Sunday was really the only day for rest for people during the Victorian era, although they were not very restful. For individuals who lived in rural locations, a typical Sunday consisted of tending to any livestock on the farm and doing any work that needed to be done on the land. During the spring months horses were hitched to ploughs, disks and harrows. The purpose was to prepare the land for planting crops. In the summer months horses pulled mowers and hay rakes. Women also spent many hours completing any household duties, such as laundry, cooking, cleaning and of course child rearing.
Mondays were the most relaxed work day because many individuals refused to do much work as it was the first day back to work. This is understandable because weekends were far from a break from work. To make up for the lack of work on Monday many people would have to work longer hours on either Thursday or Friday. Then the 'restful' weekend would begin again and the cycle would start over. It's no wonder why people in the Victorian era were often exhausted and tired.
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