Ink Pen by Phil Dunlap for February 03, 2012

Once a month.Whether you needed it or not.

Actually, the old Norse were a very clean people, making regular use of communal bath houses and saunas several times a week.

Then those blasted Christians came along and convinced them that being nude together was sinful.

@DaringdanAs Miserichord said, the Christians came along with the idea that being nude together was sinful. One of many truly sick ideas that we’re still living with.

The Old Norse calendar had weeks that were five days* long: Týrsdagr, Óðinsdagr, Þórsdagr, Friggadagr and Laugardagr. The first four days were, of course, named after the gods Týr, Óðinn, Þórr and Frigga. Laugardagr, however, means “bath day”. This shows that not only did the Vikings think that bathing was something not to be put off for more than five days, but also that clenliness was, to them, indeed next to godliness – important enough to be on a par with their deities when it came to naming the days.*The weeks were called fimmts, or “fives”. Each month had thirty days of six fimmts each, giving 360 days. The extra five days (six in leap years) were given over to a midwinter festival that was not part of the regular calendar. Icelanders in particular were (and still are) fond of bathing in the many hot springs their geology blesses them with.Just think – if you combined the modern day weekend with the Norse fimmts, you’d only have a three-day work week – but you’d also have the equivalent of six Mondays a month.