Common Calendar

The 6th Hominid Age in Adnati, which began more than three thousand years ago, has been called the Age of Standards. It was during this period that the Common Tongue and Common Calendar began to proliferate throughout the world.

Summary

  • One Year = 362 days, 12 months
  • One Season = 1 every 3 months or about every 90 days, 4 seasons per year
  • One Month = 30 days (for most), 3 weeks
  • One Week = 10 days
  • One Day = 24 hours (at the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes, 12 of daylight and 12 of darkness)
  • One Hour = 60 minutes
  • One Minute = 60 seconds

Note: If not otherwise described, chronological terms will have the same meaning in Adnati as they do on Earth. Examples include terms like decade to describe 10 years, century to describe 100 years, and millennium to describe a thousand years.

History

The development of the Common Calendar is believed to have occurred roughly three thousand years ago, some time after the beginning of what is now called the Sixth Age.

It is believed that the impetus for common forms of measurement, including chronology and time, was a push by seafaring merchants and traders, particularly the Almagest, whose own calendar became the basis for much of the Common Calendar. The Almagest wished for a common dating system for their international contracts, treaties, and historical records. Similar needs also resulted in the development of a common language, called the Common Tongue or simply Common, and a common system of measurements.

Chronological Measurements

Ages

Sages and historians have organized the history of Adnati into Eras, Epochs, and Ages.

Ages can span thousands of years, while Epochs can span hundreds of thousands years, even millions of years, and eras span many millions of years.

It is currently the 6th Hominid Age – the sixth age since hominid species like elves, humans, dwarves, orcs, and other bipedal intelligent creatures first began to gather in tribes, develop languages, and use tools. The Sixth Age began 3,121 years ago following a global catastrophe known as the Minor Cataclysm.

The Sixth Age has been called “the Age of Standards,” because it was early in the 6th Age that travelers and global commerce gave rise to a common language among humans in particular (called the Common Tongue, or simply Common), as well as a common standard of measurements and a common calendaring system.

Scholars and historians typically record years with the age included, like “6A 3121” for the 3,121th year of the Sixth Age, to differentiate from historical references to earlier ages. Most people don’t do that; it is generally understood that the use of “3121” for the year means the current age unless otherwise noted.

Years

The Adnati year is based on a solar cycle, the period it takes to go from the Winter Solstice through Spring, Summer, Autumn, and back to the Winter Solstice. This cycle lasts 362 days.

The Common Calendar begins on the Winter Solstice, which is treated as a “Null Day” and is not included in any of the twelve months of the Common Calendar. Many cultures treat this day as a special holiday: most businesses close, enforcement of victimless crimes is relaxed, and servants are given the day off, or are waited on by their masters, and those who cannot be spare off are compensated handsomely.

Months

The twelve months of the Common Calendar are derived from the ancient traditions of the Almagest faith, a human religion that depicts its gods as living in the heavens as constellations among the stars. In the Almagest religion, the twelve gods rotate through the skies, each taking prominence for one-twelfth of the year. Each of these periods corresponds to an Adnati month, and each month is named after the constellation that dominates the sky during that period.

Almost every month lasts 30 days. There are two exceptions. The first exception is the Winter Solstice, which is New Year's Day, the first day of the calendar year, and is a “null day.” Though printed calendars will mark it in the first month of the year, Elapidaans, it is considered to be Day Zero, and is not officially part of any month. The other exception is the Summer Solstice. It is counted as the 31st day of Altadaans, the sixth month of the year, which is the only month to have more than 30 days.

Adnati’s largest moon, Lunaal, has a cycle of 29 days, which roughly but inexactly corresponds to a calendar month. This cycle means that most of months have a single full Lunaal moon, but on rare occasions there can be a second full Lunaal moon in the same calendar month.

The twelve months are:

Calendar Notation

In the Common Calendar, dates will generally be written in a “Year Month Day” format, with the age included only for historical records when there might be ambiguity. This can be shortened to a YYYY-MM-DD format. For example:

Standard: 3121 Altadaans 15 (for the fifteenth day of Altadaans, the sixth month of the year 3121).

Shortened: 3121-06-15

Omitting Year: 06-15 or Altadaans 15

Historical Records: 6th Age 3121 Altadaans 15 or 6A 3121 Altadaans 15 or 6A-3121-06-15

Weeks

In the Common Calendar, there are ten days in a week and three weeks in a month. These include two “weekend days,” two “light days,” and six regular weekdays. The 10-day week corresponds to one-quarter of the cycle for Adnati’s second moon, Raudraal, with each major part of the cycle (new, quarter, full, and three-quarters) falling on the same day of the calendar week. This day happens to be Soladÿn, the first day of the week (and the last day of the weekend).

The days of the week are named after the seven elven gods of the Estarine religion, with the remaining three days named after elven terms for the three forms of celestial light: sunlight, moonlight, and starlight.

  • Soladÿn – The first day of the calendar week, and the last day of the “weekend.” It is named after the sun, Sola.
  • Eldamaradÿn – The second day of the week, and the first standard workday of the week. It is named after the elven god Eldamar Galion.
  • Gatheladÿn – The third day of the week is named after the elven god Gathelon Tarminel.
  • Lassamistradÿn – The fourth day of the week is named after the elven god Lassamistra Ordymil.
  • Lunadÿn – The fifth day of the week, and the first of the two “light days,” is named after Adnati’s largest moon, Lunaal.
  • Ilimoradÿn – The sixth day of the week, and the second of the two “light days,” is named after the elven god Ilimoran Toruvial, the most senior of the elven gods.
  • Lythiadÿn – The seventh day of the week is named after the elven god Lythia Nuros.
  • Tyradÿn – The eighth day of the week is named after the elven god Tyra Manora.
  • Valariadÿn – The ninth day of the week is named after the elven god Valeria Ithildrim.
  • Estaradÿn – The tenth day of the week, and the first day of the two-day weekend, is named after the elven term for starlight.

Weekends

Two consecutive days of the Common Calendar’s ten-day week, Estaradÿn and Soladÿn, are considered to be the “weekend,” or end of the week – though in standard notation, it might be more accurate to say that the week begins with Soladÿn and ends with Estaradÿn.

Many religions have weekly religious observances that fall on one of these days. In many human countries like Powys, government offices are typically closed on both of these days. Many merchants will remain open on these days to take advantage of shoppers’ leisure time. The religiously devout may close for one of those days, though the wiser ones hire those of other faiths to work the alternate day. Of course, farmers will typically have to do at least some work on these days, as livestock still needs to be fed and crops may still need tending.

Light Days

Two days in the middle of the week, Lunadÿn and Ilimoradÿn, are considered to be “light days.” Many government agencies often operate at reduced hours if they’re open at all. Some choose to work a four-hour shift on each day, while others may work one full day to take the other off entirely. Those who can manage it may even take both days off entirely as a second weekend.

Weekdays

The six remaining days of the ten-day week – Eldamaradÿn, Gatheladÿn, Lassamistradÿn, Lythiadÿn, Tyradÿn, and Valariadÿn – are considered to be standard workdays, though some religious and secular holidays may happen to fall on them from time to time.

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