Names of the days of the week is followed by a number indicating the day: "Monday" is literally "star day one", "Tuesday" is "star day two", etc. The exception is Sunday, where rì (日), meaning "sun" or "day", is used instead of a number. In Swahili, the day begins at sunrise, unlike in the Arabic and Hebrew calendars where the day starts at sunset (therefore an offset of twelve hours), and unlike in the Western world where the day starts at midnight (therefore an offset of six hours). Saturday is therefore the first day of the week, as it is the day that includes the first night
Dienstag aus Licht As was the case for most of the operas in the "Licht" cycle, component sections of "Dienstag" were commissioned and composed separately, and given seriatim premieres. The first component of this opera was in fact the first part of the entire "Licht" cycle to be composed: "Jahreslauf" (Course of the Years), which became the first act of "Dienstag", was originally written in 1977 as an independent piece for gagaku ensemble. Stockhausen finished it in Kyoto in the fall of 1977, and it was premiered by the Imperial Gagaku Ensemble at the Tokyo National Theatre on 31 October. This version is