Sevnóni Calendar
History
More to come!
Early History.
Components
Days & Weeks
According to the teachings of Myrnovera, darkness and night (the domain of Sorník, Sevnóni god of the underworld) are said to be responsible for bringing on the day. For this reason, a day in the traditional Sevnóni calendar commences at sunset and ends at the following sunset, such that the day begins with the arrival of darkness. As a consequence of this system, the days are figured locally; a single day in Svas Półneja, for instance, may last far longer than a day in the southern city of Marst.
Traditionally, the Sevnóni calendar had no concept of the week; the basic calendaric unit was a 'month' governed by the phases of the moon (Sevnóni: Lúna), with days named for their position in the month (First Day, Second Day, etc.). The notion of the 7-day week was adopted from the Wythians during the Late Pre-Imperial Era, although the Sevnóni eschewed the Wythian practice of naming days of the week after Wythian gods in favour of their own numbering system.
Since the Post-Imperial Era, the seven weekdays of the Sevnóni calendar are Ponyadiyla, Vivtorok, Kolmarok, Chetverok, Piyarok, Shosterok, and Nyadiyla. The seventh day, Nyadiyla, as its Sevnóni name indicates, is a day of rest in Myrnovera, specifically designated for festivals, prayer, and feasting. MORE TO COME.
| Day Name | Meaning | Relationship to Wythian Calendar |
|---|---|---|
| Ponyadiyla | After No Work | Montag / Monday |
| Vivtorok | Second Day | Dienstag / Tuesday |
| Kolmarok | Third Day | Mittwoch / Wednesday |
| Chetverok | Fourth Day | Donnerstag / Thursday |
| Piyarok | Fifth Day | Freitag / Friday |
| Shosterok | Sixth Day | Samstag / Saturday |
| Nyadiyla | No Work | Sonntag / Sunday |
Months & Years
For thousands of years prior to the Unification of Sevnónicha, the Sevnóni have based the beginning of each month on the appearance of the new moon, kept standard via meticulous observation and record-keeping by Myrnovi priests and scholars. The Sevnóni New Year is marked by the arrival of the first new moon after Tolyada (Imperial Wythian: Winter Solstice).
Names of the Months
The Sevnóni calendar is unusual among Wythian countries in that the names of the months are not derived from either Wythian or local mythology. Instead, they are based on the celebration of natural phenomena; five months are named for fruit or trees, with the remainder named for seasonal features and activities. Month names are not capitalized when written in the Ostromiric script, reflecting their secular origins.
Ljutyi derives from the adjective Ljut, meaning "Angry" or "Fierce". Sevnónicha's winter is at its height by this point in the year, with violent snowstorms raging across the country on a regular basis.
Brezen (Sprouting) "Birch"
Cviten "Blooming" (Flowers)
Czerven "Red" (Fruit)
Lypenec (Blossoming) "Linden"
Srpanj "Sickle"
Zhovtin "Yellowing" (Leaves)
Kolijen "Rutting" (Deer)
Hruden "Frozen" (Earth)
Chorżyc "Black Moon"
The mean period of the lunar month is very close to 29.5 days. Accordingly, both the 'Short' and 'Long' Sevnóni calendar years are comprised of twelve (or thirteen) lunar months alternating between 29 and 30 days.
Leap Months
As mentioned above, the Sevnóni calendar's year is lunisolar, meaning that while the months correspond to lunations, the years are based on solar years. In order to synchronize the shorter synodic months with the longer solar year, the Sevnóni calendar operates on a system known as the Navidic Sequence, named for the Vairyan mathmetician and astronomer Navid of Tasht. According to Navid, a tropical (solar) year is longer than 12 synodic months, yet shorter than 13 of them. To resolve this, Navid developed the arithmetic equation 12 × 12 + 7 × 13 = 235 synodic months, showing that 12 'Short' years (12 months) and 7 'Long' years (13 months) will be approximately equal to 19 solar years. The Sevnóni adopted the Navidic sequence from the late 14th century BU, with the intercalary month being observed on each instance of the Black Moon (the third new moon in a season with four new moons). In practice, this results in the intercalary month appearing every 2-3 years.
| Month Number | Month Name | Length | Season | Approximate Relationship to Wythian Calendar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stychen | 30 | Winter | Wintermonat (December) - Foarmonat (January) |
| 2 | Ljutyi | 29 | Winter | Foarmonat (January) - Hornmonat (February) |
| 3 | Brezen | 30 | Winter | Hornmonat (February) - Lenzmonat (March) |
| 4 | Cviten | 29 | Spring | Lenzmonat (March) - Gersmonat (April) |
| 5 | Travien | 30 | Spring | Gersmonat (April) - Winnemonat (May) |
| 6 | Czerven | 29 | Spring | Winnemonat (May) - Brachmonat (June) |
| 7 | Lypenec | 30 | Summer | Brachmonat (June) - Heumonat (July) |
| 8 | Srpanj | 29 | Summer | Heumonat (July) - Erntemonat (August) |
| 9 | Kinjavec | 30 | Summer | Erntemonat (August) - Herbstmonat (September) |
| 10 | Zhovtin | 29 | Autumn | Herbstmonat (September) - Weinmonat (October) |
| 11 | Kolijen | 30 | Autumn | Weinmonat (October) - Slachtmonat (November) |
| 12 | Hruden | 29 | Autumn | Slachtmonat (November) - Wintermonat (December) |
| 13 | Chorżyc | 29/30 | Varies | Leap Month |
Holidays
More to come!