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Comment by redwall_hp | Hacker News Reader

I'll do one better: they weren't built clockwise, as clocks were not available. They were built reverse-widdershins or sunwise.

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

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I love the word sunwise. In Swedish it's "medsols" and "motsols", sunwise and counter-sunwise respectively.

And speaking of, let's start another myth. Swedes always dance around the christmas tree or maypole sunwise because it's an ancient dance to evoke the sun after months of darkness.

I thought the pole and dance in Sweden was at midsummer. In England it's on Mayday.

I call it a maypole to relate to foreigners. What would you call the pole? It's actually called a midsommarstång, which means midsummerspole...

I see the point, it just clear to me that you were referring to midsummer. To me as an old Englishman a Maypole means the old celebration of spring on Mayday.

Deosil is the counterpart which means reverse-widdershins or sunwise, mentioned in your link.

Wow, so Widdershins is not just a made-up word from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series!

It seems it goes back a little further than that.

> probably from Middle Low German weddersinnes, literally "against the way"

https://www.etymonline.com/word/widdershins#etymonline_v_799...

Basically, this is NOT the way.

I'll admit that Discworld is the first place I heard it. It's a perfect example of the sort of idiom authors should think about though, rather than using overly modern terms.

'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;

Thou art thyself, though not "clockwise".

What's "clockwise"? It is nor hand, nor pen-

dulum, nor face, nor any other part

Belonging to a clock. O, be some other name!

What's in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet;

So "Widdershins" would, were it not "Widdershins" call'd,

Retain that dear perfection which he owes

Without that title. Widdershins, doff thy name,

And for that name which is no part of thee

Take all my turns.

And clock face mimics the sundial, therefore clockwise is sunwise

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