This is easily proven incorrect.

Ancient Rome worked on an 8 day workweek, and traditionally the 8th day was a rest day.

Ancient Greeks didn't have weekly days off... but they had up to 120 festivals a year where shops and businesses would be shut down.

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marginalia_nu 11 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Someone has to do all the unpleasant work. In antiquity, that was generally the slaves. Today, it's everyone who isn't independently wealthy and wants more out of life than living out of a shopping cart.

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tayo42 12 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

To tag on iirc Hawaiians used to take multiple month breaks from working hard when they were done harvesting

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vorpalhex 12 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Nundinae was only for the ruling class to go shopping

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nundinae

So sorry, you still get to bake bread all day.

And Greek festival days involved.. lots of food, baths had to be hot, etc. So someone has to run the event. It wasn't the common people getting a day off.

	▲	AngryData 11 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		But 90% of the common people were farmers and were not bakers or bath tenders or vendors or the like so would be enjoying the day off. Although farmers didn't really need dedicated days off because their only schedule conflictions would be the main planting and harvest months, the festivals would just be a good way to bring all the farmers together at similar times to party and spend money or trade.
	▲	esseph 12 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		What do you think the Hebrew Sabbath is, exactly?