BRCS:Chapter four/Gods and religion/Time, seasons, and holidays

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See Also: Time, seasons, and holidays - A rewrite of this section of the [[BRCS]]

Time is measured differently depending on where in Cerilia one happens to be. The Brecht measure time by tide and moon, while the Khinasi track the passage of days, months and years by the position of the sun. The Vos generally don't care about days or months - they measure time by the naming of years, with the first snowfall after a brief summer beginning a new year.

One of the lasting legacies of the Anuirean Empire is the standardization that it brought to the realms in its far-reaching domain. Although most regions of Cerilia still maintain a local calendar, scholars consider the Anuirean calendar to be the standard for marking the passage of time. Anuireans base their calendar on the orbit of the moon and the movement of the constellation of Haelyn, the protector. The Anuirean Book of Days defines twelve months to a year, four weeks to a month, and eight days to a week. A year has 388 days. The four annual days not part of any month have become times to celebrate and reflect. These days fall upon the vernal equinox (the Day of Rebirth), the Summer solstice (The Night of Fire, when a show of falling stars results from the annual passage
through a meteor belt), the autumnal equinox (the Veneration of the Sleeping), and the winter solstice (the Eve of the Dead).

The 12 months of the Anuirean calendar begin with the Day of Rebirth, the vernal equinox. The month Sarimiere is the first of the new year, followed by Talienir, then Roelir. After Haelyn's Festival, the month of Haelynir begins. Anarire and Deismir (named for the Godswar's final battle) follow in succession, with the Veneration of the Sleeping next. Erntenir, the month of harvest, leads to Sehnir, then Emmanir, just before the Eve of the Dead. Then comes the coldest month, Keltier, which flows into Faniele, then Pasiphiel, and again, the Day of Rebirth.

Table 4-4: Cycle of the year

Month	Name	Common name
	Day of Rebirth / New Year	Spring Equinox
1	Sarimiere	Spring I
2	Talienir	Spring II
3	Roelir	Spring III
	Night of Fire / Haelyn's Festival	Summer Solstice
4	Haelynir	Summer I
5	Anarire	Summer II
6	Deismir	Summer III
	Veneration of the Sleeping	Vernal Equinox
7	Erntenir	Fall I
8	Sehnir	Fall II
9	Emmanir	Fall III
	Eve of the Dead	Winter Solstice
10	Keltier	Winter I
11	Faniele	Winter II
12	Pasiphiel	Winter III
	Day of Rebirth / New Year	Spring Equinox

Anuireans devote six of the week's eight days to work, giving the remainder over to leisure. The days, from work's beginning to rest's end, are: Firlen, Renlen, Dielen, Varilen, Branlen, Barlen, Mierlen, and Taelen.

Table 4-5: Days of the week

Day	Name	Common name
1	Firlen	Firstday
2	Relen	Secondday
3	Dielen	Thirdday
4	Varilen	Forthday
5	Branlen	Fifthday
6	Barlen	Sixthday
7	Mierlen	Seventhday/Restday
8	Thelen	Eighthday/Godsday

Aebrynis's days are 24 hours long, divided into night and day by the setting of the sun. The length of the night varies by season. Throughout most of Cerilia, the Festival of Rebirth sees almost 16 hours of daylight, whereas the Eve of the Dead sees as little as 8. Aebrynis's moon has a 32-day period, thus each month of the Anuirean calendar is exactly four 8-day weeks. Each month starts with the new moon, the moon waxes as the month progresses and then wanes as the month draws to a close.

Table 4-6: Phases of the moon

Day	Phase of the Moon
32, 1, 2	New
8, 9, 10	Crescent (waxing)
16, 17, 18	Full moon
24, 25, 26	Crescent (waning)
32, 1, 2	New

Almost 2,000 years after the destruction of the old gods, Anuire's current yearly reckoning is 551 Michaeline (551 MR) or 551 after the death of Michael Roele, last Emperor of Anuire. In Khinasi lands, the year is 2039 MA (dating from the Masetian Arrival in Cerilia). In certain other parts of Cerilia, the year is 1524 HC (Haelyn's Count), recording the years since the battle of Mount Deismaar.

The 22nd day of Deismir (sixthday in the third week of Summer III) is celebrated through Cerilia as the anniversary of
the Godswar. In much of Cerilia, the celebrations focus not on the battle of Mount Deismaar, but rather on the ascent of the current gods to divinity.

The noble warrior god Haelyn is the protector and brother to Roele, the founder of the Anuirean Empire. Naturally, the astronomers based in the City of Anuire in those long-ago days chose the constellation of Haelyn to help them measure time. This constellation, six stars high, looks like a warrior en garde and is fully visible from southern Anuire at the summer solstice. With each passing month after this solstice, one star slips below the southern horizon. When the last star -- Haelyn's head, or the Crown of glory -- falls beneath the horizon, the Eve of the Dead has come. Haelyn's constellation hides only for the single night of the winter solstice, but it's a night of frantic prayer, for many fear the Shadow World's influence grows strongest when Haelyn's constellation does not watch over his people. Of course, Anuireans living farther north must endure even more time away from Haelyn's gaze (and longer nights). As protection from the Shadow World, people in the north also venerate other deities, particularly Erik.

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