Why do we have weekends in the first place?

For many of us, the weekend is an integral part to the week, one that is eagerly looked forward to with the promises of lazy days and crazy nights.  But why do we have the weekend in the first place?  The answer is not as clear cut as one might think.

The concept of a day of rest goes as far back as the time of the Romans and the beginnings of Judaism.  Jews established the concept of the Sabbath according to the Biblical story of Creation, where God, after creating the world and everything on it, rested on the seventh day.  Saturday is traditionally considered to be the end of the Jewish week, and as such is observed with both celebration and prayer within the Jewish faith.  Additionally, the Roman emperor Constantine decreed in 321 A.D. that the dies Solis, or Day of the Sun, would be the official day of rest for the Roman people.  Celebrated on Sunday, the day was a day of rest for all Romans except for those in agricultural pursuits, since with agriculture the weather does not always allow for rest on a specific day.  

The modern form of the weekend has its roots with the rise of labor unions in the early 1900s.  Most labor unions, with the majority of their workers being Christian, were staunchly for the exclusion of Sunday from the work week, claiming it to be a divine day when God rested from creating Creation (the same reasoning as Jews gave for the Sabbath).  However, a sizable minority of laborers within the union were also Jewish, and for that reason they lobbied for the inclusion of Saturday into the weekend, in accordance with their religious beliefs.  It wasn't until 1929 that the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America was the first union to receive a five day work week, and most of the United States didn't get a five day work week until 1940.  

Given that most workers did not have a five-day work week until about 70 years ago, we should all make sure that we enjoy the weekend as much as possible.  So, the next time you are out on the town at 2 AM on Saturday night, make sure to give thanks that you will be able to sleep in the next day!