While TGIF is a most familiar acronym, has this day always represented the 'end' of the work week?
[Read all the way through to see where the catchphrase originated.]
In today’s society, “weekends” are taken for granted. However, that luxury has not always been recognized. The work week was once Monday through Saturday with work, especially on farms, starting before the sun came up and not ending until sundown. Jobs 'back in the day' consisted of positions, such as
tinker, tailor, grocer, baker, veterinarian, cobbler, weaver, iron worker, brickmaker, potter, doctor, wagon maker, carriage maker, milliner, dressmaker, cook, scullery maid, housemaid, butler, clerk, carpenter, general laborer, barrister, wagon/carriage driver, footman, builder, tin maker, priest, alms house worker, prison guard, constable, tobacconist...anything pre-industrial revolution
Up until the nineteenth century, the Sabbath was the only day regarded as a “day off” from work. Even on this day, leisure time was not solely of one's choice. This day was a day of fellowship with most of its time spent in church.
In the early
years of the century
The “weekend”
positively was born
Saturday afternoons plus Sundays off
Provided relief
for the forlorn
 |
| Souvenir programme for Ruy Blas and the Blasé Roué, a Victorian burlesque |
Bustled with music and vibe
Travesty known
as burlesque
Primed all
senses to come alive
 |
| Candy pull St Nicholas 1882 |
Nut-cracking,
corn-popping fun
Imbued family
time with mirth
’Til
apple-roasting was done
 |
| Buffalo Bill's wild west and congress of rough riders of the world - Circus poster showing Buffalo Bill's congress of rough riders and Cuban insurgents in battle. c.1898 |
Captured more
than an audience’s ear
Reviving an
enduring spirit
Throughout the western
frontier
 |
| March 21, 1859 (chartered); July 1, 1874 (opened) |
Evolved the
Philadelphia Zoo
Ten to
twenty-five cents admission
Brought exotic animals
into view
Tendered fun at any time
Christmas, the
heart of the holidays
Pioneered Santa’s
first climb
 |
| The Jazz Singer, released October 6, 1927 |
American theatre
greatly changed
Fads, fashion,
and affluence
Launched plays
totally rearranged
 |
|
©2012 Awakenings
Sharla Lee Shults Ever wonder where this T.G.I.F. ("Thank God It's Friday") catchphrase originated? |
Back in the early 1970s, the Akron, Ohio-based disk jockey Jerry Healy
from WAKR radio station was the one who first coined that catchphrase.
It later became synonymous to working people in the United States as a common
expression of relief at the end of the work week and anticipation of relaxing or
partying over the weekend!
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