Calendar

There are 364 days in a Ataland year. The year is divided in to 12 months, with 3 months in each of the 4 seasons. The first and last month of a season is 4 weeks long. Middle months are 5 weeks long. A week is 7 days and there are 52 weeks in a year.

Months

The months have the same name is most the major languages.

Spring
- Gaialon (4 weeks)
- Gaialos (5 weeks)
- Gaialor (4 weeks)
Summer
- Solilon (4 weeks)
- Solilos (5 weeks)
- Solilor (4 weeks)
Autumn
- Caspilon (4 weeks)
- Caspilos (5 weeks)
- Capilor (4 weeks)
Winter
- Halgalon (4 weeks)
- Halgalos (5 weeks)
- Halgalor (4 weeks)

Days of the week

The days of the week are named differently in different languages. However, most people stick to the common versions to avoid ambiguity.

Firstday
Secondday
Thirdday
Fourthday
Fifthday
Sixthday
Lastday

The Ataland calendar is the same every year. So every year starts on a Firstdday, and every Solilor the 13th is a Sixthday, etc.

Year Calendar

Observances

A note about Dwarves

Dwarves traditionally build their settlements beneath mountains and hills and therefore their society places much less emphases on the passing of seasons. The Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, Autumn Equinox, Harvest Feast and Winter Solstice are minor fixtures in the dwarven calendar at best, or even ignored entirely.

New Year's Day - 1st of Gaialon (Firstday)

The first day of the year isn't marked by any particular ceremonies. The devout often offer up a prayer to their deity for the upcoming year.

Spring Equinox - 11th of Gaialon (Fourthday)

Alternatively known as Sowing Day or Market Day. The earliest day of the year in which seeds can be sown. After a hard day working the fields, farmers celebrate with a feasts and bonfires.

In town squares, this is the day the markets reopen. The remaining food preserves are sold at discount prices, while artisans unveil the handiwork they crafted over the winter months.

Festival of Rebirth - 20th of Gaialos (Sixthday)

This festival marks the re-emergence of life after the harsh winter months. Children look forward to this celebration as it centres on their entertainment and amusement. Adults of all races traditionally organise sports and games. Dwarves have colourful gunpowder displays created by mixing certain metals into blasting powder. Human children are given sweet pies and hot malt drinks. Gnome parents sometimes gift their offspring with a new name on this date.

Summer Solstice - 3rd of Solilon (Thirdday)

A particularly important observance for druids and followers of Solina, the summer solstice is the longest day of the year. Rural villages decorate their squares with flowers and sun-discs, and perform folk dances. Some larger towns have a summer fayre, inviting entertainers and merchants both local and foreign.

Midsummers Day - 14th of Solilos (Lastday)

Also known as Lover's Day. It is a day for couples to spend time in each other's company with an intimate meal or romantic day-trip. Others may take advantage of the day to confess their romantic intentions with a gift. Humans, Elves, Gnomes and Halflings prefer flowers. Dwarves give locks (while keeping the key.) Otterfolk give smooth river-tumbled stones, a tradition from their animal ancestors.

Candle-Night - 27th of Solilor (Sixthday)

A dwarven specific tradition where darkness is warded away with the lighting of candles. Each dwarf lights dozens of candles and places them about their own home and in public spaces. In larger dwarven mines tens of thousands of candles may be lit. This gives normally dim mines the effect of a starry night. Even dwarves that have settled above ground maintain this tradition, lighting a half-dozen candles about their sleeping area.

Autumn Equinox - 1st of Caspilon (Firstday)

Also known as the Festival of the Moon, the Autumn Equinox celebrates the summer harvests. Popular with Halflings and Elves, it is traditionally celebrated with the baking and gifting of heavy short-crust pies filled with sweet fruits and eggs.

Treaty Day - 31st of Caspilos (Thirdday)

Anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Ataland and the end of the Great Faction War. In larger towns, the day is marked by dry speeches from dusty politicians exalting the benefits of inter-factional cooperation. In villages and hamlets, the day passes without note.

Harvest Feast - 5th of Capilor (Fifthday)

The harvest feast is a celebration of the final harvests, as food is being persevered before winter. This festival is celebrated by most of Ataland, save dwarves who are less reliant on large-scale agriculture. The Harvest Feast is an especially important day for followers of Marlon, a patron of farmers. Large community feasts are held with locals donating food that cannot be kept over winter.

Winter Solstice - 2nd of Halgalon (Secondday)

The winter solstice is the longest night of the year. Since ancient times the people Ataland recognised this as the turning point in winter, and believed it to be the night that Gaia persuades Halganon to begin his journey back to the mountains. It is common for families to create figurines and put out dioramas showing which of the various ways they think the goddess may have turned the giant back to his bed.

In the remote areas where giants still live, a hunt is sometimes arranged by nearby villagers. Adventurers beware, while the prizes for these hunts sound generous, on this of all nights, the giants of Ataland will be expecting trouble.

Day of the Dead - 7th of Halgalos (Lastday)

For most of the peoples of Ataland, Day of the Dead is a subdued time of reflection, where ancestors are honoured and the recently past remembered and mourned. Graves are tended, or temporary shrines constructed as a focal point for gifts of food, drink, and incense. In regions where Xor is dominant, a focus is put on remembering war heroes. For followers of Kalis, however, this tradition is considered a subversion - the devout paint their faces as skulls, and conduct blood sacrifice ceremonies with singing and dancing, to honour and appease The Herald of Corruption. For them, the dead are gone, but the bringer of death is forever.

New Year's Eve - 28th of Halgalor (Lastday)

New Year Eve is a night of celebration and excess for all the peoples of Ataland. Alcohol, music and jubilance are common as everybody collectively bids their goodbyes to the preceding year. Elves sing poems of the years events, while humans and dwarves compete to drink each other under the table. Otterfolk have large gatherings of extended families.

« Setting guide Pantheon »