Wordman/FirstAgeCalendar

Very little mention is made in canon about the calendar used during the First Age. This is my guess on how it might work.

Like much of the rest of the First Age, the calendar that tracked its time has fallen into disuse and is largely forgotten. Even the spirits that represent its components have largely been co-opted into other tasks. Even so, it was the primary method of tracking the days for the vast majority of Creation's history.

Structure

Like the Imperial Calendar that followed it, the First Age calendar divides the year into five seasons of equal length, followed by a five day period called, as now, the Calibration. In the first age, however, the 25 constellations of the celestial zodiac formed the basis of the calendar, rather than the modern use of the five elements. The seasons are based on the astrological houses. Within each season are five months, based on the constellations within the house. Each of these months is divided into two eight day weeks. In between these months (though not at the start and end of the season) are scattered four festival days for each season, generally related to the astrological house in some manner.

Even among the few who still remember the calendar, some debate still lingers as to the relevance of the order of the months within the seasons. A popular theory is that the first month uses a constellation that acts as the "base" of the house, the second is the primary "symbol" of the house, the "center" forms the third, the fourth is the "prinicpal" actor of the house and the last is the house's "tool". Others disagree, suggesting that the order is merely the original celestial order of the constellations, each month representing when the sign reached its apex in the sky. Even if this was once true, the machinations of the sidereals now move the constellations in ways only they can predict. As a result, the calendar now bears little relation to the celestial positions of the constellations, if it ever did. This is thought to be one of the main reasons it fell out of favor.

While the calendar is easier to see in detail, a basic outline is as follows:

• The Golden Barque
  • The Mast (16 days)
  • Festival of Air (1 day)
  • The Gull (16 days)
  • Festival of Journeys (1 day)
  • The Messenger (16 days)
  • Festival of Fathers (1 day)
  • The Captain (16 days)
  • Festival of the Sun (1 day)
  • The Ship's Wheel (16 days)
• The Forbidding Manse
  • The Treasure Trove (16 days)
  • Festival of Water (1 day)
  • The Mask (16 days)
  • Festival of Secrets (1 day)
  • The Guardians (16 days)
  • Festival of Admission (1 day)
  • The Sorcerer (16 days)
  • Festival of Innovation (1 day)
  • The Key (16 days)
• The Violet Bier
  • The Haywain (16 days)
  • Festival of Earth (1 day)
  • The Corpse (16 days)
  • Festival of Release (1 day)
  • The Rising Smoke (16 days)
  • Festival of Dark Humor (1 day)
  • The Crow (16 days)
  • Festival of Ancestors (1 day)
  • The Sword (16 days)
• The Cerulean Lute
  • The Pillar (16 days)
  • Festival of Wood (1 day)
  • The Peacock (16 days)
  • Festival of Color (1 day)
  • The Ewer (16 days)
  • Festival of Mothers (1 day)
  • The Musician (16 days)
  • Festival of Love (1 day)
  • The Sword (16 days)
• The Crimson Panoply
  • The Quiver (16 days)
  • Festival of Fire (1 day)
  • The Shield (16 days)
  • Festival of Luna (1 day)
  • The Banner (16 days)
  • Festival of Sacrifice (1 day)
  • The Gauntlet (16 days)
  • Festival of Battle (1 day)
  • The Spear (16 days)
• Calibration (5 days)

Use

The months and seasons were all represented by official symbols, but no name for these symbols was considered more "correct" than the others. The second season, for example, might be referred to as "the secret season", "the forbidding time", "the season of the manse", "the Jovian months", or even with simple references like "ivy" or "green". In writing, particularly in Old Realm, it was fashionable to refer to them in oblique ways through their symbology (e.g. "when men hold their tounges" or "when vines grow over the wall". Months would often be referenced anthropomorphically, discussed as if they were what their constellation represented. Thus, someone talking about the final days of a month might say "the quiver is getting empty", "the lovers are dying" or "the musician is playing his final refrain".

While intended to be useful to everyone in Creation from the Celestial Bureaucracy to the lowest mortal, the calendar in the First Age was used by different groups in different ways. Mortal laborers generally had the first and sometimes (depending on occupation and location) the last day of each week off, as well as most festivals. The Celestial Bureaucracy always remained working, though often festivals were observed. Work generally stopped during the Calibration, but each culture tended to mark this period in their own way.

After the sidereals were created and their tasks refined, the gods originally representing the constellations and the celestial calendar became more intimately linked with the activities of the sidereals and the Loom of Fate. Over time, this became their primary purpose, with the calendar itself becoming more of a formal legacy. Thus, few of these gods were particularly interested in or threatened by the ascendancy of the Imperial Calendar.

According to the Autochthonians (pg. 24), the calendar used in the Old Realm is the same they still use.

Festivals

The various festivals carried varying significance to different parts of creation. In some places, the Festival of Innovation, for example, might be the social event of the year, while it would be barely recognized elsewhere.

Elemental Festivals

The first festival of each season celebrated a different element: air, earth, fire, water and wood. These festivals tended to be most observed by terrestrial exalts, and were probably created specifically for them. Dragon blooded families would generally have large parties on all of these festivals, but particularly on the festival of the element most closely associated with their family.

Outside of terrestrial concerns, the importance attached to the elemental festivals largely matched the region. So, for example, the Festival of Fire was often an extravagant affair in the south, but less so elsewhere. Some places took exactly the opposite stance, however, saving their largest celebrations for the elemental festival most opposite their location. This practice was most prevalent in the north, where the Festival of Fire was often the highlight of the year.

Celestial Festivals

The primary celestial gods, the Unconquered Sun and Luna, have their own festival days, which were observed nearly universally. The Maidens also each had their own festival, though some of these were more overt than others. The festivals of Battle, Journeys and, to a lesser extent, Secrets were largely about paying respect to the Maidens, or at least what they represented. The festivals of Release and Color, however, supported their Maiden more abstractly, presumably at the Maiden's behest.

The Festival of the Sun could always be counted on to be a bright, clear and relatively warm day, as a gift to Creation in the middle of a cold winter. Solars would usually hold lavish feasts for the entire day. Naturally, most Dragon Kings held the day as their most holy.

The Festival of the Moon, always held at night, was one of the few excuses for lunars to gather in large numbers, where they would feast, tell stories, share knowledge, play pranks, brawl and generally enjoy each other's company. Some lunars made a point of mixing with mortals during this festival, while others made sure to completely avoid non-lunars at all. For their part, mortals celebrated this festival in widely varied ways, though often with lanterns and costumes.

The Festival of Journeys often featured races, some of them extremely elaborate and dangerous. The day was thought to be a good time to begin a pilgrimage or relocate your family.

The Festival of Secrets saw host to thousands of masked balls all over Creation. Many also believed that any undertaking made in secret on this day would never be uncovered, so many affairs and other illicit business marked the day. Some cultures took this a step further and considered even talking about events that happened on this day as taboo. People in such societies would often use the day, therefore, to engage in behavior they would not otherwise.

The Festival of Release tended to be either a raucous bacchanal or a sombre, private affair, often within the same town. The idea was to let go of past events, bad attachments or emotional baggage and celebrate the next phase of life cleanly. Often, loved ones would visit cemeteries to say final goodbyes. Many couples or business partnerships would break up on this day. Others used the day as an opportunity for quitting drugs. Some used it for abandoning vows of celibacy or sobriety. Many created the day with celebrations intended to leave one mate and find another. Though violet was usually in evidence everywhere, the Maiden of Endings was not usually the focus of the more rowdy aspects of this festival, but often was the target of prayers requesting help in letting go.

The Festival of Color, though practice varied widely, featured art, music, dancing, socializing and pleasure. In most places, it was a pageant of beauty and parades of color and merriment. Other locations, however, paid more mind to the Maiden of Serenity and used colored cloth, lights and paper to transform their environment into tranquil, meditative spaces.

The Festival of Battle brought contests of skill, bravery and personal combat nearly everywhere. Ironically, real wars usually stopped on this day, often with many in the armies meeting on neutral ground to spar or duel.

Family Festivals

A number of festival days were dedicated to families and relationships and these were the most diversely observed. They tended to be more important in the south and for terrestrial exalts, where large families had more social importance. Some also celebrated the more abstract meanings of these festivals.

The Festival of Fathers celebrated all aspects of fatherhood. It was widely believed that coupling on this day was more likely to bear fruit, and that children so conceived would have the gender and traits that the father wanted.

Likewise, the Festival of Mothers celebrated all aspects of motherhood, with a similar belief in the mother's wishes. A significant segment of Creation used this festival as way to honor Gaia.

The Festival of Ancestors intended to honor the ghosts of those in the family. Of all the festivals, its commemoration varied the most. Observance of the festival ran the gamut from completely taking over places like Sijan, to family prayers and visits to mausoleums, to utter indifference.

The Festival of Love had similarly varied observance, but less so to each extreme. For most it was a more personal holiday. Naturally, it was a popular time for weddings, even (and, in some areas, especially) if they didn't involve love at all.

Other Festivals

The Festival of Admission came to be associated with murder and other crimes of passion, though that was not its intent. Tradition held that, on this day, people would admit secrets to those from which they were keeping them. In some places, this festival often went hand in hand with the Festival of Secrets (held two weeks earlier), where during the latter festival, people would admit to actions committed during the former. In some places, admitting to a crime on this day provided immunity from prosecution for it. Some others took the opposite tack, allowing for confessions to be extracted using means not normally allowed. A large number of mortals frequently used this day to admit having affairs, which often led to violence.

The Festival of Innovation became increasingly important in the High First Age, particularly to Twilight solars and other artificers, sorcerers and researches, who used it as an opportunity to gather in numbers and show off what they had been doing for the previous year. A number of cities vied to be the most fashionable location for such gatherings but, as is the way of such things, popularity tended to ebb and flow among all of them over the centuries. Some gatherings were limited by a general topic, such as spell creation, or were held by invitation only. Others invited the world to show off what they had done. In most of these gatherings, the standard social hierarchies, particularly among exalts, would tend to be replaced, albeit briefly, with hierarchy based on competence. Though rare, terrestrials, or even god-blooded, could (and sometimes did) become the toast of the festival by demonstrating an invention that bested the efforts of the solars for that year.

The Festival of Dark Humor held more importance to mortal children and a certain type of gods. To them, it was a day for playing tricks and general pranking. In many cultures children would wear costumes and demand treats from adults. Elaborate hoaxes were also part of the fun on this day. Some used the day as an excuse for general mayhem, particularly arson. For adult mortals, this day marked one of the few times of the year where artful criticism, or even mockery, of the gods and the exalted was tolerated. Playwrites took advantage of this more than most, and some of the best mortal contributions to the First Age are found in their words, intended to be performed on this day.

The Festival of Sacrifice largely centered around the gods, to whom sacrifices were to be made by all, even the exalted. Most cities would dedicate the day to their patron god, and many feasts would be held for various reasons. Some cultures treated the day as a more private affair, where people would offer something personal for their own reasons. A fairly large percentage of Creation's inhabitants, particularly the terrestrial exalted, considered the purpose of the day to help those less fortunate, making the sacrifice of time and effort for their benefit. Strangely, it was believed that making the final sacrifice needed to learn sorcery would fail if conducted on this day, with the operative idea being that such a sacrifice was ultimately to yourself, and thus contrary to the spirit of the day.

Comments

Interesting stuff, Wordman! I always like hyper-detailed examinations of number-based fluff. My question is this: why so many festivals? Seems like the First Age musta been a great place to party! You mentioned that festivals are of varying importance depending on the region... so does that mean I'm just over-inflating the notion of a festival in my mind? --UncleChu

Yes and no. I did intend for the First Age to be "a great place to party". What's the point of a First Age otherwise? However, when you consider festivals from the point of view of spirits (and probably some mortals) who are expected to work at least all non-festival days, it doesn't seem like there are that many. In Yu-Shan, many of the festivals would be no more (or less) important than weekends are to us. Secondly, yes some "festivals" are barely noticed in parts of Creation. As a real-world example look at All Saint's Day. This is technically a major Christian festival, but it's celebration varies widely around even the Christian world. America barely notices, instead focusing on a more secular offshoot, Halloween. In much of Europe, people visit graves, with either candles or flowers. In parts of Latin America, particularly Mexico, it is a huge holiday (the Day of the Dead). The more English-influenced countries tend to ignore it, as far as I can tell. - Wordman

Awesome, thanks for clearing that up. Kudos again for a great little project! Almost as amazing as FrivYeti's Primordial-to-Constellation connection project (called YoziPantheon or something?)! --UncleChu