Time and Calendar
Time is central to an understanding of the universe and your place in it, we use time to reckon both our future and our relationship with the past.
This chapter covers the calendar of Orizon and the history of the plane, stretching out from the beginnings of recorded history.
The Calendar
The year on Orizon lasts longer than that of Earth, whereas Earth experiences a calendar of 365 days with 12 lunar months; Orizon’s calendar stretches 476 days with 14 lunar months, each lasting precisely 34 days. The relationship between solar and lunar reckonings of time occur with close regularity, Orizon has nothing like leap days. The way the sun and moon work together is spoken of as a part of the relationship between Soltis and Celeste.
There are many different ways of reckoning time across the various cultures of Orizon, but most cultures have adopted the soltian calendar, spread by priests of Soltis, that divides these months into four seasons based on those season’s relationship with the sun. Spring, summer, fall and winter.
The
Soltian calendar divides the months into four weeks of 8 days, with two
extra days during the month that correspond with new and full moons.
These days, except for the “moonsdays'' have no special names for
recounting, and days are counted by their number, for example a
archivist would say that an event occurred on 14 Thout, or 23 Haru, or
by its relationship to the nearest holiday, such as “three days before
siege day.” Some lore keepers are attempting to institute days of the week for more accurate timekeeping, but it has not been picked up in wider practice as of yet.
The moonsdays, white moonsday and black moonsday are days of rest that take place in the middle of the full moon and the new moon, which takes five days to fully transition.
Most people don’t keep too close to a rigid understanding of time as the passage of hours and minutes. Though their understanding of the passage of time is based on the position of the sun relative to the planet. People can vaguely estimate what hour it is, but clocks are not common tools and most people just try to keep up with the rhythms of nature.
Holidays
The holidays of Orizon mark special occasions, repetitious moments of the season, and events that have indelibly altered the history of Orizon. Many cultures mark their own special holidays, but there are several that are common to the plane as a whole. These holidays are typically developed to honor the gods and are overseen by those god’s faithful and priests.
Thanks to the ordered, almost clockwork nature of the movements of the heavens, the sun and the moon, most holidays occur on a regular schedule.