The Common Calendar
Marking of the Years
Years (winters) are referred to by names, each name consistent across the Realms. Each kingdom or city-state numbers years differently, usually to measure the reign of a dynasty or the current monarch, or since the founding of the country. The result is a hodgepodge of overlapping numbers that serve to confuse the ordinary person and frustrate the sage. The most common one used on the continent of Faerûn is the DR, Dalereckoning format.
The naming of each year is a hotly debated subject. Some say it came from a mad wizard of Netherese origin while others say a sage from Candlekeep constructed the Roll of Years. In either case the names given to the years are supposed prophecies as to the most significant event of that year. However, in hindsight, many of the year names have not yet, or not knowingly, been connected with any monumental or widely known event.
Festivals & Special Calendar Dates
Most of these dates are their own special day, outside the traditional 1-30 day-month system
Midwinter
Falls between Hammer 30 and Alturiak 1
Midwinter (also known as Deadwinter Day) is a festival to mark the midpoint of winter. It occurred on a special day between Hammer 30 and Alturiak 1. Amongst nobles and monarchs it was known as Midwinter and was traditionally used to make or renew alliances, although the common people called it Deadwinter Day, a reference to the cold and hard times that remained before the spring.
Spring Equinox
Falls on Ches 19
This day is the 80th day of the year and happens to be of note for several festivals, both religious in nature and not. For example, it is known as Fey Day in Waterdeep. For it is the day the veil between the Material Plane and the Feywild are at its thinnest. For most though it marks the Spring Equinox.
Greengrass
Falls between Tarsakh 30 and Mirtul 1
Greengrass was a festival to welcome in the first day of spring. It occurred annually on a special day between Tarsakh 30 and Mirtul 1. Traditionally, the wealthier people brought out flowers to give to the less wealthy, who either wore them or spread them on the ground to encourage the deities to usher in the summer.
Summer Solstice
Falls on Kythorn 20
This day is the 172nd day of the year and happens to be of note for several festivals, both religious and not. For example, it is known as Dragondown in Waterdeep. This parade is held in remembrance of all the dragons that were defeated or driven off throughout the city's history. Though for most it marks the longest day of the year, The Summer Solstice, with some cities in the north like Silverymoon, seeing nearly 16 hours of daylight.
Midsummer
Falls between Flamerule 30 and Elesis 1
Midsummer was an annual holiday that customarily occurred between Flamerule 30 and Eleasis 1. Shieldmeet occurred the day after Midsummer on leap years. Midsummer Night, also called the Long Night, was a festival that saw much feasting, music-making, and frolicking in the forests. It was a time when love blossomed, and often acquaintances became romances and courtships traditionally became betrothals. In some lands, unmarried maidens were released in the woods and their would-be suitors then ceremonially 'hunted' them through the night. More sedate folk just enjoyed the fine weather.
Midsummer festivals of one kind or another were observed in just about every civilized settlement in Faerûn, with some variation. In more conservative cultures, families usually only got together to hold big feasts and drink too much, and couples declared their betrothals. Festival acrobats were quite popular and did good business on Midsummer and the other festival days.
It was said the deities themselves took a hand to ensure good weather for the occasion. If bad weather such as a storm was experienced on this night, it was considered an extremely bad omen, usually thought to foretell famine or plague, and sometimes as a sign of the gods' disfavor in a romance or marriage. In any case, fortunately, it was quite rare for bad weather to occur.
Shieldmeet
Falls on the day after Midsummer and before Eleasis 1 every 4 years
Shieldmeet was the equivalent of a leap year day in the Calendar of Harptos, occurring once every four years, adding a day after the festival of Midsummer and before Eleasis 1. Traditionally the day was used for fairs, bazaars, musical and theatrical performances, and tournaments of skill and magical ability. Nobles usually held court to hear the petitions of their people and to make or renew trade pacts, alliances, and agreements. Across Faerûn the Shieldmeet celebrations varied greatly, from calm and reflective to extravagant and outrageous.
Shieldmeet was known as
Cinnaelos'Cor (also seen as Cinnaeloscor), "the Day of Corellon's Peace" in elvish and marked the end of an
aeloulaev and the beginning of a new one in the elven Aryselmalyn Calendar.
Autumn Equinox
Falls on Eleint 21
This day is the 264th day of the year, or the 265th on leap years, and happens to be of note for several festivals, both religious and not. For example, it is known as Birghtswords in Waterdeep. A series of displays and competitions of martial skill and open enlistment by the City Guard and City Watch, topped off by an aerial demonstration by the Griffon Cavalry. Though for most lands is it simply the marking of the Autumn Equinox.
Highharvestide
Falls between Eleint 30 and Marpenoth 1
Highharvestide was an annual festival, taking place between 30 Eleint and 1 Marpenoth. It was traditionally a feast to celebrate the harvest and the abundance of food, but also the time when those wishing to travel left on their journeys before winter set in. Preparations for the feast started as early as a tenday before, while preparing, cooking, and preserving the harvest for the cold winter months. Traditions varied from community to community, but examples of festive activity included food-related contests; races and challenges of skill and strength; receiving homemade sweets from the local clergy; and priests blessing larders, wine cellars, grain bins, and food preserves.
This day was often an important anniversary to various governments. Often, taxes and tithes came due, rulers held "open courts" to hear the concerns of their citizens, oaths were publicly renewed, troops received marching orders to new duty stations, and guilds met to confer on prices and rate changes for goods and services.
According to tradition, dwarves only drank water and elves drank only dew on this day. However, these traditions have begun to fade as of late. It was also said that children born on this day were favored by Tymora to have lifelong good luck but be smitten with wanderlust. Another legend was that human females born on this day had control over their reproductive system (i.e., got pregnant only when they wanted to) by force of will alone, and that they could instantly sense when they had been poisoned, either by ingestion or being bitten by a venomous creature for example.
Feast of the Moon
Falls between Uktar 30 and Nightal 1
The Feast of the Moon, or Moonfest, was an annual festival, occurring between the final night of Uktar and the first day of Nightal. It was the last great festival of the calendar year. The day traditionally marked the onset of winter. It was also a time to celebrate and honor the ancestors and the respected dead. On this day, folk blessed their ancestors' graves and performed the Ritual of Remembrance. People also gathered to tell stories of the deeds of their ancestors and of the gods until deep into the night, until they merged and became legend. This was a time to hear of past heroes, great treasures, and lost cities.
In Faerûn, battles were typically fought between harvest-time and the coming of winter. This meant that most of the fighting usually occurred in the month of Uktar. The timing of the Feast of the Moon—after recently slain soldiers had joined the ranks of the dead—was thus practical, if sadly ironic. Priests of a number of deities of various pantheons held rites, ceremonies, and festivals on the Feast of the Moon. Many, though not all, focused on remembering the dead in one way or another.
Winter Solstice
Falls on Nightal 20
This day is the 355th day of the year, or the 266th on leap years, and happens to be of note for several festivals, both religious and not. Many cities along the sword coast, such as Neverwinter and Waterdeep, celebrated the day as Simril. This night time festival focused on celebrants locating stars in the sky that associated with their own births or their ancestors. Simril was celebrated outside, with people trying to stay awake the entire night gathered around bonfires with plenty of music, food, and warm drinks. Many other places however, and the Sword Coast too, simple knew this day as the Winter Solstice.
Hours of the Day
Most inhabitants of Faerûn divided the day into ten segments. Common names for these divisions of the day are given below:
Dawn
The time around sunrise
Morning
The time between sunrise and highsun
Highsun
When the sun was directly overhead; also called "noon" or "twelve bells"
Afternoon
The time after noon
Dusk
The time before sunset
Sunset
The time around sunset
Evening
The time after sunset
Midnight
The time roughly 12 hours after noon; also called "twelve bells"
Moondark
The darkest part of night; also called "night's heart"
Night's End
The time before sunrise
Other divisions in common use included:
Godswake, the time before dawn
Harbright, from dawn to highsun
Elsun, the latter hours of the morning
Thulsun, the early hours of the afternoon
Tharsun, the latter hours of the afternoon
Eventide, same as evening, twilight, or gloaming
Nighfall, same as dusk
Gateclose, the hour at which a city's gates closed for the night; the exact time could vary from city to city
Night, the hours of darkness
Deepnight, same as midnight
None of these divisions were precise. Different folk's usages might overlap with others. In general, however, these slots of time ranged between one and four hours.
In larger cities, bells were sometimes used to mark the hours. The churches of Gond and Lathander were also particularly interested in accurate timekeeping. In such cases, hours were numbered 1 through 12 twice, with 12 being both highsun and midnight.
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