#calendar building

[randomtable]

Random Calendar Builder: Starting With Weeks

This is part three of a series on calendars! See this master post for more calendar content: https://www.tumblr.com/randomtable/713543620842700800/random-calendar-series-masterpost?source=share

A different approach to building a calendar with randomization: starting with the smaller units and building up.

1d12 Week Structures

1. A 6 day week, with no set “weekend” - different days off are taken by different people. 2. A 5 day week, with a single weekend day of rest. 3. A 10 day week, with two concurrent weekend days of rest 4. A 4 day week, with no set “weekend” - different days off are taken by different people.   5. A 6 day week, with days of rest on the third and sixth days. 6. An 8 day week, with two concurrent weekend days of rest 7. A 7 day week, with two concurrent weekend days of rest 8. A 9 day week, with days of rest on the third, sixth, and ninth days. 9. A 10 day week, with three concurrent weekend days of rest. 10. An 8 day week, with three concurrent weekend days of rest. 11. A 6 day week, with two concurrent weekend days of rest. 12. A 7 day week, with two concurrent weekend days of rest and a day of rest on the third day.

1d4 Naming Conventions for Days of the Week:

1. Days of the week are referred to by numerical names (ie “firstday” or an equivalent in one of your worlds languages). One day has an exception; what’s special about it? 2. Days of the week are named for gods or other religious figures. What kinds of prayers or rituals are devoted to them on their days? 3. Days of the week are named by duties, chores, or cultural practices that are expected to be done on that day. Are these widely followed, or viewed as something “no one does anymore”? 4. Days of the week are named for planets and/or other celestial bodies (or, for lunar calendars, they might be related to phases of the moon instead). What religious, cultural, scientific or magical associations do these planets have?

For the Rest of the Calendar (1d4)

1. A lunar calendar. Each month is divided into four weeks, based on the full moon, new moon, and waxing and waning half moons. There are 5d4 months in the year. 2. A solar calendar. There are 9d10 weeks in a year, and 5d4 months.* 3. A lunar calendar, based on multiple moons. The moon with the shortest lunar cycle is used for the weeks, while a moon with a longer lunar cycle is used for the months. There are 9d10 weeks in a year, and 5d4 months in a year.* 4. A lunisolar calendar. Each month is divided into four weeks, based on the full moon, new moon, and waxing and waning half moons. There are 5d4 months in the year, but every 2d4+1 years there is an extra month in the year, which helps keep the months aligned to the seasons.

*The number of months may not divide evenly into the year with these results. To resolve this, multiply the number of weeks by the number of days in one week. This is how many days are in the year. Divide the number of days in the year by the number of months in the year, to get the number of days in the month. If this number is whole, great! If not, take just the decimal of the result and multiply it by the number of months in the year to find the number of extra days. You can distribute these days to either make some months longer than others, or insert extra days between months that are observed as holidays.

This post is already pretty long, so if you want to build your calendar further, check out my posts on randomly generated solar and lunar calendars.

[whirligig-girl]

Ok let's start with just the astronomical facts for now.

I'm still working on getting my mellanoid slime worm calendar up and running, but for now, here's the observational facts.

Mellanus is a roughly 0.8 earth-mass planet which is co-orbital with a 341-earth-mass gas giant called Omen--so named for how its apparitions correspond with changing climate. Mellanus' average orbital period is exactly equal to Omen's, however, it never completes a year of that length. Mellanus spends about half of the time in a lower, "hot" orbit, and half of the time in a higher "cold" orbit. When it catches up to Omen roughly every 15 earth years, it exchanges energy with it and climbs into a higher or lower orbit. Omen's orbit essentially does not change at all as this happens, while Mellanus' changes substantially. The cycle lasts about 31 earth years. To be more precise:

Mellanus hot orbital period: 271.316538 earthdays = 23441749 seconds Omen period/average Mellanus period: 286.293878 earthdays = 24735791 seconds Mellanus cold orbital period: 301.851079 earthdays = 26079933 seconds

Time between Omen encounters: hot cycle: 5186.2523 days = 14 earthyears 2 lunamonths 15 earthdays = 448092200 seconds cold cycle: 5554.86274 days = 15 earthyears 2 lunamonths 19 earthdays = 479940141 seconds

The sum of these two cycles is 29 earthyears 5 lunamonths 4 earthdays or = 928032341 seconds, and is called an Ominous Cycle or an Omicycle. It is the time it takes between two Omen apparitions, completing one circuit around its co-rotating horseshoe path.

Mellanus' sidereal rotation period: 17 hours, 32 minutes, and 3.23 seconds = 63123.23 seconds

The rotation period of Mellanus is not sufficient to produce a usable day length, as it would differ from the solar day by a few minutes, just as on Earth. However, Mellanus does not have a consistent solar day any more than it has a consistent year--the days are longer during the lower, faster, hotter orbits. (day is slower when the orbit is faster? yes--a result of reciprocals in the formula for calculating this)

Inner solar day: 63293.7s Average solar day: 63284.7s Outer solar day: 63276.4s

So the hot days are 17 hours 34 minutes 53.7 seconds and cold days are 17 hours 34 minutes 36.4 seconds The difference is 17.3 seconds. This can not be ignored, as it would correspond to the day length lagging behind by a full day over the course of an Omicycle.

There are: 370.364649 hot-days per hot-year 390.865264 days per year on average 412.158925 cold-days per cold-year. And there are: 19.1151351 hot-years per hot-cycle 18.40266 cold-years per cold-cycle 37.5177951 average years per Omicycle. A successful calendar for Mellanus must have the following characteristics: * It must track the solar day without drifting over the course of the year, and while accounting for the two different values for the solar day. * It must track the changing seasons of Mellanus, as it has an earthlike axial tilt, and without drifting over the course of many years, and while accounting for the two different values for the orbital period. * It must track the path of Mellanus about its horseshoe orbit, without predicted Omen apparitions falling too short or too early over time. And it must do so successfully for at least the roughly 800 or so earthyears that the calendar has been in use.

Can you see, perhaps, why I'm going a little bit mad?

So far what I have is a way of tracking the number of days per year using months (and two intercalary months during the cold orbits), and a way of tracking years per omicycle with intercalary years added to account for the extra 0.5177951 years per omicycle. And a whole lot of other nuance that isn't as important, like how the different day lengths are reckoned. I want to have Omicycles be the top level that iterates over time, with years considered cyclical (i.e., the year will roll over from 37 or 38 to 1, just as months roll over from 12 to 1 on Earth), and so the problem is to have a system of leap years that can fit within the 37-38 year omicycle... and also how to set up the intercalary years so that they do not completely wreck the alignment of the seasons, since the intercalary years are almost always an added coldyear but are sometimes an added hotyear. Suffice to say... it's a bit of a mess. I will figure it out though. And it will be so cool. And it will have virtually nothing to do with star trek or with slimegirls but it will be a functional calendar for a planet in a horseshoe orbit, which to my knowledge does not exist.

[emmanuellececchi]

Calendar thingy - last... Maybe?

It seems that... I may have found my calendar.

Like mine, mine... I tested it... I still need to verify a few things (like seaons, festivities, etc. But it looks good.

[onpie]

Noodles and Tea’s work inspired me fr

[tana-draws]

ok while I was on my plane ride from hell I rewatched Some Assembly Required and Giles is such a failure (affectionate.) Like. He couldn’t even practice asking her out on a chair without failing. He kept stumbling over his words when he tried and when she decided to roll for initiative he was barely able to say anything. Like she asks if he wants to stop for Mexican before the game and he can’t even respond in words. He just sort of attempts to say something and fails and nods instead of speaking. When she says the word date at the game it takes him like half a minute to process. Same with when she says second date. Hell he so flustered preparing to ask her out that when Buffy Willow and Xander are talking to him he barely responds he's just like “oh right murders. Bad :(“ And when they leave he’s like “wait no please :(“ like buddy what are they supposed to do. And then after Jenny asks him out he’s like. So happy he even does a little jump (just like me fr he got the zoomies).

[todaysjewishholiday]

4 Menachem Av 5784 (7-8 August 2024)

After the Babylonians destroyed the Beit HaMikdash and burned and broken down most of the city of Jerusalem and its encircling walls, they deported much of the surviving population of the city and of other urban centers throughout the kingdom of Judah, as well as the nobles and bureaucrats from throughout the kingdom. Agricultural laborers and itinerants were left behind but it was a thorough effort to break all possibility for self-governance and Jewish independence going forward. Internal displacement was a major Babylonian imperial strategy for control, borrowed from their predecessors in the Neo-Assyrian empire. The cruelty was the point, and it worked remarkably well.

47 years after the destruction of Jerusalem and final exile of the captives (the Babylonians having taken earlier waves of Jewish captives to other places within the empire earlier in their campaign of control over the kingdom of Judah) the Persians led by Cyrus conquered the Babylonian heartland and seized the reigns of empire. Cyrus had a different strategy for maintaining power, based in winning the support and trust of groups who had suffered under Neo-Assyrian and Babylonian conquest (including the people of Assur and Babylonia). Cyrus allowed deported populations to return to their ancestral homes and provided support for the religious practices of numerous groups throughout the empire, provided they remained loyal subjects of the Persian regime. This approach made Cyrus massively popular throughout the empire, including with priests and priestesses of the traditional Babylonian pantheon who had objected to the later emperors interventions in religious affairs.

The Jews were ecstatic. But Judah was still in ruins and severe societal chaos brought about by the Babylonian destruction of the entire social and religious fabric of the kingdom following Tzidkiyahu’s final revolt. Many of the exiles, though overjoyed to have the freedom to return, chose to remain in the lives they’d built within the wealthier center of the empire rather than returning to the despoiled land of their ancestors to try to build society back amidst the rubble.

Nearly a hundred years after Cyrus’ decree, the returnees were still limping along, living in a city that was mostly ruins, bickering with each other.

It’s in this context that Sefer Nechemiya was composed. It’s the autobiography of a high ranking Jewish member of the Persian court who hears circa Kislev 3316 about the the sorry state of things in Jerusalem, and decides it’s time for him to return to the city of his ancestors. Nechemiya receives imperial permission and an appointment as the provincial governor, and sets out.

Once there, he seeks to rally the people of the city to repair the city’s protective walls. According to Sefer Nechemiya, the work of repairing the walls of the city began on the 4th of Av 3316, 5 days short of 142 years after the cataclysm of Tisha B’Av 3174. Nechemiya’s story and that of the reconstruction of the Beit HaMikdash itself reminds us that there is hope even in times of despair. In the midst of the Nine Days, when we grieve one of Judaism’s biggest tragedies, we’re reminded as well of what can happen when we seek to mend what’s broken. Like Nechemiya, we live in broken and dangerous times. May we also find ways to take steps to repair the world.

[lovesodeepandwideandwell]

While I'm talking about single guys in my area, there's one at brunch group who 5 years ago I would have fallen madly in love with and now I need to study him like a bug

[telomirage]

saturday night I had a dream Megan Thee Stallion and I were in a strangely designed room taking evidence photos out a window. she asked if I wanted to take a picture with her too before taking my phone and gently adjusting my posture and the angle of my face for a more flattering shared selfie

what are we

[gophergal]

Behold, the six "unique" roles of Stonevale, one of the colonies in Fading Hollow.

I've been thinking about this setting a lot lately, including all the characters. Honestly, I want to make every cat individual under the hood, but that is slowly driving me mad. For now, here are six of them:

Chief Ra'shira - the leader. Aggressive, irritable, but fiercely loyal to kith and kin.

Deputy Haystalk - her second in command and gentle younger brother. He has spent the majority of his adulthood smoothing over the trouble his sister's temper causes

Raven, the Seer - religious leader and second eldest cat in the colony. A grumpy bastard for the ages. The only company he enjoys is Mera and his sister, Blueshell

Mera Yari-tsa - a lifelong queen who has had a paw in raising every litter in the past 50 moons, earning her great respect. The most knowledgeable midwife in the hollow

Acorn - a senior messenger. He won't retire until his former apprentice, Puff, is ready to mentor another cat to take his place

Puff - a young messenger. He seems empty headed and the wrong body type for his position, but he has a fantastic memory and a knack for social situations

[randomtable]

Random Calendar Builder: Solar Calendars

This is part one of a series on calendars I am planning! See this master post for more calendar content as I post it: https://www.tumblr.com/randomtable/713543620842700800/random-calendar-series-masterpost?source=share

Year length:

(how many days does it take for the planet to revolve around the sun?) The year is 7d100 days long.

Now, divide this year length by 4 to find the length of your planet’s seasons. *If the result is a fraction or decimal: 1/4 or .25 means one season will be one day longer than the others. 1/2 or .5 means two seasons will be one day longer than the others. 3/4 or .75 means three seasons will be one day longer than the fourth. The length of seasons is also the number of days between the solstices and equinoxes.

1d8 Days to Start The Year On: 1. The day after the Winter Solstice, when nights are just beginning to grow longer. The New Year is celebrated as a time of hope, of starting an upward journey after hitting a low point. New Years celebrations might include light-based decorations, songs about light and hope, and making plans for self improvement. 2. A day between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox, which is the anniversary of the dawn of the ruling dynasty who implemented this calendar. (Feel free to select the exact day randomly). The New Year is celebrated as a patriotic event. New Years celebrations might include flying emblems or flags, nationalist and propaganda songs, and speeches or addresses from leaders and politicians. 3. The day of the Spring Equinox, when cold is giving way to warmth, and it is time for planting and for baby animals to be born. The New Year is celebrated as a time of rebirth and new beginnings, and it may be personified as an infant or baby animal. New Years celebrations might include imagery of flowers, eggs, and babies, time spent planting crops or gardens, and songs about joy and rebirth. 4. A day between the Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice, which is the birthday of a deity or other important religious figure. (Feel free to select the exact day randomly) The new year is celebrated as a religious feast day. New Years celebrations might include prayers and songs to the holy figure, feasts in their name, and religious services. 5. The day after the Summer Solstice, when the days are long and hot. The New Year is celebrated as a time of rest, taking a break from hard work and hot sun. New Years celebrations might include observing a day without work, gifts like hats and parasols that protect from the sun, and activities like swimming to cool off or sharing chilled food and drinks. 6. A day between the Summer Solstice and Autumn Equinox, which is the anniversary of the death of a deity or other important religious figure.The New Year is observed as a somber day of religious reflection, where the year that passed may also be treated as a living thing which has died. New Years customs might include fasting or making other sacrifices, lengthy prayers, and wearing veils or other mourning clothes. 7. The day of the Autumn Equinox, when the harvest is in full swing. The New Year is celebrated as a time of bounty and of preparation for the long nights of winter ahead. New Years celebrations might include feasting, songs wishing farewell to the times of plenty and to the sun, and expressing gratitude to the earth, to a deity of fertility, or to farmers for a bountiful harvest. 8. A day between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice, which is thought to be the anniversary of the creation of the world itself. (Feel free to select the exact day randomly). The New Year is observed as a serious but joyful religious holiday. New Years traditions might include offerings to the god or gods of creation, prayer and song about their power and might, and excursions into the wilderness to behold their creation in its natural state.

Months:

The year is divided into 5d4 months, which may or may not be roughly based on the lunar cycle*.  Divide the year length by the number of months to get the length of the months. It’s likely this number won’t be even. If it isn’t, multiply the fraction/decimal by the number of months to get the number of extra days.

1d4 Things to do with Extra Days 1. Make months unequal: distribute the days among certain months, so that some are a day longer than others. 2. Add these days as extra holidays between months: These days aren’t considered part of a particular month, rather falling between the months and being days of rest or celebration. Try to distribute them equally, if you can. 3. Add these days as a multi-day holiday at the end of the year: this extra time becomes an extended period to prepare for the new year, following the tradition rolled on the previous table. 4. Add these days as a multi-day holiday in the middle of the year: this extra time is a mid-year break, situated between two months near the midway point of the year. You can consult the previous table for what this festival might be for, based on what time of year it occurs, or make up something else.

Weeks:

Your calendar’s weeks are informed by how its months are divided. Here are some options for weeks, noting which types of months they work for.

Perfect Weeks: (Does not work for unequal months.) If there is a number between 5-10 that your month length can be evenly divided by, then this can be the length of your week. For calendars with extra days between months, those extra days are also considered to be between weeks.

Unequal Weeks: (Works for any type of months.) Your months are divided into a number of weeks. In order to make that number whole, some of your weeks are a day longer than others.

One Short Week: (Does not work for calendars with extra days added as a multi-day holiday.) Weeks are 1d4+4 days long. If this number does not divide evenly by how long your year is, the remaining days are treated as a multi-day holiday at the end of the year. (Note that this holiday is still considered part of the last month of the year.)

Earth-like Weeks: (Works for any type of months.) Weeks are 1d4+4 days long and do not change or reset at the end of the year or month. What day of the week the year or the month begins on varies from year to year and month to month. If you have holidays that are between months, the weeks should also skip these holidays.

*Bonus: Lunar Cycles in Solar Calendars (Under the Cut)

If your year does not divide perfectly into the number of months you rolled, then your lunar cycle will not stay aligned with your months. For simplicity’s sake, we’ll assume that your base month is the actual length of a lunar cycle. You can plot these lunar cycles out on your calendar just like we do on Earth, and you’ll see that they quickly become misaligned with the months.

(Warning, math ahead!) The “extra days” you calculated before are called the Epact, the difference in length between the solar and lunar years. You can subtract the Epact from the year length to determine the lunar year length, and use those numbers to determine extra information about the alignments of the solar and lunar calendars: * A purely lunar calendar (with no leap months added to re-align with the solar year) will cycle through the seasons, so over several years what seasons happen in which months will shift. To determine the length of this cycle, divide the solar year length by the Epact. This tells you how many years it takes before the seasons re-align in the lunar calendar. (On Earth, it takes 33 years.) If the result is a whole number, then the lunar and solar calendars will have the same New Years Day if they both began on the same day initially.  (If it isn’t a whole number, how often they line up is a little bit more complicated: it’s equal to the least common multiple of the two different year lengths, divided by the length of the solar year.) * You can also determine how many years it takes before the cycles of the moon line up to the same days of the year again. This is equal to the least common multiple of the solar year length and the lunar cycle length (which is the base month length), divided by the solar year length.

[blurban-form]

Party Invites

We get to see a number of party invites (and what’s on the corners of everyone’s refrigerators) for the kids in Bingo’s social circle. (This is in S3E14 “Pass the Parcel”.)

It looks like families are both customizing store-bought invites with scrapbooking supplies and stickers as well as desktop publishing the invites — there’s maybe a bit of friendly competition going on too in graphic design: everyone wants a good-looking invite.

[exhausted-archivist]

Thedosian Calendars and Holidays

Thedas has twelve 30-day months and five holidays, or annums. which start at the beginning of the month. Their day lengths are contradictory if not unclear as one instance mentions 24-hour days while all the clocks we've seen in Orlais work in 8-hour increments. Though it should be noted that clocks are dwarven in invention and manufacturing according to lore.

While the Chantry calendar shares some similarities to the Gregorian calendar, due to the placement and functions the holidays in regards to what they mean to the common people; it falls more in line with some versions of medieval calendars, though not entirely. For the common folk in Thedas these universal holidays mark the change of the seasons: letting them know what weather to expect, when harvests must be finished, when to plant, and other seasonal work and activities.

Additionally, it is important to know that Thedas appears to be in the southern hemisphere. It is never explicitly stated in lore or by any of the devs, but the context clues of things such as Tevinter being to the "north" and Orlais and Ferelden making up "southern Thedas" are the most prominent pieces of evidence. Though I will note that sometimes the devs/writers have gotten this mixed up and have referenced things like "birds flown south for the winter".

Thedosian Calendars - General

Of all calendars in Thedas, we know only of three: Chantry, Elven, and Tevinter. For other prominent cultures, we know nothing about the Avvar, Chasind, Dwarven, and Qunari calendars. They are not mentioned in lore, but are likely systems they would have.

Thedas, in its entirety, has converted to the Chantry calendar after the Second Blight. It became the universal calendar, and it's season marking holidays became the five universal holidays - though this doesn't mean they are the only holidays in Thedas. It is also unclear as of now whether the sharing of names and holidays are all the Tevinter and Chantry calendars share. We do not know if that extends to format, twelve 30-day months, or other factors.

The elven calendar fell into disuse after the fall of Arlathan when Tevinter outlawed its uses and enslaved the elven people. Now, not much is known about how the ancient elves of Arlathan kept track of the passing of time. Only a few notable events have lasted through the centuries to be recorded by modern scholars.

While the Tevinter Imperium did follow the Orlesian Chantry Calendar at some in their history, after the schisms between the two Andrastian cults they chose to return to their original calendar that dated back to the foundation of the Imperium. It is from this calendar that the Chantry took inspiration. It is suggested that elves had some influence on the creation of the Tevinter calendar (though this is only mentioned in the Traveler's Guide in the Origins Collector's Edition Game Guide). The Tevinter calendar is where the high names of the months come from.

The Orlesian Chantry calendar adopted several things from the Tevinter calendar, including the adoption of some holidays dedicated to the worship of the Old Gods that overlapped with their own holidays, and in turn gave them new meaning. Additionally, it is the Tevinter calendar that we inherited the high names and from the Chantry calendar the low names of the months.

Months and Days of the Week

Months

Each month has two names:

a high name - used by scholars and courts

a low name - used primarily by common folk

Most codex and dates shown in Dragon Age use the low name even when it is written in the voice of a scholar or noble, so I have listed them below in Low/High name format.

Wintermarch / Verimensis

Guardian / Pluitanis

Drakonis / Nubulis

Cloudreach / Eluviesta

Bloomingtide / Molioris

Justinian / Ferventis

Solace / Solis

August / Matrinalis

Kingsway / Parvulis

Harvestmere / Frumentum

Firstfall / Umbralis

Haring / Cassus

If the Chantry calendar and by extension Tevinter calendar were to follow the same solar equivalent dates as the real world, the months would land as follows in accordance to the southern hemisphere:

Spring/Vernal Equinox: September 21-23 -> Guardian / Pluitanis 1st

Summer Solstice: December 21-23 -> Bloomingtide / Molioris 1st

Autumnal/Fall Equinox: March 21-23 -> August / Matrinalis 1st

Winter Solstice: June 21-23 -> Firstfall / Umbralis 1st

My only note about this is that Tevinter seems to be predominately a tropical climate that begins to encroach closer to the equator. In the real world, this would usually result in them using a lunar (or lunar-solar) calendar as their seasonal changes would be relatively minimal. Solar calendars are more typical in temperate regions as there are more seasonal changes and they're impacted more by the the decrease/increase of sunlight.

That said, Tevinter seems to follow a more solar calendar that made it an easy port for the rest of Thedas. The likely reason for this might have simply been to keep things simple, as it would make it a little easier to track.

Days

As stated before, the length of a day seems to be 24-hours, though the clocks seem to work in 8 hour increments. Additionally, from what we can tell, Thedas has the same days of the week that we do. Except, there has yet to be any mention of Monday or Wednesday.

Tuesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Holidays, Celebrations, Ceremonies, and Festivals

It is noted that there are more holidays in the world than the ones listed in universal holidays. The following holidays/festivals/feasts listed are predominately human and surface, there isn't much on Orzammar and their holidays or celebrations nor the Dalish.

Universal Holidays

These are the holidays implemented by the Orlesian Chantry. These are the holidays called annums. With the exception of First Day, they typically mark the changes of the seasons. All of them fall at the beginning of the month.

With that in mind, based on how they line up with the solstices and equinox they seem to be roughly floating holidays that may range from the 1st to 3rd of the month.

Something to note though, is that the holidays were once mentioned to fall outside of any month. Which would align them more towards the special days you would see in a lunar calendar or some forms of historical calendars. However, this arrangement of the holidays hasn't been mentioned since the (Collector's Edition Prima Guide for Dragon Age Origins in the Traveler's Guide).

First Day, celebrated on the first day of Wintermarch / Verimensis

A traditional start of the year that involves the practice of visiting neighbors and family as well as gathering in town to commemorate the year past.

In remote areas this holiday was once the annual check to ensure everyone was alive.

In some areas, such as Serault in Orlais, it is customary to eat chicken on First Day.

Wintersend, celebrated at the beginning of Guardian / Pluitanis (Potential Spring / Vernal Equinox)

Previously called "Urthalis" and dedicated to the Old God of Beauty, Urthemiel.

Currently a holiday that is the celebration of the Maker.

It stands for the end of winter in many areas.

In the Tevinter, coincides with tourneys and contests at the Proving Grounds in Minrathous.

In the south, the holiday became the day for trade and theater.

In some areas, it is also the day for arranging marriages.

Some places, like Orlais, hold Wintersend Balls during the season.

Summerday, celebrated at the beginning of Bloomingtide / Molioris (Summer Solstice)

Previously called "Andoralis" it was a holiday dedicated to the Old God of Unity, Andoral.

Universally celebrated as the beginning of Summer.

For Andrastians, there is the practice where children ready to come of age don white tunics and gowns before joining a procession that crosses the settlement to the local Chantry. They are then taught the responsibilities of adulthood.

In Orlais, this is a particularly holy holiday.

In some places, this festival is described as particularly showy. To where it would be considered an appropriate level of extravagance to welcome a monarch or ruler.

All Souls Day, celebrated at the beginning of August / Matrinalis. (Potential Autumnal / Fall Equinox)

Previously it was called "Funalis" and was a holiday dedicated to the Old God of Silence, Dumat.

The Chantry uses the holiday to commemorate the death of Andraste, they will light public fires and put on plays that depict her death.

This holiday is also spent in other areas as a day in remembrance of the dead.

In the northern areas of Thedas, people will dress as spirits and parade through the streets after midnight.

Satinalia, celebrated at the beginning of Firstfall / Umbralis (Winter Solstice)

This holiday was originally dedicated to the Old God of Chaos, Zazikel. It now is more attributed to the second moon of Thedas, Satina.

Customary celebration includes wearing masks, naming the town fool as ruler for a day, and wild celebrations. In more pious areas, it is simply a large feast and the giving of gifts.

Antiva celebrates this for a week or more, followed by a week of fasting.

Feastday is part of the Satinalia celebration, incorporating the gifts and pranks practices of the holiday. It is unclear if this term is just for Ferelden.

Ferelden celebrates by serving a specific dish, Fluffy Mackerel Pudding, during the holiday.

Regional Holidays, Events, and Festivals

Allsmeet (Rivain)

An event that happens twice a year where the village seers travel to Dairsmuid to meet in council, gorge trade agreements, and pledge loyalty to the Rivaini queen publicly. These are also times where people will attempt to settle old feuds, but there are feasts, gift-giving ceremonies, musical contests, and other such activities. It lasts a few days.

Andraste's Day

An undefined holiday. One for Andrastians but unclear if it is universal to all Andrastian cults, regional to those following the Orlesian Chantry, or regional to Ferelden.

It is a holiday in which family will come to visit.

Anniversary of Archon Hessarian's Death (Tevinter)

A religious holiday, usually accompanied by an additional feast day for Visitations.

Visitations is a feast celebration of Andraste appearing in the dreams of mages when she crossed into the fade. Celebrated in Tevinter.

Arlathvhen (Dalish)

Its name means "for love of the people".

A celebration of the old ways while lore keepers exchange stories and knowledge, but the gathered Dalish also recount and discuss the sad lessons of the destruction of Arlathan and the Dales.

Barnack Festival (Orzammar)

An undefined festival mentioned by Oghren.

Celebratory Proving (Orzammar)

A type of proving held to celebrate an event.

Victors of these provings are rewarded with ceremonial items.

Commission Day (Orzammar)

A celebration for when one receives their military placement, or commission.

Unclear if this celebration is for all nobility of families of import or if it is restricted to the royal family.

Commission Proving (Orzammar)

A proving done during the commission celebration. It is in honor of an individual gaining a leadership position.

It is not clear if this proving and celebration is just for the royal family.

Coronation of the Divine (Chantry)

It is mentioned that when the first Divine was chosen, the festivities lasted a full year.

It is unclear if such celebrations happen every year in honor of the first Divine.

If it were an annual holiday, it is unclear if it would be only an Orlesian Chantry event or if it is also something that was celebrated in the Tevinter Imperium. Though considering the relationships between the two sects, it is possible that they adopted it in the Imperium but in celebration of their first Divine.

If chosen as Divine, Cassandra mentions that "They would love to bury me in ceremony for my coronation". Suggesting that there is at least some level of grandness that extends past a straight forward ceremony for crowning the Divine.

Drinking Festival (General)

Undefined if this is an Antivan specific festival, a universal one, or a joke. It is mentioned by Zevran.

Memorial Proving (Orzammar)

A type of proving done during celebration and honor of an individual receiving their military role.

Groundbreaking Festival (Universal)

Held much like events in real life, where they celebrate a building - such as a fort, castle, ect. - being built.

Grand Tourney (Free Marches/Nevarra)

A yearly event described as part circus, part tournament, and part festival. It allows contests, feats of strength, food, performers, and merriment. It travels around the Free Marches, and occasionally outside of it.

It is an event that many are aware of and Orlesian nobles are particularly inclined and encouraged by their families to participate in.

According to the Dragon Age Tabletop RPG (ttrpg), Orzammar sent warrior representatives to the Grand Tourney one year. It is unknown if they continued to do so or if this is held up in current lore.

Harvest Festival (Universal)

Undefined, but mentioned that Honnleath celebrates such an event.

Vinter, a Ferelden town mentioned in the ttrpg, celebrates the year's harvest and bounty in an annual event that lasts for several days. This is a major event of merriment and trade, but also open to the Dalish as well.

Hunt Ball (Nevarra)

Balls held in the winter, a lingering custom from when Nevarra used to have annual dragon hunts.

Memorial Proving (Orzammar)

A type of proving done to honor the memory of a dwarf of high stature.

Naming Day (Universal)

Separate from birthdays, there is little information on these parties outside that they occur.

Mentioned by both dwarves in Orzammar as well as found in a box of invitations on the surface.

Solstice Celebrations (Universal)

Avvar have alters dedicated to their favored hold-dieties, they house sacred relic that aligns with the rising sun on the Winter Solstice.

Honnleath celebrates the winter solstice.

Undefined as to which, but stated that the Chantry hold them, at one point for six consecutive years in Cumberland. This seems to be separate from the four holidays that mark the change of the seasons.

In some areas they celebrate the solstices with dinner parties. Aveline throws one. It isn't clear if this is simply a Fereldan practice or universal.

Summer Festival (Orlais)

A general festival that differs by region.

Celene mentions how youths participate in tests of skill though in heavily padded tunics and blunted blades.

Winterfest (Unknown)

An undescribed event/holiday mentioned by Dorian. He says he was "hoping for a lively Winterfest gift."

Possibly a regional holiday in Tevinter.

Feasts

Feast of Ascension (Orlais)

Undefined if it is a common celebration, nor what exactly the purpose is.

Feast of Urthemiel (Tevinter, Ancient)

A feast that spanned a total of twelve days, it was the grandest celebration of the year during its time. Celebrated at the height of the Imperium when they worshiped the Old Gods.

Unclear if this feast was part of the Urthalis (now known as Wintersend).

Hivernal Feast (Orlais)

Originating in the highlands of Orlais during the early days of the nation. Groups would go out and hunt Hivernals, on a successful hunt they would return and feast before salting the dragon meat and using the rest for potions, armor, and other supplies to help them last the winter. It is a feast still celebrated in some areas of Orlais.

Noble Feast (Orzammar)

A feast had during a celebration, typically one honoring an individual for their military accomplishments or a service done for Orzammar.

Also used to honor the mercy and/or martial skill of a commander.

General Ceremonies

Uthenera Ceremony (Arlathan)

Where an elder's long life and all their contributions to the elven people was celebrated before they moved on to the next step of waking slumber.

Harvest Ball (General)

A ball held during the harvest season.

Unclear how common or well spread these balls are, but they are mentioned as occurring in places such as Ostwick.

Wedding Ceremony (General)

Can be especially lavish for rulers, nobility, or people of import.

Typically overseen by Chantry Mothers in southern Thedas.

Unnamed Holidays, Ceremonies, Feasts, and Festivals

A religious holiday in the Imperium with a ceremony to mark the day a spell is cast to renew the Eternal Flame that is lit and continuously burns in every chantry in the Imperium.

A holiday in the Imperium that celebrates the death of Joyous II, Orlesian Chantry Divine. It is unclear if this holiday is still celebrated.

At Adamant Fortress the residents would have a celebration which included a feast on the day of the first snow fall. Traditions include the residents putting up wreaths, dancing, and other events.

There is a festival that includes a turkey. But there is little information outside of the line mentioning "festival turkey".

In some Dalish clans, there is a special ceremony for when a Keeper anoints a mage as their first.

Miscellaneous and Trivia

There is a practice of giving gifts on the solstice mentioned by Luka.

People have both a Wintersend gift list as well as Satinalia gift list. It is unclear if the Wintersend gift list is a regional/cultural specific practice, a universal one, or if it was simply confused with Satinalia.

Birthdays while separate from Name days are both celebrated universally.

The Qun does not have holidays or annual festivals. They will have celebrations but usually in response to a death in service to the Qun by an individual who did a great deed. They have a celebration that allows for unabashed revelry; this includes drinking, public chanting, and even meditations are abandoned.

The term "holiday", "on holiday", and "family holiday" are used by those in Thedas as opposed to vacation or the like.

Fluffy Mackerel Pudding, while a Fereldan traditional dish, is a recipe from the 1974 Weight Watchers.

Sources:

BioWare Blog Weight Watchers: Fluffy Mackerel Pudding

Dragon Age Origins Dragon Age 2 Dragon Age Inquisition Dragon Age Inquisition Multiplayer Dragon Age The Last Court Dragon Age Tabletop Dragon Age Tabletop Blood in Ferelden Dragon Age Origins Official Prima Guide Dragon Age Masked Empire Dragon Age Asunder Dragon Age Tevinter Nights World of Thedas Vol 1 World of Thedas Vol 2

Origins Codex: Archdemon Codex: Feast Day Fish A Note from the Honnleath Village Council

Dragon Age 2 Codex: Chest of Unanswered Invitations Codex: Notes on the Avvar Sky Cult Codex: Thedas Calendar

Inquisition Codex: Mad Emperor Reville War Table Mission: A Favor Returned War Table Mission: Rescue the Spy

The Last Court Your Bailiff is Attacked

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[prophetictattoo]

alex and winona have the coziest bedroom

⬇️ an extra picture zoomed out for more detail : )

hiiiii chris cornell

[mixing-bowl-of-stories]

The calendar for Selcouth

Notes:

- Each month and day is named after the 14 gods

- Triple full moon happens every month for one day.

- The year is 1732

[plannersnplants]

semester starts on Tuesday so let's get back into the swing of things. I left lots of space this week so I can take notes on stuff.