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Post by Bob (DM) on Jan 14, 2014 18:07:48 GMT -5
The year in Zaidan is 308 days long, and is divided into 12 months of 24 days and 20 intercalary festival days. The year begins on the first day after the second new moon after the winter solstice. Year NamesThe Zaidanese name the years rather than number them. Each year is given a unique name after it ends. The name is usually, but not always, related to some major event of that year. Since the years are not named until after they are over, when referring to the current year the year name is either omitted or replaced with the phrase “the Current Year” (Honnendo) in daily usage, however in things like formal documents and decrees the year is denoted by using the word Yokunen (which means “the year following”) followed by the name of the previous year. As an example, if the previous year was named the Year Without Storks, documents would be dated The Year Following the Year Without Storks (Yokunen no Konotori no Nai Toshi). MonthsZaidanese months are each 24 days long each named after some activity or phenomenon usually associated withthat time of year. They are, in order: Samasutsuki (Awakening Moon), Uerutsuki (Planting Moon), Hanatsuki (Flowering Moon), Haerutsuki (Growing Moon), Minorutsuki (Ripening Moon), Karutsuki (Reaping Moon), Karitsuki (Hunting Moon), Kiritsuki (Misty Moon), Ametsuki (Rainy Moon), Arashitsuki (Stormy Moon), Shimogatsuki (Frosty Moon), and Yukitsuki (Snowy Moon).
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Post by Bob (DM) on Jan 14, 2014 18:09:02 GMT -5
Festivals There are seven great festivals in the Zaidanese calendar which are not considered to be part of any month. They are, in order:
Boto no Iwai (Opening Festival) This festival is a celebration of the beginning of the new year, it occurs before the beginning of the Month of Budding. It consists of two days: - Kojibi (Day of the Proclamation): At dawn on this day the Spirit Master of the Yame Taisho in Yurihama announces the official beginning of the new year and gives the previous year it’s name. The day is taken up with various rituals performed at all shrines to insure the favour of the Gods for the coming year. - Shonichi (First Day): This is the first official day of the year and it is celebrated with feasts and parties.
Haru no Iwai (Spring Festival) This festival marks the beginning of spring. It falls between the Months of Budding and Planting and consists of three days: - Haruyu (The Eve of Spring) - Shunbun (The Spring Equinox) - Rissgun (The First Day of Spring)
Natsu no Iwai (Summer Festival) This festival marks the beginning of summer and it falls between the Month of Growing and the Month of Ripening. It consists of three days: - Natsuyu (The Eve of Summer) - Geshitan (The Summer Solstice) - Rikka (The First Day of Summer)
Shukaku no Iwai (Harvest Festival) This festival, which follows the end of the Month of Reaping celebrates the harvest. It consists of four days. - Hanseibi (Day of Reflection): This day is devoted to the contemplation of one’s deeds over the previous year. - Shazaibi (Day of Atonement): This day is the day on which to make amends for the wrongs that one has committed in the previous year. - Saishibi (Day of Rituals): This day is taken up with solemn rituals of thanksgiving for the successful harvest. - Matsuribi (Day of Feasting): This final day of the festival is given over to feasting and celebrations.
Aki no Iwai (Autumn Festival) This festival marks the beginning of autumn. It falls between the Month of Hunting and the Month of Mists and consists of three days: - Akiyu (The Eve of Autumn) - Shunbun (The Autumn Equinox) - Risshu (The First Day of Autumn)
Toki no Iwai (Winter Festival) This festival marking the beginning of winter precedes the Month of Frosts. It consists of three days: - Tokiyu (The Eve of Winter) - Toji (The Winter Solstice) - Ritto (The First Day of Winter)
Saishu no Iwai (Closing Festival) This festival occurs after the last day of the Month of Snowing and it marks the end of the year. It consists of two days: - Nenmetsu (Year’s End) which is devoted to ritual purification ceremonies in preparation for the following two days. - Saigomisoka (The Last Dark Night) which is devoted to prayers and rituals to insure that the sun rises the next day to start the new year culminating in an all night vigil that generally involves a lot of sake drinking.
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Post by Bob (DM) on Jan 14, 2014 18:09:35 GMT -5
The following table lists the festivals and months in order. Boto no iwai (Opening Festival) Kojibi (Day of the Proclamation) Shonichi (First day) Moetsuki (Month of Budding) Haru no iwai (Spring Festival) Haruyu (Eve of Spring) Shunbun (Spring Equinox) Risshun (First Day of Spring) Uerutsuki (Month of Planting) Hanatsuki (Month of Flowering) Haerutsuki (Month of Growing) Natsu no iwai (Summer Festival) Natsuyu (Eve of Summer) Geshiten (Summer Solstice) Rikka (First Day of Summer) Minorutsuki (Month of Ripening) Karutsuki (Month of Reaping) Shukaku no iwai (Harvest Festival) Hanseibi (Day of Reflection) Shazaibi (Day of Atonement) Saishibi (Day of Rituals) Matsuribi (Day of Feasting) Karitsuki (Month of Hunting) Aki no iwai (Autumn Festival) Akiyu (Eve of Autumn) Shubun (Autumn Equinox) Risshu (First day of Autumn) Kiritsuki (Month of Mists) Ametsuki (Month of Raining) Arashitsuki (Month of Storms) Toki no iwai (Winter Festival) Tokiyu (Eve of Winter) Toji (Winter Solstice) Ritto (First Day of Winter) Shimotsuki (Month of Frosts) Yukitsuki (Month of Snowing) Saishu no iwai (Closing Festival) Nenmatsu (Year's End) Saigomisoka (Last Dark Night)
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Post by Bob (DM) on Jan 14, 2014 18:13:29 GMT -5
Weeks The Zaidanese divide each month into three 8-day weeks, named Saishoshu (First Week), Chubushu (Middle Week), and Saigoshu (Last Week). NOTE: This does not affect War Moves; each Declare War action still gets you 4 War Moves.
Days The days of the weeks are named for the order in which they occur in the week, as follows: Ichinobi (1st Day), Ninobi (2nd Day), Sannobi (3rd day), Shinobi (4th day), Gonobi (5th day), Rokunobi (6th day), Shichinobi (7th Day), and Hachinobi (8th day).
Dates The Zaidanese method of dating is somewhat cumbersome as it consists of giving the day, the week, the month, and the year. For example, the 21st day of the 4th month of a year named for a yellowish rainfall would be the 5th day of the Last Week of the Month of Growing in the year of the Yellow Rain (Gonobi no Saigoshu no Haerutsuki de Kiiroi Ame no Toshi). Festivals are recorded by combining the name of the day and the year, for example; the Day of Rituals in the year of the Yellow Rain (Saishobi de Kiiroi Ame no Toshi). To further complicate things, neither Saigomisoka nor Kijobi are considered part of any year, so when referring to them the usage is “the Last Dark Night After the Year of X” ( Saigomisoka Nengo X no Toshi) and “The Day of the Proclamation of the year X” (Kijobi no X no Toshi), where X is the name of the preceding year that was named in the proclamation .
When referring to future dates the years are counted from the current year using the Yokunen method, thus, if a treaty or contract that was to expire in four years was signed in the year after the Year of the Great Fire, its expiration date would be would be written as “Three Years After the Year Following the Year of the Great Fire” (San Nengo Yokunen no Dai Kasai no Toshi).
Note: This very clumsy dating system is just for flavour and players are not expected to use it when writing orders and so on, though they are both welcome and encouraged to do so when writing in character. For game purposes dates can be written in the following format: Day #/Week#/Month Name/Year#, with the game beginning in the year 420. Festival days can be similarly simplified for play. Example: Assuming that the starting year is the one following the Year of the Yellow Rain, the date in the explanation above would be written as 5/3/Growing/419, and the Festival could be noted as Rituals/419.
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Post by Bob (DM) on Jan 14, 2014 18:15:02 GMT -5
Seasons The seasons in Zaidan are tied to the solstices and equinoxes, however the equinoxes and solstices themselves are not considered to belong to any season, so the seasons run from the day following the appropriate astronomical event to the eve of the next season. Haru (Spring): Risshun – Natsuyu (74 days) Natsu (Summer): Rikko – Akiyu (78 days) Aki (Autumn): Risshu – Tokiyu (74 days) Toki (Winter): Ritto – Haryu (78 days)
Lunar Cycles While the months are called “Moons” they do not coincide with the lunar cycle which is 28 days long, however, they do sync up over the course of the year so that the phase of the moon is always the same on any given date.
Domain Turns The domain turns represent the following time periods. The 1st DT runs from the Day of the Proclamation to the end of the Month of Flowering (77 days); the 2nd DT runs from the beginning of the Month of Growing to the end of the Month of Reaping (75 days); the 3rd DT starts with the beginning of the Harvest Festival and runs till the end of the Month of Mists (79 days); and the 4th DT runs from the beginning of the Month of Raining to the end of the year (77 days).
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