The idea to perform particular tasks on certain days of the week is not new. Actually children have been singing rhymes about daily tasks for hundreds of years.
It was in the mid-19th century that when the words to the childhood rhyme “Here we go around the Mulberry Bush” were recorded by the collectors of folk lore. It was observed at the time that children held hands and walked around a circle singing the verses. Then they would stop and act out the tasks that were determined for each day of the week. Folklorists and ethnologists call this type of ritual activity a singing game.
It is felt by some experts that this custom is very old and helped children to learn what it took to survive hard times. Even as we think about it, the whole ritual (song, dance and action) may have been one of the means of passing along the day of the week beliefs from one generation to the next. There are certain similarities between these weekday activities and The Dayology Week.
The Mulberry Bush
Here we go ’round the mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush, The mulberry bush.
Here we go ’round the mulberry bush,
So early in the morning.
These are the chores we’ll do this week,
Do this week, Do this week.
These are the chores we’ll do this week,
So early every morning.
This is the way we wash our clothes,
Wash our clothes, Wash our clothes.
This is the way we wash our clothes,
So early Monday morning.
This is the way we iron our clothes,
Iron our clothes, Iron our clothes.
This is the way we iron our clothes,
So early Tuesday morning.
This is the way we scrub the floor,
Scrub the floor, Scrub the floor.
This is the way we scrub the floor,
So early Wednesday morning.
This is the way we mend our clothes,
Mend our clothes, Mend our clothes.
This is the way we mend our clothes,
So early Thursday morning.
This is the way we sweep the floor,
Sweep the floor, Sweep the floor.
This is the way we sweep the floor,
So early Friday morning.
This is the way we bake our bread,
Bake our bread, Bake our bread.
This is the way we bake our bread,
So early Saturday morning.
This is the way we get dressed up,
Get dressed up, Get dressed up.
This is the way we get dressed up,
So early Sunday morning.
