Calendars

From Delgar

Timekeeping & Celestial Mechanics

A mean solar year on Delgar is approximately 391.125 mean solar days long. Thus, a leap day must be added every 8 years to prevent drift. Each day is divided into eight three-hour units called "phases":

Phase Earth Time (Equinox) Marker
Dawning 5 AM to 8 AM Sunrise
Morning 8 AM to 11 AM
Noon 11 AM to 1 PM Noon
Afternoon 3 PM to 6 PM
Evening 5 PM to 8 PM Sunset
Dimming 8 PM to 11 PM
Dreaming 11 PM to 2 AM Midnight
Dewing 2 AM to 5 AM

More precise timekeeping is rare on Delgar, but when it is done, it looks like this:

Delgar Unit Conversion Earth Equivalent
1 year 391.125 days
1 day 24 hours ~24 hours
1 phase 3 hours
1 hour 64 minutes ~60 minutes
1 minute 64 seconds ~56 seconds
1 second ~0.88 seconds

Araxian Calendar

The Araxian Calendar is a solar calendar created by Emperor Araxius I at the founding of the Araxian Empire. It is in use throughout the Empire and its former territories, as well as in Belgrit.

Year

The Araxian year is 384 days long, beginning with 1 Vymera on the summer solstice (as measured at the observatory of the Araxian Academy of Arcane Sciences). The names of the months are taken from the 12 major deities of the Araxian pantheon.

Vymera
S M T U W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
Atarr
S M T U W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
Enara
S M T U W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
Treth
S M T U W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
Temos
S M T U W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
Lamera
S M T U W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
Ophine
S M T U W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
Ilene
S M T U W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
Yona
S M T U W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
Vexa
S M T U W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
Hadros
S M T U W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
Jaaldir
S M T U W T F S
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32

Heptinus

You may have noticed that the Araxian year is 7.125 days shorter than the mean solar year. How does that work?

At the end of each year, an intercalary period of 7-8 days (the Heptinus) is observed before the next year begins. The Heptinus is 8 days long preceding years divisible by 8 and 7 days long otherwise. It is not considered to be part of any year. As a result, although the Araxian year is only 384 days long, the number of days from one summer solstice to the next varies from 391 to 392.

Months

# Araxian Gregorian Season
1 Vymera June to July Summer
2 Atarr July to August
3 Enara August to September
4 Treth September to October Autumn
5 Temos October to November
6 Lamera November to December
7 Ophine December to January Winter
8 Ilene January to February
9 Yona February to March
10 Vexa March to April Spring
11 Hadros April to May
12 Jaaldir May to June

Weekdays

# Weekday
1 Suriden
2 Moriden
3 Turien
4 Urnoth
5 Wesnoth
6 Thriden
7 Friden
8 Sarendy

Dumecian Calendar

The Dumecian Calendar has the same year length and weekdays as the Araxian Calendar (indeed, these features both originated with the Dumecian Calendar), but it does not name individual months. In addition, the year begins in spring instead of summer, and the 7-8 day intercalary period occurs between winter and spring instead of between spring and summer.

Dumecian Season Length Moon Araxian Month Gregorian Month
Spring 96 days 1st Vexa March to April
2nd Hadros April to May
3rd Jaaldir May to June
Summer 96 days 1st Vymera June to July
2nd Atarr July to August
3rd Enara August to September
Autumn 96 days 1st Treth September to October
2nd Temos October to November
3rd Lamera November to December
Winter 96 days 1st Ophine December to January
2nd Ilene January to February
3rd Yona February to March
Intercalary Length Notes
New Year's Week 7 days Not considered part of any month
Haarendag 1 day Holiday, happens only once every 8 years (like a Leap Day).

Dhol Calendar

The Dhol Calendar also has the same year length and weekdays as the other two calendars, but it divides the year asymmetrically into 8 periods of different length:

Season Period Translation Length Description
Nuujarsdag New Year's Day 1 day The first sunrise of the year, not part of any month
Spring Jordenlent Land month 32 days
Graadenlent Grass month 32 days
Blumenlent Flower month 32 days
Summer Dagbrogen Day bridge 99 days Dagbrogen begins with the first sunrise of summer, during which time the sun will not set again until autumn.
Autumn Tarnaatlent First night month 32 days
Harbenlent Harvest month 32 days
Winderlent Wind month 32 days
Winter Naatbrogen Night bridge 99-100 days Naatbrogen begins with the first sunset of winter, during which time the sun will not rise again until spring. Once every 8 years, Naatbrogen will be 100 days long instead of 99 days. This is called a Longnaatjar (long night year).