The origin of the term day that concerns us now is found in Latin. And it derives from the word «dies» which, in turn, comes from the Indo-European root «dyeu-«.
A day is a time period of 24 hours . That is the time it takes for the Earth to make one complete rotation on its axis. Therefore, one day is equivalent to one complete revolution of our planet on its own axis.
Days are made up of 24 hours, which, in turn, are made up of minutes and seconds . Each new day begins at 0 a.m. and ends when the last minute of 11 p.m. ends.
The grouping of seven days (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday) forms a week . The weeks, for their part, are grouped into months (January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December). A period of twelve months forms a year , while years are usually grouped into decades (ten years), centuries (one hundred years) or millennia (one thousand years). In a year there are, depending on the case, 365 or 366 days.
The time between sunrise and sunset is also called a day: that is, when there is clarity thanks to the sun 's rays. In this sense, the notion of day is opposed to the concept of night .
When a certain complement is added to the word day, it refers to a specific day where an event is celebrated or commemorated: Children's Day , Flag Day , Independence Day , etc.
In addition to all of the above, we cannot ignore that Groundhog Day is also very famous, which is celebrated on February 2 and is a very popular folkloric day in the United States. Specifically, farmers in that country and Canada celebrate it to be able to know the end of winter. And that is something that predicts the behavior of the animal that gives its name to the celebration.
Thus, it is established that if the groundhog when leaving its burrow does not see its shadow , it is considered that winter will end soon. If you do see your shadow when you leave, that means that winter will last about six more weeks.
The most famous groundhog of this celebration is the one from Punxsutawney, in the state of Pennsylvania, which responds to the name of Phil and has a tradition of more than a century. It is so relevant that there is a film about it. We are referring to the film "Trapped in Time" (1993), directed by Harold Ramis and starring actors of the stature of Bill Murray, Andie McDowell and Chris Elliot.
It tells the story of a grumpy weatherman who goes to cover Groundhog Day in the aforementioned town in Pennsylvania. And there you will see that your life changes when every morning when you wake up you live the same day.
Day, finally, can refer to an imprecise or improbable moment , to an era or even to the life of an individual: "I'm going to stop complaining the day you tidy up your room," "Our country is going through difficult days due to the violence" , "I would like to end my days in a house by the sea" .