ordinary year and 366 days in a leap year which are divided into 7-day weeks.

A common year has 52 weeks and one day, and a leap year has 52 weeks and two days.

When the Earth, one of the nine planets in our solar system, completes one rotation in her orbit around the Sun is called a year.

We follow the modern calendar, generally known as the Gregorian Calendar.

According to the Gregorian Calendar, the length of 365 days completed a year. Therefore, we call it an ordinary year.

But of course, the year cycle is not as ordinary as it seems.

The Gregorian calendar starts on January 1 and ends on December 31.

How Many Weeks in A Year Generally?

Generally, there are 52 weeks a year.

Of course, you know what a year or a week is. But to clarify your knowledge, let’s see this again.

But of course, our solar year is not precisely containing 365 days.

It takes 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes 47 seconds for the Earth to move around the Sun.

We calculate only 365 days a year. But what about the remaining 5 hours, 48 minutes 47 seconds?

If we continue to lose approximately 6 hours every year, there will be a mismatch with Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

Generally, we follow the Gregorian calendar in our everyday life, where the month starts from January and ends in December.

The weeks are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Of course, some other calendars are used vastly based on religion, race, community, and culture.

For example, most Muslims in the world follows the lunar calendar simultaneously with the Gregorian calendar as the rituals, practice, and festivals are based on the continuous movement of the Moon on its axis around the Earth.

So, one typical year has 365 days. We do not calculate the fractions (5 hours 48 minutes 47 seconds) while counting a whole year.

Let’s do the math of how a common year has 52 weeks.

1 common year= 365 days

One week= seven days

1 Common Year+ (365 days)/ (7 days) =52.142857 weeks= 52 weeks+ 1 day

Indubitably, you know that in several years there comes a February in which there are 28 days instead of 29. That year is called a leap year.

1 leap year= 366 days

One week= seven days

1 Leap Year+ (366 days) ÷ (7 days) =52.2857 weeks= 52 weeks+ 2 days

We are giving a chart of the number of weeks in a year for your understanding.

Year	Year Type	Weeks in a Year
2015	Common Year	52 weeks+1 day
2016	Leap Year	52 weeks+2 days
2017	Common Year	52 weeks+1 day
2018	Common Year	52 weeks+1 day
2019	Common Year	52 weeks+1 day
2020	Leap Year	52 weeks+2 days
2021	Common Year	52 weeks+1 day
2022	Common Year	52 weeks+1 day
2023	Common Year	52 weeks+1 day
2024	Leap Year	52 weeks+2 days
2025	Common Year	52 weeks+1 day

Note we use several calendars for many purposes. However, the ordinary calendar we use is usually a Gregorian Calendar.

The lunar calendar helps us determine the Moon’s phases (synodic months, lunations).

The calendar contrasts with solar calendars, whose annual cycles are only based on the solar year.

The Julian calendar helps us compute the distance covered by a light-year.

We have charted important calendar classifications and the number of days and weeks accordingly for your comprehensive understanding.

Year Type	Number of Days	Number of Weeks
Lunar (Hijri)	354.37	50.6242857
Ordinary Year	365	52.1428571
Gregorian (Average)	365.2425	52.1775
Julian (Used in Astronomy)	365.25	52.1785714
Leap Year	366	52.2857143

Also Check: How Many Days in a Year?

How Many School Weeks in a Year?

Typically, there are 25 to 35 full school weeks in a year.

Of course, the calculation differs based on how you calculate it. And this is also based on the state, district, type of school (charter schools, traditional public and private schools, boarding schools, etc.), and grade levels.

In the United States of America, there are typically about 160 to 185 school days in a year, an average of 175-180 days.

If you calculate the school weeks as a five-day week mete, you will find 36 weeks of school.

Again, if you calculate differently, seven days a week, there are between 25 and 25.7 school weeks a year.

Count the weekends and holidays, and you will get 40 school weeks.

Each state instructs the schools to determine their school week hours and recommend the students consequently.

We are bringing up a list of school days insignificant states in the USA for your convenience.

State	Minimum School Days
Alabama	180 days
Arizona	180 days
California	175 to 180 days
Florida	180 days
Georgia	180 days
Idaho	Varies by district
Indiana	180 days
Kentucky	170 days
Mississippi	180 days
Missouri	Only a requirement for hours
Nevada	180 days
New York	180 days
Ohio	Varies by District
Pennsylvania	180 days
Rhode Island	180 days
South Dakota	Varies by District
Utah	180 days
Vermont	175 Days
Washington	180 days

How Many Whole Weeks Are in A Year?

There are 52 whole weeks in a year in a calendar, 365 days in a regular year, and 366 days in a leap year.

As mentioned above, a year has 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes 47 seconds resulting in 52.1785 weeks a year.

A leap year has 366 days, resulting in 52.2857 weeks, preferably 52 weeks a year.

Of course, we do not count fractions as a whole week as there is no such thing as .1785 weeks or days.

So, if you are wondering about a whole year, that is 52 weeks in a year.

For example, in 2022, the week between December 27, 2021, and January 2, 2022, is considered the 52nd week of 2021.

On the other hand, the week between December 26, 2022, and January 1, 2023, is considered the last week of 2022.

The first week of 2023 starts on January 2, 2023.

We do not consider the fractions (the first day of January 2023) as a part of the first week in 2023.

Instead, it is considered a part of the last week in 2022.

How Many Work Weeks in A Year?

There are approximately 48 office weeks in a year amidst 52 workweeks.

The calculation depends on what state you live in, what kind of job you do, how many holidays your institute provides you with, sick times, personal leaves, and others.

Let’s calculate the closest possible answer.

There are 253 working days on average in a year with 104 weekend days.

Usually, an office hour is calculated with eight working hours and five days a week, resulting in 40 hours in a week.

If you multiply the number of hours by the number of days, you will get the results into hours.

The annual income is usually calculated by the hours of working of an employee, so we are summing the hours for your convenience here.

Daily Working Hours* Annual Working Days= Annual Working Hours

8 Hours* 253 days= 2024 Hours

Among the 52 weeks in a year, all the weeks are workweeks in U.S. Companies.

We have counted approximately 112 days as days off while you are working. Here’s a list of what the 112 days might look like to people.

• Federal holidays in 2022; Note: they do not fall on weekends.
  • New Year’s Day (January 1)
  • Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Third Monday in January)
  • Washington’s Birthday (Third Monday in February)
  • Memorial Day (Last Monday in May)
  • Juneteenth National Independence Day (June 19)
  • Independence Day (July 4)
  • Labor Day (First Monday in September)
  • Columbus Day (also observed as Indigenous Peoples Day) (Second Monday in October)
  • Veterans Day (November 11)
  • Thanksgiving Day (Fourth Thursday in November) Christmas Day (December 25)
• 104 weekend days.
• Approximately ten days off.

How Many Week Days Are in A Year?

Generally, there are 260 to 262 weekdays in a year. The number of weekdays depends on which day the month, specifically the year.

You may be wondering what a weekday is. Simply put, a weekday is the remaining five days of a week other than Sunday or Saturday.

In the USA, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday is considered a weekday.

In 2022, there will be 260 weekdays. Again, in 2022 there will be 261 weekdays.

There are seven days in a week and five days on a weekday. So, of course, 365.25 days in a year.

We consider, 365.25× (5÷7) = 260.8928571461

Here is a list of possible years with 260 weekends in a year.

Years Begins on-	Total Weekdays in a year
Ordinary Years Begin on a Sunday	260
All Years Begin on Sunday	260

Here is a list of possible years with 261 weekends in a year.

Years Begins on-	Total Weekdays in a year
Leap year begins on Sunday	261
Ordinary years starts on Tuesday	261
Regular years begins on Wednesday	261
Regular years starts on Thursday	261
All years begins on Friday	261

Here is a list of possible years with 262 weekends in a year.

Years Begins on-	Total Weekdays in a year
Leap year begins with Monday	262
Leap year begins with Tuesday	262
Leap year begins with Wednesday	262
Leap year begins with Thursday	262

How Many Pay Weeks in A Year?

Usually, 52.14 weeks in an ordinary year and 52.29 weeks in a leap year.

So, you will be paid 52 times in a year. However, you may get 53 pay periods in a year.

Of course, the company you work for controls your paychecks’ frequency and must be informed and consistent.

If you work as an hourly worker, you are likely to be paid at least 52 times. Though some institutions also have few pay periods as 10.

The weekly pay period schedule is typical and essential to many manual labor-focused sectors.

For example, employers in the construction and manufacturing business get paid weekly.

How Many Weeks a Leap Year?

A leap year has 52.3 weeks, while a tropical year has 52.14 weeks.

Generally, a typical year, Gregorian, Lunar, or others has 365 days with 12 months and

It takes 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes 47 seconds to complete an orbit to circle the Sun.

As a day can’t be a fraction, we simply subtract the remaining 5 hours, 48 minutes 47 seconds, approximately 6 hours every year, also signified as a tropical year.

But what happened to the spared time? The subtraction could unrest the World’s Time Standard, commonly known as UTC.

Every fourth year, the approximate six hours we subtract results from 24 hours or an additional day.

So, a leap year is a year where an extra day is added to maintain balance to the World’s Time Standard.

A leap year has 366 days instead of 365 and occurs almost every four years keeping the calendar aligned with the Earth’s revolutions around the Sun.

In our modern-day calendar, also known as the Gregorian Calendar, there are some criteria to help you pinpoint a leap year.

• A leap year is always divisible by 4. For Example, 2016 was a leap year and is divided by 4.
• But a year evenly divided by both 100 and 4 is not always a leap year. For example, years like 1700, 1800, 1900, 2100, etc. are not considered leap years.
• If the year is evenly divisible by 400, it is not a leap year. For example, the year 1600 is divided by 400. This year was considered a leap year. So are 2000 and 2400.

The duration of the astronomical year is 365 days 5 hours 48 minutes 46 seconds.

Whereas in the conventional Gregorian calendar the year is calculated as 365 days. In this way, about six hours of the year are left out of the count.

In four years, it is approximately equal to one day (6×4 = 24 hours).

To balance the shortfall, the year is calculated by adding one day in February every four consecutive years and 36 days.

How Many Paychecks in a Leap Year?

Ordinarily, employees who work every week get paid 52 times a year simply because a year has 52 weeks.

But there is a year when they get an extra pay period, 53 instead of 52.

Leap year tends to add an extra day to a year, 366 days instead of 365.

However, note that this extra day can affect your regular pay period schedule and fluctuate every year’s payment dates and frequency.

Here’s an interesting fact.

Not necessarily a leap year has to be a year to have an extra payday. The number of pay periods can fluctuate every year if the circumstances are right.

A leap year only boosts the possibility to have an extra payroll. But you should always count the number of pay periods even it is not a leap year.

In any year that is not a leap year, there is still one day of the week that is 53 times instead of the usual 52.

Day	2022	2023	2024(Leap Year)
Sunday	52	53	52
Monday	52	52	53
Tuesday	52	52	53
Wednesday	52	52	52
Thursday	52	52	52
Friday	52	52	52
Saturday	53	52	52
Total Years	365	365	366

The probability of having 53 Sundays in a non-leap year is 1/7. So, there are 14.29% chances that a non-leap year will have 53 Sundays.

So, you will most definitely have a chance to get paid 53 times occasionally.

How Many Paychecks in A Year Bi-Weekly?

When your employer chooses a day of payment on every other day of every week, that establishes a bi-weekly pay schedule.

Suppose your company pays you before the weekends, for example, on Friday.

Then you will be paid every other Friday of a month.

There are 26 to 27 bi weeks in a year.

Bi weeks are related to your paycheck. For example, if you want to get paid on a specific day every two weeks of every month, you are paid bi-weekly.

This payment method is the most popular payment schedule in the USA.

There are 52 bi-weeks in 2022, meaning you will be paid 26 times this year if you follow the bi-weekly payment method.

Of course, now, and then, you will be paid 27 times a year.

Why sometimes Bi Weeks Pays 27 Times a Year?

Sometimes while following the Gregorian calendar, you will get paid 27 times. Why is that?

Generally, a year contains 52 weeks. Therefore, dividing 52 weeks with bi-weeks two times will result in 26 bi-weeks a year.

Then why do we get 27 bi-weeks now and then?

In a bi-weekly payment method, you need to divide a year by 14. That is how it works.

365.25(Days of an ordinary year) /14 (Bi-weekly day numbers) = 26.0892(Bi-weeks in a year)

However, in a leap year, the calculation slightly changes.

366(Days of a leap year) /14 (Bi-weekly day numbers) = 26.1429(Bi-weeks in a year)

Because remainders remain in both common years (approximately .0892) and leap year (about .1429), these will sum up in later years.

These fractions represent less than 10% of a single pay period.

Nevertheless, federal agencies find 27 pay periods every 14 years or so.

Thanks to the fractions, the numbers summed up enough to present you with other paychecks in a year, the 27^th one.

How Many Weeks in Half a Year?

There are approximately 26 weeks in half of the year. The equation varies on three factors.

Each month in the modern Gregorian calendar that we follow consists of at least 28 days. The maximum number of days of a month is 31 days.

February falls short every year with 28 days. In a leap year, of course, the day counts accelerate by one day. But it can never be a month consisting of 30 days.

That number would be a nicely rounded 30 were it not for February.

Name of the Month	Days of a Month on Regular Year	Days of a Month on Leap Year
January	31 Days	31 Days
February	28 Days	29 Days
March	31 Days	31 Days
April	30 Days	30 Days
May	31 Days	31 Days
June	30 Days	30 Days
July	31 Days	31 Days
August	31 Days	31 Days
September	30 Days	30 Days
October	31 Days	31 Days
November	30 Days	30 Days
December	31 Days	31 Days
Total Days	365 Days	366 Days

Firstly, suppose you count the weeks of the first six months of the year, commonly known as the first half of the year.

From January to June, a half year consists of 181 days in an ordinary year. Divide the number of days, that is 181 in this case, by seven days.

Number of Days of an ordinary half year= 181 days Days in a week= seven days Number of Weeks of an ordinary half year= 181÷7=25.85714286 days

If it is a leap year, the first half of a year changes the calculation slightly.

Number of Days of a half of a leap year = 182 days Days in a week= seven days Number of Weeks of a half of a leap year =182÷7=26 days

Again, if you are calculating the last half of a year (July to December), the equation changes.

Number of Days of an ordinary last half year= 184 days Days in a week= seven days Number of Weeks of an ordinary last half year= 184÷7=26.28571429 days

How Many Weeks in A Year And A Half?

Approximately a year and a half have 82 weeks.

A year contains 52 weeks and half of a year has 26 weeks.

Simply sum up 52 weeks and 26 weeks. You can solve it by doing simple math.

However, the calculation might change a bit in a leap year because of the extra day.

For example, 2016 was a leap year. It had 366 days, and 2017 had 181 days in the first half.

366(Number of Days in the Year 2016) +181(Number of Days in Half of the year 2017)

= 547(The summed-up result of one and a half years)/7(number of Days in a Week)

= 78.14285714 78 weeks in one and a half of a year.

Similarly, the years 2015 and 2016 will sum up as the same.

365 (Number of Days in the Year 2015) +182 Number of Days in Half of the year 2016)

= 547(The summed-up result of one and a half years)/7(number of Days in a Week)

= 78.14285714 78 weeks in one and a half of a year.

But in an ordinary year, where February is at its minimum, the calculations slightly change.

365 (Number of Days in the Year 2021) +182 Number of Days in Half of the year 2022)

= 546(The summed-up result of one and a half years)/7(number of Days in a Week)

= 78 weeks in one and a half of a year.

How Many Weeks in The Year 2021?

• Week 52 2020: December 28, 2020, to January 3, 2021
• Week 01, 2021: January 4, 2021, to January 10, 2021
• Week 02, 2021: January 11, 2021, to January 17, 2021
• Week 03, 2021: January 18, 2021, to January 24, 2021
• Week 04, 2021: January 25, 2021, to January 31, 2021
• Week 05, 2021: February 1, 2021, to February 7, 2021
• Week 06, 2021: February 8, 2021, to February 14, 2021
• Week 07, 2021: February 15, 2021, to February 21, 2021
• Week 08, 2021: February 22, 2021, to February 28, 2021
• Week 09, 2021: March 1, 2021, to March 7, 2021
• Week 10, 2021: March 8, 2021, to March 14, 2021
• Week 11, 2021: March 15, 2021, to March 21, 2021
• Week 12, 2021: March 22, 2021, to March 28, 2021
• Week 13, 2021: March 29, 2021, to April 4, 2021
• Week 14, 2021: April 5, 2021, to April 11, 2021
• Week 15, 2021: April 12, 2021, to April 18, 2021
• Week 16, 2021: April 19, 2021, to April 25, 2021
• Week 17, 2021: April 26, 2021, to May 2, 2021
• Week 18, 2021: May 3, 2021, to May 9, 2021
• Week 19, 2021: May 10, 2021, to May 16, 2021
• Week 20, 2021: May 17, 2021, to May 23, 2021
• Week 21, 2021: May 24, 2021, to May 30, 2021
• Week 22, 2021: May 31, 2021, to June 6, 2021
• Week 23, 2021: June 7, 2021, to June 13, 2021
• Week 24, 2021: June 14, 2021, to June 20, 2021
• Week 25, 2021: June 21, 2021, to June 27, 2021
• Week 26, 2021: June 28, 2021, to July 4, 2021
• Week 27, 2021: July 5, 2021, to July 11, 2021
• Week 28, 2021: July 12, 2021, to July 18, 2021
• Week 29, 2021: July 19, 2021, to July 25, 2021
• Week 30, 2021: July 26, 2021, to August 1, 2021
• Week 31, 2021: August 2, 2021, to August 8, 2021
• Week 32, 2021: August 9, 2021, to August 15, 2021
• Week 33, 2021: August 16, 2021, to August 22, 2021
• Week 34, 2021: August 23, 2021, to August 29, 2021
• Week 35, 2021: August 30, 2021, to September 5, 2021
• Week 36, 2021: September 6, 2021, to September 12, 2021
• Week 37, 2021: September 13, 2021, to September 19, 2021
• Week 38, 2021: September 20, 2021, to September 26, 2021
• Week 39, 2021: September 27, 2021, to October 3, 2021
• Week 40, 2021: October 4, 2021, to October 10, 2021
• Week 41, 2021: October 11, 2021, to October 17, 2021
• Week 42, 2021: October 18, 2021, to October 24, 2021
• Week 43, 2021: October 25, 2021, to October 31, 2021
• Week 44, 2021: November 1, 2021, to November 7, 2021
• Week 45, 2021: November 8, 2021, to November 14, 2021
• Week 46, 2021: November 15, 2021, to November 21, 2021
• Week 47, 2021: November 22, 2021, to November 28, 2021
• Week 48, 2021: November 29, 2021, to December 5, 2021
• Week 49, 2021: December 6, 2021, to December 12, 2021
• Week 50, 2021: December 13, 2021, to December 19, 2021
• Week 51, 2021: December 20, 2021, to December 26, 2021
• Week 52, 2021: December 27, 2021, to January 2, 2022
• Week 01, 2022: January 3, 2022, to January 9, 2022

How Many Weeks in The Year 2022?

In 2021, the 52nd week started on December 27, 2021. But it ends on January 2, 2022.

Here’s a list of all the weeks in 2022.

• Week 52, 2021: December 27, 2021, to January 2, 2022
• Week 01, 2022: January 3, 2022, to January 9, 2022
• Week 02, 2022: January 10, 2022, to January 16, 2022
• Week 03, 2022: January 17, 2022, to January 23, 2022
• Week 04, 2022: January 24, 2022, to January 30, 2022
• Week 05, 2022: January 31, 2022, to February 6, 2022
• Week 06, 2022: February 7, 2022, to February 13, 2022
• Week 07, 2022: February 14, 2022, to February 20, 2022
• Week 08, 2022: February 21, 2022, to February 27, 2022
• Week 09, 2022: February 28, 2022, to March 6, 2022
• Week 10, 2022: March 7, 2022, to March 13, 2022
• Week 11, 2022: March 14, 2022, to March 20, 2022
• Week 12, 2022: March 21, 2022, to March 27, 2022
• Week 13, 2022: March 28, 2022, to April 3, 2022
• Week 14, 2022: April 4, 2022, to April 10, 2022
• Week 15, 2022: April 11, 2022, to April 17, 2022
• Week 16, 2022: April 18, 2022, to April 24, 2022
• Week 17, 2022: April 25, 2022, to May 1, 2022
• Week 18, 2022: May 2, 2022, to May 8, 2022
• Week 19, 2022: May 9, 2022, to May 15, 2022
• Week 20, 2022: May 16, 2022, to May 22, 2022
• Week 21, 2022: May 23, 2022, to May 29, 2022
• Week 22, 2022: May 30, 2022, to June 5, 2022
• Week 23, 2022: June 6, 2022, to June 12, 2022
• Week 24, 2022: June 13, 2022, to June 19, 2022
• Week 25, 2022: June 20, 2022, to June 26, 2022
• Week 26, 2022: June 27, 2022, to July 3, 2022
• Week 27, 2022: July 4, 2022, to July 10, 2022
• Week 28, 2022: July 11, 2022, to July 17, 2022
• Week 29, 2022: July 18, 2022, to July 24, 2022
• Week 30, 2022: July 25, 2022, to July 31, 2022
• Week 31, 2022: August 1, 2022, to August 7, 2022
• Week 32, 2022: August 8, 2022, to August 14, 2022
• Week 33, 2022: August 15, 2022, to August 21, 2022
• Week 34, 2022: August 22, 2022, to August 28, 2022
• Week 35, 2022: August 29, 2022, to September 4, 2022
• Week 36, 2022: September 5, 2022, to September 11, 2022
• Week 37, 2022: September 12, 2022, to September 18, 2022
• Week 38, 2022: September 19, 2022, to September 25, 2022
• Week 39, 2022: September 26, 2022, to October 2, 2022
• Week 40, 2022: October 3, 2022, to October 9, 2022
• Week 41, 2022: October 10, 2022, to October 16, 2022
• Week 42, 2022: October 17, 2022, to October 23, 2022
• Week 43, 2022: October 24, 2022, to October 30, 2022
• Week 44, 2022: October 31, 2022, to November 6, 2022
• Week 45, 2022: November 7, 2022, to November 13, 2022
• Week 46, 2022: November 14, 2022, to November 20, 2022
• Week 47, 2022: November 21, 2022, to November 27, 2022
• Week 48, 2022: November 28, 2022, to December 4, 2022
• Week 49, 2022: December 5, 2022, to December 11, 2022
• Week 50, 2022: December 12, 2022, to December 18, 2022
• Week 51, 2022: December 19, 2022, to December 25, 2022
• Week 52, 2022: December 26, 2022, to January 1, 2023
• Week 01, 2023 January 2, 2023, January 8, 2023

Origin and History of the Week

The week’s concept is derived from the ancient Jews and the biblical account of the creation, where it’s believed that God labored for six days and rested on the seventh.

Mesopotamia may have influenced Jews to generate this idea.

Sumerians and Babylonians declared one of the seven days as a day of recreation.

Babylonians used the name of the five planetary bodies, thus Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and after the sun and moon.

Romans followed the idea later. In 321 CE, emperor Constantine demolished the old eight-day period, introduced a seven-day week calendar, and marked Sunday as the first day of the week.

Other days were named moon’s day, mar’s day, etc.

After converting religion to Christianity, Constantine decreed Sunday as worship.

Until today, Romans assigned days are continued in Sunday, Monday, Saturday days.

Anglo-Saxon words for the gods of Teutonic mythology also contributed in English weekday names.

Anglo Saxon name tiu/tiw resulted in Tuesday which came from tyr, Norse God of war.

Odin’s or woden was the father of tyr and Wednesday came from his name.

The God of thunder was the originator of Thursday.

In Norse mythology, Frigg’s day was dedicated to Odin’s wife Frigg, which became Friday in English later.

Facts of the Week

Saturday Facts

• In Sweden, young children can eat candy only on Saturdays.
• Saturday comes from Saturn, the Roman god of generations, great wealth, agriculture, periodic renewal, and liberation.
• Many days of the week were named after Germanic gods from the German calendar instead of the Roman calendar. However, the naming of Saturday got stuck in the Germanic calendar because none of the German gods is equivalent to Saturn.
• Koreans translate Saturday as Earth Day.
• Nepal’s only official weekly holiday is Saturday, and it is the last day of the week.
• In Australia and New Zealand, elections are held on Saturdays.
• In folklore, Saturday was often seen as the best day for vampire hunting because it was the day of the week when they were confined.
• Balkans believe that whoever is born on Saturday could see a vampire that is invisible to others.
• In most countries, Saturday is considered the regular party night of the working week. So, most bars, pubs, clubs, and restaurants open for longer on Saturday night.
• Most domestic football matches are held on Saturday in the U.K.
• In Israel, Saturday is considered the official rest day. All government offices, businesses, public transportation remain closed on that day.

Sunday Facts

• The first day of the week is named after the sun, instead of the last Sunday.
• In Polish, Ukrainian, Croatian, and Bulgarian, Sunday means “no work.”
• According to the Thai Solar Calendar, red is associated with Sunday.
• In countries like France, Sweden, Germany, and Belgium, the national and local elections are held on Sundays by law or tradition.
• Roman Emperor Constantine, I declared that Sunday would be a day of rest except for agricultural work.
• Almost all banks around the world are closed on Sundays.
• Months that start with a Sunday, the 13th is always a Friday.
• In Salt Lake City, Utah, if you whistle on Sunday by any chance, you will be fined up to $1000.
• Most period dramas like Downton Abbey, Call the Midwife, Lark Rise to Candle ford, and Heartbeat in America are usually aired on Sunday evenings.
• T.V. show Antique Roadshow has been demonstrated on Sundays since 1979.
• It’s believed that Easter Sunday is the day Jesus will be resurrected from the dead.
• In 1982, January 17, Sunday was named clod Sunday because frigid winds blew from the U.S. to Canada, and Temperatures in most states have dropped far below their all-time lows.
• According to Pagans, the sun was the source of life and the giver of warmth and light for humanity.

Monday Facts

• People tend to buy a new car on Monday. Because the weekend is the busiest day for car sellers, people will get more time and attention from salespersons on Monday.
• Maritime, 2011 shows that ordinary people in the U.K. won’t smile until 11:16 AM.
• Monday is a defamation term used to describe a large and heavy sledgehammer in the U.K.
• The song ‘I don’t like Mondays’ by ‘The Boomtown Rats’ was inspired by American killer Brenda Spencer on a shooting spree. When police asked about her motivation for murder, she answered, “I don’t like Mondays.”
• There were 53 Mondays in 2012 and 2018. This incident will take place until 2024.
• There was a study in 2011 that says the average person cries 34 minutes on Monday compared to 22 minutes on other days.
• Scientists say that you will gain the most weight on Monday even if you maintain a stable weight.
• Almost 50% of employees go late for work on Monday.
• Professional people over 40 are the largest population to suffer more stress on Monday.
• Monday is generally considered suicide day as most people take their own lives on Monday.
• Due to the decrease of manufactured pollution over the week, Monday is the least rainy day.
• People will always say Monday is the most stressful day. However, scientists revealed that each day emotions are the same as Monday.

Tuesday Facts

• In Japanese, the word Tuesday means the ‘fire day’ associated with Mars, which means fire stars.
• Many employees believe that Tuesday is the most productive day of the week.
• The highest number of job applications are submitted on Tuesday.
• Tuesday is the day of the week that is less likely to be the day of Christmas Eve.
• Constantinople Fell happened on Tuesday. That’s why the Greeks consider Tuesday as an unlucky day.
• Both Greek and Spanish-speaking people consider the 13th day of the month unlucky if it is Tuesday.
• A study shows that Californian people do not do a barbecue on Tuesday.
• Many U.S. states held their presidential primary elections on Super Tuesday.
• On Tuesday, Barak Obama was elected as America’s first African American president.
• Tuesday was the day when Microsoft released its patches. That’s why Tuesday is known as Patch Tuesday.
• William Herschel first discovered Uranus on March 13, 1781; Tuesday.
• The first world war started on Tuesday.

Wednesday Facts

• Do you want to ask for a pay rise or a holiday from your office boss, do it on Wednesday? Because it is said that bosses are more receptive to Wednesday requests from their employees.
• The Daughter’s name in the film ‘Adams Family’ was taken from Nursery Rhythm Monday’s Child, where it was said that “Wednesday the baby is full of woe.”
• In Japanese, Wednesday refers to ‘water day’ because it is associated with planet Mercury which means ‘water star.’
• The U.K. football team ‘Sheffield Wednesday’ was named after Wednesday because they played their game on Wednesday.
• In Iraq, there is a Yezidi festival named Red Wednesday.
• Green is the color that corresponds to Wednesday in the Thai Solar Calendar.
• Wednesday’s astrological sign is like the planet mercuries astrological sign.
• In Australia, on February 16, 1983, a bushfire occurred, and it killed 75 people, injured 2600, destroyed around 9000 homes, and caused damage of about $324 million. It was Wednesday.
• The first navy ship of the United States was launched on Wednesday, May 10, 1797.
• Wednesday is translated as’ Third Day in Estonian, Lithuanian, Latvian, and mandarin Chinese.’

Thursday Facts

• The most incredible artist, inventor, pioneer genius was born on April 15, 1452.
• Bald Eagle was decided as the official emblem of the United States on a Thursday, June 20, 1782.
• Most movie premieres of Australia are mostly held on a Thursday.
• In Thailand, graduation days at universities are mostly held on a Thursday.
• Thailand Buddhists consider Thursday as Teachers Day, and they believe that everyone should start their education from Thursday.
• In the 1950s and 1960s, people who wore green color were considered gay in America.
• In the U.K., elections are held on Thursday. There is no specific tradition or belief in this.
• There is an American post-hardcore rock band maned Thursday.
• During the 1970s and 1980s in USSR, Thursday was known as Fish Day, and the foodservice institutes used to serve fish over meat.
• Estonian people did not do any work on Thursday and used to call their Thursday night ‘evenings of Tooru.’
• The Last Supper took place on a Thursday.

Friday Facts:

• The most brutal war in modern times, the second world war, started Friday.
• The French revolution also started on Friday back in 1789.
• Friday is a holiday in most Muslim counties around the world.
• To the western people, Friday the 13th is a bad luck day. However, 13 is a lucky number in India and Thailand.
• Friday is considered the last day of weekdays.
• There is an American acronym that is quite popular with Americans. “TGIF,” which means “Thank God It’s Friday.”
• The term has been developed for Friday as it is the last day of weekdays. “Friday’s Syndrome” and the word “Friday Feeling” represents people’s feel of comfort. They feel more relaxed and easy-going on a Friday.
• Television sitcom stars Mary-Kate, and Ashley Olsen were born together on Friday the 13th of June 1986.
• In the U.S., “Black Friday” sometimes refers to the day after Thanksgiving. This Friday is, by tradition, the first day of the Christmas shopping season.
• Friday is also linked with the astrological signs of Libra and Taurus.
• Blue is the color of Friday in the Thai solar calendar.
• In 1719, Robinson Crusoe, the protagonist of famous writer Daniel Defoe’s novel, meets a native to the island he’s stranded on, with whom he cannot talk at the start. Crusoe calls him Friday, as that is the day of the week while he meets him.

Who Invented Weeks?

Babylonians came up with weeks around the 6^th Century BC, one of the oldest civilizations.

They invented a time management method to keep track of time. The Babylonians used the Moon to keep track of days and months.

Later, the Romans modified the idea of weeks.

The Romans had the concept that they had eight days a week. But the Constantine Emperor during 361 CE established seven days a week.

However, the concept of seven days a week first emerged in Babylon.

Why are Weeks Called Weeks?

The Word week is originated from the old English word ‘WICE,’ which means ‘Sequence Series.’

‘Wice’ is a typical German word from the root *wik- “turn, move, change.”

We count weeks in a seven-day sequence. Therefore, every seven days is considered as a week.

The Moon completes each phase- new Moon to a waxing half-moon, waxing half-moon to a full moon, full Moon to a waning half-moon, waning half-moon to a new moon in a sequence.

Each cycle represents a specific phenomenon that helped people polish the idea of weeks.

Why are there Seven Days a Week?

The Babylonians were known for being astronomers and astrologers back in 500 BC.

They formed a kind of horoscope where each day of the week was named after a classical planet.

These planets represent seven celestial bodies from the days of a week.

People could see planets and stars in the sky without any scientific tools back in the civilization of the Babylonians.

Babylonian civilization and the Jews calculated weeks as a period of seven days.

Yet they came with the name Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn while dotting the orbs of the cosmos.

The Babylonians used to count the months by looking at the Moon. The month’s calculation started from the first day when the Moon began its phase.

The crescent moon appears precisely seven days later. The Full Moon occurs on the 14th day. From the Day 21 of the lunar phase, the Moon started to fade and day 28 is the last phase of a moon.

Each moon phase started after seven days. Thus, the Babylonians calculated seven days a week.

The waning crescent moon could be seen hanging on the 21st day, and the last changing form of the Moon could be seen on the 28th day.

Since each step started after seven days, they calculated the week in seven days.

The Jews used to calculate a cycle of seven days from religious rituals. There was a spiritual reason for the Jews to count seven days a week.

Do All Countries have 7-Day Weeks?

All countries have seven days a week in modern days as it is pretty much the universal radar of calculating a year.

At least some small communities who follow their rituals of days and weeks are fully informed about the available calendar system.

The weeks represent the lunar cycle from a new moon to a waxing half-moon, from a waxing half-moon to a full moon.

Again, from the halfway, it starts from a full moon to a waning half-moon, from a waning half-moon to a new moon.

But not all civilizations from the past used seven days a week.

However, there are some experiments to change the way of the weeks. For example:

• The Romans had eight days in a week. They had a “Market Day” every week held every 8^th
• The Javanese mostly habituated in Indonesia had five days in a week.
• The people from the Mesoamerican Culture, also known as the Aztecs, had counted 13 days a week.
• In ancient China and Egypt, they used a 10-day week.
• The Mayans planned 13-day cycles called trecena.
• Some modern experiments try to establish days as a week other than seven days.
• The Soviet Union experimented with a six-day work week and a five-day week between 1929 to 1940.
• During the French revolution, the French Revolutionary week lasted ten days and later carried on to 1802. This practice started in 1793.

Who Named Days of the Week?

The Romans back in their time developed the name of the week.

The names came from the Sun, the Moon, and several Planets. These names also represent their gods.

The words we use to name a day of a week are relatively straightforward Danish though. Later, they got mixed up with the English Language.

• Sunday is named after the Sun. Also, Sól is a goddess in Norse mythology. Sól later became Sunday.
• Monday is after the moon. The Lunar year was named after the Latin word of the moon- Luna. In Nordic areas Monday was the moon was called Mani and Mánadagr became Monday.
• The other days are named after some planets which are named after the Gods.
• Mars was named after Tyr, God of war and bloodshed (Tuesday),
• Mercury became Odin (Óðinsdagr), War God (Wednesday),
• Jupiter became Thor, God of war and fertility (Thursday) and
• Venus became Frigg, of marriage and fertility (Friday).
• However, the name Saturday is a bit different. The Norse form ‘Saturday’ means ‘hot water day’ – which represents ‘washing day’ or ‘washing water day’.

Danish	Meaning	Planet
Søndag	Solen	Sun
Mandag	Månen	Moon
Tirsdag	Tyr	Mars
Onsdag	Odin	Mercury
Torsdag	Thor	Jupiter
Fredag	Frigg	Venus
Lørdag	‘Vaskedagen’	Saturn

 

English	Old Norse	Meaning
Sunday	Sunnudagr	The Sun
Monday	Mánadagr	The Moon
Tuesday	Tysdagr	Týr
Wednesday	Óðinsdagr	Odin
Thursday	Þórsdagr	Thor
Friday	Frjádagr	Frigg
Saturday	Laugardagr	Saturn

Why do Weeks Start on Sunday?

The simplest answer would be Saturday is the end of the week. So, it is natural Sunday should be the first day of the week.

But it is more than that. Historically the first day of a week or the last one was centered around many religious rituals.

Sunday is considered the first day of a week by both Christians and Jews.

The notion is incepted over two thousand years as the remnant of the Judeo-Christian religious background to the calendar system.

The notion that says a week is consists of is closely linked to Judaism. It took six days for God to make this world, and He rested on the seventh day of creation, creating the idea of the rest day.

Thus, this notion created that a cluster of days needs to be organized to start and end a week.

Under the Jewish calendar, Jews observe the Sabbath from Friday to Saturday. To them, Saturday is the last day of the week and the day of prayer. In 1906, New England Cotton Mills were given two days off a week in the United States for the first time, keeping in mind the Jewish Sabbath.

Friday is a day of prayer for Muslims.

Again, in many western countries, Sunday is considered the last day of the week. On this day, weekly religious service is held in the Christian Catholic Church.

The Bible says Sunday is the day of the Lord Jesus’ return after death.

Why are there 12 Months in a Year?

The 12 months in a year system was developed to synchronize time with the seasons.

The astronomers from Julius Caesars’s time first mentioned the necessity of 12 months in a year to understand the change of nature.

There are over 12 lunar cycles in a year that helped split the years into 12 parts.

During the Roman Emperor, the calendar has ten months which was later changed and two more months were added to the calendar.

In 55 BC, Julius Caesar ordered a calendar consisting of twelve months based on a solar year with 365 days, 266 in a leap year.

He also added July and August in the honor of himself and his Successor Augustus. To emphasize their importance these months were given 31 days.

Caesar also moved the first month of a year to January. Previously the first month of a year was considered from March.

Is it always 52 Weeks in a Year?

It is always 52 weeks in a year, whether it is an ordinary year or a leap year.

You need to know about the fraction here. A year completes full 52 weeks no matter what.

The Earth completes a rotation around the Sun in approximately 365 days 5 hours 46 minutes 47 seconds.

If we sum up 52 with 7, the result is 364. So having 52 weeks in a year is inevitable.

But the remaining one day, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 47 seconds which is counted as a day, makes a year of 365 days.

However, an additional day is counted every four years, also known as a leap year, to balance the remaining 5 hours, 48 minutes 47 seconds every four years.

5.8131 hours (5 hours, 48 minutes 47 seconds) *4= 23.2522… ……hours eventually make a year of 366 days every four years.

That is 52 weeks+2 days. As we mentioned before, 52 weeks is unavoidable every year. The calculation differs by only one day or two occasionally.

Why are there 52 Weeks in a Year and not 48 Weeks?

The question arises when you take the typical idea of 4 weeks a month as a fact and calculate it like this.

If a month has four weeks, a year should have 4*12= 48 weeks.

Of course, you have started with a false premise as a month is not consist of 4 weeks, not exactly at least. You have forgotten the fractions here.

We generally have 28 days (February), 29 Days (February in a leap year), 30 days (April, June, September, November), and 31 days (January, March, May, July, August, October, December) in a month.

These months are not exactly 28 days.

Months	Days in a month	Weeks in a month	Remaining Days
January	30 days	4 weeks+ 3 days	3 days
February	28 days	4 weeks+ 0 days	3+0=3 days
March	31 days	4 weeks+ 3 days	3+3=6 days
April	30 days	4 weeks+ two days	6+2=8 days
May	31 days	4 weeks+ 3 days	8+3=11 days
June	30 days	4 weeks+ two days	11+2=13 days
July	31 days	4 weeks+ 3 days	13+3=16 days
August	31 days	4 weeks+ 3 days	16+3=19 days
September	30 days	4 weeks+ two days	19+2= 21days
October	31 days	4 weeks+ 3 days	21+3=24 days
November	30 days	4 weeks+ two days	24+2=26 days
December	31 days	4 weeks+ 3 days	26+3=29 days

So, other than four weeks in a month, there are some days more, resulting in 29 days in an ordinary year and 30 days in a leap year.

Twenty-nine days is another four weeks+1 day and 30 days is exactly 4 weeks+2 days.

Since the inception of the calendar system, almost every civilization has followed the orbit of a moon.

It takes 28 days for a moon to complete a phase, and our week system incepted from that concept.

The way of calendars has changed since then. Now we follow the solar calendar instead of the lunar calendar.

That is why there are more days than four weeks in a month.

And so, it is not logical to think a year might have 48 weeks instead of 52.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do the names of the week mean?

Each week is named after the sun, the Moon, and five Norse and Roman gods. The English name we used to define week resulted from hundreds of years of language change.

The days were named after the planets of Hellenistic astrology, Sun (the Sun-God), Moon (the Moon), Mars (Ares), Mercury (Hermes), Jupiter (Zeus), Venus (Aphrodite), and Saturn (Cronos).

Does China have a 7-day week?

China now has seven days a week, but they did not always maintain this system. In ancient China, they used a 10-day week.

They first adopted the modern calendar, the Gregorian calendar, back in 1912 when The Republic of China (ROC).

Soon China moved back to the Chinese traditions of numbering the months and a modified Era System.

Ultimately from 1949, the People’s Republic of China continued to use the Gregorian calendar with numbered months, abolishing the ROC Era System and adopting Western numbered years.

Is there 48 or 52 weeks in a year?

There are 48 weeks in a year, nor 52. So, it seems like a year has 48 weeks as a month has four. But a month does not consist of exactly four weeks or 28 days.

Therefore, we cannot count the approximate number of weeks in a month while calculating the number of days in a year.

Are there 52 or 53 weeks in a year?

A year generally has 52 weeks. But now and then, the number of weeks can be 53, depending on several varying factors.

For example, if the year starts on a Thursday or a leap year that begins on a Wednesday, that year will have 53 numbered weeks. Fifty-three weeks a year occurs every five to six years.

Conclusion

In this article, we tried to reach out to every possible question regarding the question how many weeks in a year. A year has approximately 52 weeks.

This calculation has changed over time due to political, natural, and other significance. But it’s always been helpful to count our days into weeks to have an ungarnished timetable to manage our daily life efficiently.