This is the way that we SAY dates in British English. We would say 'Sunday, the 26th of October, 2014.' However, when we are writing, we don't write the words 'the' 'of' - we write: Sunday, 26th October 2104. American English uses a different system, with the month before the day, ie October 26, 2014. This dispenses with the need for 'the' and 'of'. In American English would say 'October 26th 2014', which is (obviously) much shorter.

I don't think so. 26, Oct. 2014, Sunday 21, Oct. 2014, Tuesday