- If you were looking for the song of the same name by The Vapors
The Vapors were a new wave and power pop band from England, that existed between 1979 and 1981. They had a hit with the song "Turning Japanese" in 1980, which reached #3 in the UK Singles Chart, and #36 in the corresponding U.S...
, see here.
Waiting for the Weekend is a book published in 1991 by
CanadianCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
architectFor a topical guide to this subject, see Outline of architecture. Architecture is the art and science of designing and constructing buildings and other physical structures for human shelter or use....
,
professorThe meaning of the word professor varies. In some English-speaking countries, it refers to a senior academic who holds a departmental chair, especially as head of the department, or a personal chair awarded specifically to that individual...
and
writerA writer is anyone who creates a written work, though the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, as well as those who have written in many different forms.-Profession:...
Witold RybczynskiWitold Rybczynski , is a Canadian-American architect, professor and writer.Rybczynski was born in Edinburgh of Polish parentage and raised in Surrey, England before moving at a young age to Canada...
.
In
Waiting for the Weekend, Rybczynski recounts the evolution of the seven-day
weekA week is a time unit equal to a number of days, now usually seven days. Weeks of between 4 and 20 days have been used historically in various places.-Four-day:The Igbo of Nigeria have a traditional calendar with a 4 day week...
, which came into being with the
Babylonian calendarThe Babylonian calendar was a lunisolar calendar with years consisting of 12 lunar months, each beginning when a new crescent moon was first sighted low on the western horizon at sunset, plus an intercalary month inserted as needed by decree. The calendar is based on a Sumerian precedecessor...
, and the later, more modern, development of the two-day
weekendThe legal workweek varies from nation to nation. What constitutes the workweek is mandated by law in some jurisdictions, but in others custom applies...
. In so doing, he tells the history of
leisureLeisure or free time, is a period of time spent out of work and essential domestic activity. It is also the period of recreational and discretionary time before or after compulsory activities such as eating and sleeping, going to work or running a business, attending school and doing homework,...
and time off; starting first with "
tabooA taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and forbidden. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society. The term comes from the Tongan language, and appears in many Polynesian cultures...
" days, market days, public festivals and holy days and how, with the coming of the
Industrial RevolutionThe Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and transport had a profound effect on the socioeconomic and cultural conditions in the United Kingdom. The changes subsequently spread throughout Europe, North...
the practice of "keeping
Saint MondaySaint Monday is the tradition of absenteeism on a Monday. Saint Tuesday is the less common extension of this to a Tuesday.The tradition of taking Monday off has been common among craft workers since at least the seventeenth century....
", that is, staying home from work, evolved into the modern weekend.