Calendar Tradition / Ritual in Aerune | World Anvil

Calendar

The Aerunian calendar has 364 or 365 days per year. Each quarterly holiday (equinoxes and solstices) last two days each, which reduces the numbered calendar to 360 days.   There are 9 months in the year, each of which has 5 weeks of 8 days each.  

Days of the Week

  Each day of the week has an associated focus to it, which is reflected in its name:  
  • Prayersday (gods)
  • Wilderday (wilderness, beasts, plants)
  • Soulsday (ancestors)
  • Clansday (family, community)
  • Satyrsday (play)
  • Starsday (magic)
  • Palmsday (work, craft)
  • Savorday (rest, peace)
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    Months and Notable Holidays

      1: Longlight - starts at Summer Solstice, height of summer (Julyish)
  • summer solstice (2 days)
  • the birth of civilization (founding of Elm Sheras)

  • 2: Summer’s Kiss - dog days of summer (Augustish)
  • dragonsbane (marks the day dragons were driven to Qelira)
  • forgebreath (hottest day of the season, determined on local level, is a communal day off)

  • 3: Heartsrest - gentle autumn (Septemberish)
  • autumn equinox (harvest) (2 days)
  • tradesday (marks the first ships across the trade sea)
  • gourdfire (lots of roasting, cooking, brewing of gourds)

  • 4: Ghostrain - harsh autumn (Novemberish)
  • elves' sorrow
  • all souls' song (ancestors)

  • 5: Moonfrost - first snow (Decemberish)
  • day of the long table (communal feasting/camaraderie day, all charity)
  • winter solstice (the longest dark) (2 days)

  • 6: Candlespark - last snow (Feb-ish)
  • firesday (lighting fires to welcome the warmth back)
  • the tide of teeth (marks the time kindred were created and first seen)

  • 7: Rebirth - first flowers (Marchish)
  • spring equinox (planting) (2 days)
  • wild garden's dance (uh... fertility, y'know)
  • opposite day (not just for nobility! basically an april fool's day)

  • 8: Bright Flourish - full bloom (Mayish)
  • Feyday (occasionally 2 days, like a solstice/equinox)
  • magisfest (magic is free for/to all for one full day)

  • 9: Our Promise - early summer (Juneish)
  • stormsday (holy shit monsoons/tornadoes/etc)
  • godsbless (religious/sacred day, theoretically in memory of when the gods gave the people what they have)
  • the feast of snakes (primarily an Ophidian holiday where the hunters and fishers provide for the gatherers and farmers who don't yet have crops, later became where Ophidian provided for non-Ophidian who were struggling more than they were)
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    Time-Keeping

      Aerune has a 24-hour clock that starts upon sunrise.   Instead of AM/PM, hours are measured AD ("after dawn") and UN ("upon night").   The day starts at dawn, as "1 adawn" or "1 AD", and counts until sunset, where it becomes "1 upon" or "1 UN." While dawn is considered a fixed point in time, the length of the day and thus the time of the sunset do vary per season and area, so 1 UN may occur anywhere from (the equivalent of) 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM.   While the 24-hour clock is honored where there are time-pieces and larger settlements, the day is broken into larger chunks when precision is not required. Before the invention of clocks, the day was considered to have eight parts, similar to the eight days of the week.   Starting at dawn, those "indays" are called: newsun (6-9 AM), highmorn (9 AM to noon), midday (12-3 PM), slantlight (3-6 PM), dusk (6-9 PM), starsedge (9 PM to midnight), middark (12-3 AM), and deepshade (3-6 AM).