Roman Calendar

The Roman Calendar will be very familiar to players, as the real world calendar used in the West is derived from it. The calendar has the familiar 12 months, each lasting variously from 29 to 31 days, beginning shortly after winter solstice as the first day of Ianuarius (what we call "January"). Weeks have seven days, and are named after the gods, the sun, and the moon. The world has a single moon, called Luna, which cycles in 29 day phases much like our own Moon.

Roman Feast Days

"The Games" in most cities take place on designated feast days (shown in the Calendar above). In most cities, these games are primarily chariot races and gladiator bouts on the Circus. In the city of Rome, chariot races and other athletic events occur on the Circus Maximus during feast days. Events last from midmorning to late afternoon, and have heats. People bet on the races, much like horse racing of today. There are also parades and such on the multi-day feasts. In the city of Rome, no races held on the middle day of the multi-day feasts since that is when Colosseum games are held instead. In Rome, Colosseum games are held on the 15th of every month, unless a festival supersedes them.
During the larger (multi-day) festivals, daily sacrifices are made at temples of the holiday's patron deity (or at the Pantheon) in Rome. In smaller cities, sacrifices may be made at shrines if there is no temple to the patron of the day. During festivals, public gambling allowed. In Rome, though usually not elsewhere, holiday costumes and caps are donned, candles are lighted, and slaves are temporarily absolved of their duties. These dispensations do not occur on festivals that only last one day.