Once it was written as '小吉' and '周吉' and regarded as a Kitsujitsu (lucky day), but, according to the meaning of the Chinese characters used for sakimake, it has been interpreted as the present meaning.
かつては「小吉」「周吉」と書かれ吉日とされていたが、字面に連られて現在のような解釈がされるようになった。