It’s the middle of the weekend and we’re feeling great! Find out more about the most celebrated day of the week with these fun facts about Saturday!
Saturday is almost everyone’s favorite day of the week. Don’t just trust us, look at the YouGov poll of over 4,000 Americans, where 35% named Saturday as the king of days.
Saturday is a day in which we often celebrate, party, shop, relax, and spend time outdoors. Named for the Roman god Saturn, we’ll discover why Saturday has come to represent renewal and spending that Friday paycheck!
Settle into your weekend with this interesting collection of fun facts about Saturday. We promise that you’ll find a lot of these facts really surprising!
Saturday is a day of contrasts. Some people prefer a day of low-key relaxation to recover from the previous work week. Others want to get out and paint the town red or do something fun and adventurous with their time off.
And how can we forget to mention the television, movies and songs that take Saturday as inspiration. There’s John Travolta dancing to disco, Elton John singing about cracking skulls, and on Saturday mornings, Wile E. Coyote going after the Road Runner.
Okay, we don’t mean to flashback to the 1970s, but you’ll find that a lot of the Saturday facts we’ve unearthed come from that decade!
Keep reading to uncover even more fun facts about Saturday you won’t believe!
Contents:
21 Fun Facts About Saturday
1. The planet and the God
Saturday, as you may have guessed, is named after the Roman God, Saturn. In Roman mythology, Saturn is the God of wealth, renewal and liberation.
Maybe that’s why on Saturday we feel renewed. Maybe that’s why we want to go out and spend our Friday paycheck!
2. A day to bathe
In Scandinavia, Saturday is not named after Saturn. Instead, it is known as Lordag, which translates to bathing day. This is said to be related to the Viking practice of Saturday bathing.
3. It’s our favorite!
In a poll conducted by YouGov, it is no surprise that 35% of Americans claimed that Saturday was their favorite day of the week. And we definitely agree with them! Saturday just feels so free and open to possibilities!
4. Saturday Night Fever facts
The 1977 movie Saturday Night Fever starring John Travolta is the most popular movie ever made with Saturday in the title.
The film follows a young Travolta as he dances his way through disco halls to the unmistakable beats of The Bee Gees. The film made over $230 million at the box office and is the most popular disco video ever made.
5. A day to wash
No, we’re not talking about Vikings and their questionable bathing practices again. This time we’re going to the Maori people of New Zealand.
Their translation of Saturday is Rahoroi, or washing day. This refers to the laundry they do on Saturday to have clean clothes for church on Sunday.
6. Saturday in Asia
In Japan, Saturday is known as youbi or soil day. And no we’re not talking about soiled laundry, but the ground we walk on. In a similar fashion, the Korean word for Saturday is literally translated to Earth day.
7. A day of two competing philosophies
Saturday can be viewed as a day of rest. Many businesses have reduced hours and banks and libraries can be closed up completely.
Saturday can also be viewed as a day to party. Clubs, bars, pubs and concerts are all popular on Saturdays, and many events are scheduled to maximize crowds. And let’s be honest, how good is it partying on a Saturday night!?
8. Saturday language lesson
Okay, for the next round of Saturday facts, let’s take a language lesson! Here are some other ways to say Saturday in a selection of different languages.
Bosnian: Subota. Spanish: Sábado. Swahili: Jumamosi, Sudanese: Saptu. Kurdish: Semî. Latin: Saturni. Latvian: Sestdiena.
9. Purple is the color
In the Thai Solar Calendar where the days of the week are attributed to a color, Saturday is purple. Saturday is also represented in the calendar by Shani, who is the Hindu God of karma and divine retribution.
10. Kind of like a Sunday
Okay, so this is more of a fun fact about weekends, but did you know that in Israel, the official day of rest is a Saturday and not a Sunday?
Government offices, most businesses and most public transportation routes are closed on this day that is meant for rest, relaxation, and religious practice.
11. Saturday sing-a-long
Saturday has inspired many songs that have become major hits. First, we have 1973’s Saturday’s Alright For Fighting by Elton John, which has been covered by The Who and Nickelback.
Another big hit is Saturday in the Park by rock band Chicago, that went to #3 on the Billboard chart in 1972.
12. A good day to vote
In Australia and New Zealand, election day always falls on a Saturday. It is thought that most people will be able to get some time on a Saturday to cast their ballot, instead of holding the election on a weekday when people may be too busy to vote.
13. How’s your work ethic?
If you were born on a Saturday, according to the famous nursery rhyme Monday’s Child, Saturday’s child works hard for a living. Were you born on Saturday? Is this one of the true Saturday facts? Or does the nursery rhyme get it wrong altogether?
14. Live from New York…
It’s Saturday Night! Chevy Chase first uttered that famous line on October 11th, 1975.
The sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live would go on to become one of the longest running series of all time, with over 47 seasons as of 2022. What an impressive run!
15. Watch with a bowl of cereal
If you are a child of the 1980s, 1990s, or 2000s you know how important those Saturday morning TV shows were! And our parents didn’t mind either as we would sit entranced while they could enjoy their mornings.
From Looney Tunes to Recess to TMNT to Saved By The Bell… Saturday morning TV was not to be missed!
16. Spooky Saturday
Did you know that any month that ends on a Saturday means that the following month will have a Friday the 13th? This is definitely one of our favorite fun facts about Saturday. Maybe it’s time we start fearing Saturday the 31st too?
17. The Big Saturday Flush
This is definitely one of our favorite fun facts about Saturdays that we discovered.
On a Saturday in September 2012, 1 million residents of the Zimbabwe city of Bulawayo were ordered by their government to flush their toilets at 7:30 PM to clear out the sewer system of the city.
18. We cheer for our favorite team
Saturday is the most popular day for sports! In Europe, football matches go on all day and night. In Canada, the most watched Saturday night program is Hockey Night in Canada.
Saturday is also known for semi-finals in tennis, and round threes on the professional golfing tours.
19. It’s Saturday night… again!
Here are a few more fun facts about Saturday Night Live. The person who has hosted the most is Alec Baldwin. 17 times!
Other hosts that have been there more than 12 are John Goodman, Steve Martin and Tom Hanks. Also, the first female head writer on SNL was Tina Fey.
20. We’re here for a good time!
What’s special about Saturday? It’s party time! The most popular night to go out partying and dancing is Saturday. Bars often have live music or drink specials to entice people to their establishment.
Also, the amount of alcohol drank on Saturday is the equivalent of all the days of the week put together. We’ll definitely cheers to that!
21. Let’s hunt some vampires
Okay, so this is one of the more random Saturday facts. In folklore, Satursday was considered the best day to hunt vampires. It’s thought that Saturday was the only day of the week that the vampires were restricted to their coffins.
Here’s another vampire fact for you. If you were born in the Balkans on a Saturday, then it was believed that you could see vampires that were otherwise invisible to others. That meant people born on Saturdays were the best recruits to become vampire hunters (you know, if vampires existed and all that…)
Who wants more fun facts?
If you’re looking for some recommendations, these are a few of our favorite fact books to buy. We use these when planning fun trivia nights with family and friends!
Have we got you excited for the weekend? Let us know what fun facts about Saturday we might have missed in the comments below!
