Greyhawk calendar
The Greyhawk Calendar is the most common system for tracking the days and months of the Common Year in the Flanaess.
The elven calendar follows the same pattern of lunar cycles, but has its own names of months, and its own holidays and festivals. The same is true for the Wegwiur and the Chakyik (Nomads), who have their own names for the months on the Rovers' calendar.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Both of these are shown on the chart below.
Months, festivals, and seasons
[edit | edit source]The year consists of 364 days,[note 1] split into twelve months of twenty-eight days each, and four seven-day festivals, each placed at three-month intervals.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Diverse cultures have their own names for the months and festivals. The months and festivals are commonly referred to as the Dozenmonth of Luna and the Four Festivals.[1][2][3][5][4][6][7]
The months and festivals are based on the cycles of Oerth's moons, Luna and Celene. Luna has a twenty-eight day cycle, while Celene's cycle is ninety-one days. Celene is full at the midpoint of each festival week (the fourth day),[8] while Luna is full at various times throughout the year. Notably, both moons are full on Richfest 4.[9]
There are five seasons—two summer seasons, low summer and high summer, totaling six months, while winter, spring, and autumn are each only two months long.[1][2][3][5][4][6][7]
| Month | Common | Elven | Nomads | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Needfest (Midwinter) | ||||
| 1 | Fireseek | Diamondice | Tiger | Winter |
| 2 | Readying | Yellowillow | Bear | Spring |
| 3 | Coldeven | Snowflowers | Lion | Spring |
| Growfest | ||||
| 4 | Planting | Blossoms | Frog | Low summer |
| 5 | Flocktime | Violets | Turtle | Low summer |
| 6 | Wealsun | Berrytime | Fox | Low summer |
| Richfest (Midsummer) | ||||
| 7 | Reaping | Goldfields | Snake | High summer |
| 8 | Goodmonth | Sunflowers | Boar | High summer |
| 9 | Harvester | Fruitfall | Squirrel | High summer |
| Brewfest | ||||
| 10 | Patchwall | Brightleaf | Hare | Autumn |
| 11 | Ready'reat | Tinklingice | Hawk | Autumn |
| 12 | Sunsebb | Lacysnows | Wolf | Winter |
Days of the week
[edit | edit source]A week is sometimes called a sennight[10][11] and periods of two weeks are commonly called a fortnight.[12]
The names of the days of the week used in the Common Year calendar are adopted from the Flan calendar.[13][2]
The days are reckoned in weeks of seven days each. In order, the days of the week are: Starday, Sunday, Moonday, Godsday, Waterday, Earthday, and Freeday. Godsday is commonly associated with worship, and Freeday with rest. The remaining days are considered workdays.[1][2][3][5][4][6][7]
The Touv Calendar uses different names for the days of the week. They are "named for the major Touv gods or their areas of influence"[14]—Uday, Sunday. Rainday, Lawday, Lifeday, Goldday. Kunday
An interesting feature of the Greyhawk calendar is that the days of the week always occur on the same calendar date every year, a result of the year having a number of days evenly divisible by seven.
The first of the month is always a Starday, and the rest follow as shown below:
- Starday is always on the 1st, 8th, 15th, and 22nd of the month.
- Sunday is always on the 2nd, 9th, 16th, and 23rd of the month.
- Moonday is always on the 3rd, 10th, 17th, and 24th of the month.
- Godsday is always on the 4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th of the month.
- Waterday is always on the 5th, 12th, 19th, and 26th of the month.
- Earthday is always on the 6th, 13th, 20th, and 27th of the month.
- Freeday is always on the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th of the month.
Publishing history
[edit | edit source]In the 1980 World of Greyhawk Fantasy World Setting folio by Gary Gygax the dozenmonth is described as having 360 days, because the festivals only had six days apiece, shortening the calendar.
However, the moon cycles don't add up to even cycles using 360 days, because there are 13 lunar cycles of Luna not just 12, due to there being four additional weeks for the festivals. So, in December 1982, "Weather in the World of Greyhawk" was published in Dragon #68 using 364 days.and was immediately accepted into official lore for Greyhawk by Gygax.
"In order to provide a pattern for Oerth’s two moons that is both regular and easy to use, the year has been extended by four days from the duration specified in the World of Greyhawk Gazetteer [Folio, 1980]. These four days are added, one apiece, to the four great festivals, making each celebration a full week in length. The total year of 364 days consists of twelve months, each having four seven-day weeks, plus an additional “month” made of the four festival weeks."[15]
Only months later in 1983, while the World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting boxed set was still in development, Gygax incorporated that material and revised the year to be 364 days, with all weeks (including festivals) being of equal length (7 days). It was published at the end of the year and 364 was the standard dozenmonth in all publications between 1983 and 2023 (including the 5e DMG [2014]).[note 1]
In fifth edition, the Dungeon Master's Guide (2024) returns to some of the content as originally presented in the 1980 Folio edition, though it does not discuss the incompatibility with lunar cycles. The year is once again described as 360 days, with 28-day months and festivals of only six days. The text describes the accompanying diagram as including "the months and festivals that make up a year" but does not mention the seasons. It stops short of stating which months are in which seasons, but is immediately preceded by a sidebar saying "the Greyhawk calendar... gives unique names to months and days and introduces festivals that fall "outside" the calendar’s months, giving it a fantastical feel."[16] [emphsis added.] The arrangement in the diagram does not depict the festivals as extra-calendary. Additionally, the accompanying diagram of the dozenmonth has four seasons of equal length, instead of five seasons of varying length presented in the WoG Folio and WoG boxed set—though this is only depicted in the diagram, and not the body text. Further, the diagram results in shorter summers, and longer winter, autumn, and spring.[17] In the diagram, the seasons are thirteen weeks long—the 90 days surrounding each festival—i.e., six weeks (42 days) before and after each 6-day festival, while still depicting the 28-day months, which would not total 90 days.
See also
[edit | edit source]Various Calendars
[edit | edit source]- Common Year
- Touv Calendar
- Suel Calendar
- Olven Calendar
- Baklunish Hegira
- Flan Tracking
- Olman Lunar Calendar
- Oeridian Record
Other Pages Related to Calendars
[edit | edit source]| Greyhawk calendar | |
|---|---|
| Days | Starday • Sunday • Moonday • Godsday • Waterday • Earthday • Freeday |
| Months | Fireseek • Readying • Coldeven • Planting • Flocktime • Wealsun • Reaping • Goodmonth • Harvester • Patchwall • Ready'reat • Sunsebb |
| Festivals | Needfest • Growfest • Richfest • Brewfest |
| Seasons | Winter • Spring • Low summer • High summer • (Summer) • Autumn |
| Solar events | Spring equinox, Summer solstice, Autumnal equinox, Winter solstice |
| Holidays | Agelong • Blood Moon Festival • Breadgiving Day • Council Day • Council of Mayors and Manorial Lords • Crowning Day • Dark Night • Day of the Legion Will • Day of Treachery • Declaration Day • Election Day • Faerieluck • Fallrite • Feast of Edoira • Feast of Fools • Freedom Day • Frost Days • Great Moon's Glory • Guild Days • Holy Day of Serenity • Midsummer's Day • Midwinter Night • Remembrance Day • Rollo's Day • Saint Cuthbert's Day • Spring Feast • Springrite • Thrommel's Day • Yeartide • |
References
[edit | edit source]Notes
[edit | edit source]- ↑ a b The length of the year is given as 364 days in almost all sources. However, in the 1980 Folio (p4) Gygax gave the year length as 360 days, which was shorter due to each festival being only 6 days instead of 7. However, in the 1983 WoG box set and after, Gygax changed the length to 364 days—which carried forward to later sources. Also, in SJR6 Greyspace (p7) (1992), the length of the year is erroneously given as 365 days, agreeing with no other source. It is presumed to be an error. (See Publishingg history)
Citations
[edit | edit source]- ↑ a b c d e The World of Greyhawk Fantasy World Setting (1980), p.4.
- ↑ a b c d e f World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting (1983), p.5, Guide.
- ↑ a b c d e Player's Guide (1998), p.13.
- ↑ a b c d e The Adventure Begins (1998), p.39.
- ↑ a b c d e D&D Gazetteer (2000), p.4.
- ↑ a b c d e Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (2000), p.2.
- ↑ a b c d e Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk (2007), p.14.
- ↑ From the Ashes (1992), p.1, Reference Card.
- ↑ The Adventure Begins (1998), p.45, "The evening of Richfest 4th is, of course, Midsummer Night. Both moons, Luna and Celene, are full.".
- ↑ Dragon #56 (Dec 1981), p.20.
- ↑ S3 Expedition to the Barrier Peaks (1980), p.2.
- ↑ Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (2000), p.43.
- ↑ The World of Greyhawk Fantasy World Setting (1980), p.4.
- ↑ The Scarlet Brotherhood (1999), p.38.
- ↑ "Weather in the World of Geryhawk". Dragon #68 (Dec 1982), p.44. by David Axler
- ↑ Dungeon Master's Guide (2024), p.146, Ch.5: Creating Campaigns—The Greyhawk Setting.
Bibliography
[edit | edit source]- Bulmahn, Jason, James Jacobs, and Erik Mona. Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2007.
- Gygax, Gary. World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1983.
- Holian, Gary, Erik Mona, Sean K. Reynolds, and Frederick Weining. Living Greyhawk Gazetteer. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 2000.
- Moore, Roger E. The Adventure Begins. Renton, WA: Wizards of the Coast, 1998.
- Sargent, Carl. Ivid the Undying. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR, 1995. Published online. PDF by William Allman with maps. Original RTF archived: Wizards.com. WGR7 or WGRx
Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index
The Encyclopedia Greyhawkania Index (EGI) is based on previous work of Jason Zavoda through '08, continued by numerous other fans. The EGI article has a list of sources, product names, abbreviations, and a link to the full, downloadable index.
| Topic | Type | Description | Product | Page/Card/Image
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baklunish Hegira | Calendar | Living Greyhawk Gazetteer | 13 | |
| Baklunish Hegira | Calendar | Living Greyhawk Journal #3 | 9 | |
| Baklunish Hegira | Calendar | Living Greyhawk Journal #5 | 20, 21 | |
| Baklunish Hegira | Calendar | Player's Guide to Greyhawk | 14 | |
| Baklunish Hegira | Calendar | The Adventure Begins | 39 | |
| Flan Tracking | Calendar | Living Greyhawk Gazetteer | 13 | |
| Flan Tracking | Calendar | Player's Guide to Greyhawk | 14 | |
| Flan Tracking | Calendar | The Adventure Begins | 39 | |
| Grand Calendar | Calendar | The Scarlet Brotherhood | 50 | |
| Oeridian Record {Reckoning} | Calendar | Living Greyhawk, Living Onnwal Gazetteer, D&D 3.5e | 15 | |
| Oeridian Record {Reckoning} | Calendar | Living Greyhawk Gazetteer | 13 | |
| Oeridian Record {Reckoning} | Calendar | Player's Guide to Greyhawk | 13 | |
| Oeridian Record {Reckoning} | Calendar | The Adventure Begins | 9, 55 | |
| Olman Lunar Calendar | Calendar | The Scarlet Brotherhood | 64 | |
| Onnwal Calendar | Calendar | Living Greyhawk, Living Onnwal Gazetteer, D&D 3.5e | 1 |