The day that one has born is the most important in daily life in Myanmar. Every individual soul is being named after the day that he or she has born. Thus in Myanmar history there is no generation hand down by the family name since Myanmar does not carry family names. For example if you were born on Monday and are named Maung Kyi Win, that doesn't mean that your name is Maung and your family name is Kyi Win, but it is simply because that you were born on Monday of the week. Thus your other family member may born different days of the week and all will have different names in possess. Myanmar strongly believe in astrology and the day you born is playing a major factor to tell your fate, match making, business dealing, house whole building, in worse case to buy a car or to apply a job, Myanmar do consult with astrologer or Buddhist Monks who then refer to your birth day to tell you the do's and don'ts.

Myanmar chronology define 8 days in a week, which Wednesday is being divided in to morning, and evening. This is why reason you can notice there is 8 cardinal points in every Pagodas which represent the people according to their birth day to worship to. Those 8 planetary posts are also named by the compass order. Normally at each corner there is a Buddha statute on a small shrine where people worship, pour water, offer candlelight etc.

8-Days in a week? - Yes, that's right. According to our traditional astronomy, there are 8 days in a week. The trick is the very middle part of a week, 'Wednesday evening' is called "Yarhu". However Yarhu is not considered as a significant day of week and it is not printed in the calendars. 

Cornors per day of week 
You know that Teravada Buddhist pagodas are cone-shaped. They are circular at the base. However, there are certain sides of a pagoda, where certain people have to worship, dedicated to each day of week. 

Signs per day of the week 
 

No Family name carries over!
Strange enough! In Myanmar unlike any other countries there is no family name traceable by the name. Instead each individual name are marked by the day he or she was born. That is the reason your name will be nothing to do with your father unless you both were born on the same day. For example if you were born on Monday then your name should represent from the letter against the Monday on above chart. Thus the birth day (but not necessary the date) are very important for a Myanmar for special occasion such as marriage, starting a business, traveling etc. Myanmar believes in astrology and people often consult with astrologers, fortune tellers who based on your birth day other then the date. 

Jupiter and its symbol, the rat. Then comes the northwest corner belonging to the Wednesday evening and ruled by Rahu planet, which may not be known to the astrologers of other countries. This Rahu is an evil planet, which is supposed to swallow the moon either partly or wholly during eclipses. The symbol of this corner is the elephant without tusks. The last point - the north - is assigned to Friday. Its planet is Venus and its symbol, the guinea pig.
A visit to a pagoda by a Buddhist can be compared to that of a Westerner to a psychiatrist: both are seeking mental well being. When a Buddhist visits a pagoda, he or she usually has a dual purpose: to gain merit by doing good deeds and to ward off impending misfortune by performing certain mysterious rituals. Good deeds include saying prayers, offering lights, flowers, incense etc., telling rosary, sitting in meditation, donating money to mendicants, feeding the pigeons and striking the big bells to share the merit one has gained with one's fellow-creatures living on the thirty-one planes of existence. By doing some or all of these things, one gains confidence that they are sure to bring good luck to one.

As a rule, when a Buddhist visits a pagoda, he or she invariably sits and prays in his or her birthday corner- a Sunday-born in the northeast corner, a Thursday-born in the west and so on. The second part of the purpose is achieved by propitiating the Guardian-spirit or the planet under whose influence one was born or one has fallen currently. This ritual chiefly consists of pouring the age-equivalent number of cups of water on the planetary post concerned, reciting prayers or supplications at the same time. Those who are especially anxious to ward off impending misfortune may offer Eugenia sprigs, which are usually associated with victory, to the planetary post concerned for added protection. The planetary post of Saturn and Rahu are usually more crowed then the others as they are notorious as evil planets and are greatly feared. However, once the prescribed ritual has been performed, one feels better and goes home in a somewhat happier frame of mind.

Incidentally, do you know that psychiatrists for the common people are virtually non-existent in Myanmar? The reason is that the Myanmars simply no use for shrinks or counseling for that matter, since they have a better, surer and less costly way of allaying their worries and fears of what future might bring: a visit to the pagoda to do good deeds and to appease the Guardian-spirit of the planet concerned. They feel certain that the act of cleansing the planetary post will sweep aside all or some of the impending bad luck foretold by the positions of the planets. That's their safety valve that never fails to work. They come away from the planetary post feeling as if a heavy load has been lifted off their chest. I may be wrong, but in my humble opinion, a psychiatrist does little more than provide an outlet for the patient's fears and worries by listening attentively to what's eating the latter. The patient feels better after making an outlet for his or her pent-up feelings. A Myanmar who has performed the planetary post ritual also finds similar relief, sincerely believing that everything is going to be fine. Needless to say, that belief - that ritual- inspired optimism - contributes to one's mental or spiritual well being.

In my opinion, Myanmars are better off than most Westerners as far as mental health is concerned for the simple reason that they believe in astrology and its prescriptions, especially the planetary post ritual. They don's feel guilty or blame themselves as much as most westerners do after meeting with failures or making blunders since they believe that their successes or failures are primarily determined by their Karma, that is destiny, more particularly, by the positions of the planets in the heavens. This attitude prevents the guilt-complex and numerous mental problems arising out of it. Whether it is a mere superstitions or not, belief in certain astrological rituals appears to have its own rewards.

Here I am by no means trying to justify the belief in astrology. I have found out from personal experience that a large number of astrologers and their ilk are just bluffers, many of whom are good at making educated guesses because I have consulted many of them. I am not unduly impressed by their hit- or miss predictions. However, I am not hesitant to admit in my heart of hearts that the art of fortune telling can become an exact and credible science in the hands of experts or gifted masters.