Calendars

## Southern Pantheon Calendar

This calendar is attached the religion of the Southern Pantheon, and is as the standard calendar for any area that follows the religion.

A year in this calendar is broken up into 12 equal months of 28 days, and every season is highlighted by a weeklong festival, the fourth day of which falls on a seasonal equinox.

## Witherlands Calendar

The Order of the Frozen Gods and, therefore, the feudal society of the Witherlands uses a lunisolar calendar in daily life and for religious activities. Months are counted from new moon to new moon; in particular, the “dark moon”, or the last visible waning crescent before a new moon, is traditionally counted as the start of a new month. Due to the calendar being based on moon sightings, months may vary from around twenty-nine to thirty days. There are no weeks in the Frozen Gods’ calendar; thus, events are counted day by day. Additionally, diverse weather conditions throughout the Witherlands may cause villagers from one region to be several days ahead or behind those from other areas of the kingdom. However, vagrohls have the final say in deciding the beginning of a new month, and annums are decided objectively by a council of arch and eldervagrohls ahead of time so that dates throughout the kingdom are kept in sync. There are typically twelve months in a calendar year, though a thirteenth month is inserted every second or third year in order to keep the calendar parallel with the seasons.

The Frozen Order’s calendar is composed of two seasons. The auroral season, which lasts six to seven months, corresponds with the frigid winter of the Witherlands. During this time, the climate is harsh, cold, and blustery, and there is little to no daylight. The northernmost parts of the Witherlands are, during the auroral season, submerged in utter darkness. However, due to the darkness and the cold, auroras are particularly common during this season, and the glittering spectacle of lights from the far north may be bright enough to light a traveller’s way during a cold Withic winter. The northern regions of the Witherlands often experience daily, almost neverending auroras, but some of the more temperate southern regions may only see them weekly, in conjunction with having slightly more daylight hours in which to work. The winter solstice, the coldest and dimmest day of the year, in which the great majority of the Witherlands is covered in complete, twenty-four-hour darkness, marks the beginning of the new year for the religion of the Frozen Gods. Those who count their birthday typically do it by the number of new years they have witnessed, e.g. “I have lived thirty years”.

The warmer summer season is known as dawnfall and also occurs during approximately a six-month period. During this time of year, the far north of the Witherlands experiences full sunlight twenty-four hours a day. The phenomenon known as the midnight sun, in which the sun dips only slightly below the horizon before rising once more, gives rise to the moniker of “dawnfall”. The constant sunlight causes great glaciers on the coast to weep and crash into the waves, just as it causes more temperate regions of the Witherlands to lose their auroral coating of snow and creates the opportunity to plant crops and allow animals to graze. This is the time that is most closely associated with agriculture and with harvest. However, despite the generally warmer temperatures and longer daylight hours, much of the Witherlands still remains cold, often below freezing, even during dawnfall; while thin sheets of ice and snow may melt, the majority of the kingdom’s land stays in permafrost.

### Holidays

#### Hogcock

Hogcock is a holiday celebrated throughout the entire continent of Marin, including the Witherlands. Though this holiday does not have anything to do with the Frozen Gods, the Order does not officially discourage people from celebrating it. During Hogcock, which generally occurs during the auroral month of Rosten, the demonic and elusive entity known as Yaggm is said to go from kingdom to kingdom, stuffing those who have been badly behaved throughout the calendar year into large knapsacks to drag them to a location where they can be taught the error of their ways. Sometimes, Yaggm is said to bring useful, though never extravagant, gifts to the most well-behaved civilians. On Hogcock, families gather and warring soldiers put down their arms to stave off Yaggm’s wrath, marking it as a time juxtaposed by unlikely peace and underlying fear.

#### Astaa

The Withic New Year, also known as Astaa, lies on the day of the winter solstice, though the whole lunar month preceding it bears its name. Astaa is the most important holiday in the calendar year, and it is characterized by stark ritual and joyous celebration. Vagrohls travel to town squares and well-known ritual grounds to hold long, intricate prayer sessions, which involve numerous blessings and offerings to the gods. The Withic often spend ten hours in prayer. Each believer is supposed to contribute something valued to the gods, whether that be a slaughtered animal or a treasured piece of jewelry. Even children are encouraged to give up items, so that they may know devotion and loss from an early age. In this way, Astaa teaches piety, penitence, and the importance of coping with hardship in the year ahead.

After a long prayer session which stresses the both supreme divinity of the gods and the importance of spiritual purification, the new year celebrations truly begin. The feasts which occur after the Astaa prayers are immense and often filled with the most luxurious foods a family can afford. Though a single family may dine together, other times an entire village may gather at one hall to celebrate as a collective. Typically, meals include mulled wine and good moonshine, alongside fresh delicacies, like fish roe or ripe, suckling pigs, which Withic people cannot commonly afford. Astaa is a day of both purity and decadence, and the finest luxuries are typically saved for the new year feast. These meals are rife with promises and toasts to the year ahead.

Children and adults alike are encouraged to stay awake to enjoy the games and the revelry which occur during an Astaa celebration. Though officially discouraged by the Order, gambling and fortune telling both abound, and many coins are won or lost at Astaa celebrations. Magicians or other entertainers may be hired, particularly to put on light shows, which can either be spectacles of fire or otherwise miniature auroras that illuminate the dark solstice sky. The night traditionally ends with the eldest member of the gathering reciting, as best they can, the Frozen Gods' origin story and expressing hope for both the fulfillment of the ultimate prophecy of the Frozen Gods and for the bright future of the year to come.

#### Tehras

Tehras is a month-long period of purification, celibacy, and fasting, which invites people to seek enlightenment through asceticism before the coming harvest. The first believers may have celebrated Tehras out of physical need; the climate in the Witherlands is cold and brutal, and food stores may run low if one is not careful. However, this tradition is the most important fasting period in the Withic calendar, and it is obligatory for all who can fast to do so.

The Order believes in spiritual purity and ritual purification. Being at one with the Frozen Gods traditionally involves shirking material pleasures, and this is especially emphasized during Tehras, which is seen as a holy month. From the first to the last day of the month, followers of the Frozen Gods are encouraged to fast. Traditionally, the fasts last from twilight to sunup. During this period, believers are not allowed any food or drink. They are also encouraged to fast for longer if they are able to, particularly if they live in an area with greater sun exposure. Likewise, the devout are encouraged to refrain from other sources of worldly pleasure, such as sexual relations, intoxicating substances, luxurious adornments, and sometimes even heady scents, like perfume. Those who are unable to fast due to medical necessity are still obligated to participate in daily prayer and abstain from other harmful vices.

Vagrohls also may choose to withdraw from their formal duties during the month of Tehras, in order to make yearly pilgrimage or attend an annual council of the eldervagrohls, which is held in Sector Shardmoor during the tenth day of Tehras. Pilgrimages during this time are common, and ritual seclusion and coming of age ceremonies are particularly popular, as it is seen as a month of enhanced spirituality and holiness in the eyes of the gods.

#### Hallas

Hallas is a dawnfall holiday which occurs during the month of Hosting. It is, for many people, the most jubilant holiday of the Withic calendar, as it marks the celebration of the harvest. After the month-long fast of Tehras and a fortnight or so of reprieve, Hallas occurs during day fifteen of the month of Hosting and lasts for three days and four nights. During this time, the Withic do, of course, pray to the Frozen Gods, but prayer is often perfunctory, consisting of the day and night prayers and mealtime expressions of gratitude. The main events of Hallas are the celebratory ones: festivals, song, dance, and gift-giving, which may include anything from extravagant bounties to little trinkets for children. The Order of the Frozen Gods collects a large sum of tithes during Hallas, as well, as charity is one of the most highly praised virtues during the holiday.

Large meals are cooked to celebrate the harvest, often with foods only freshly collected from the ground. It is customary for Withic nobility to either invite citizenry to a tremendous party or to ride to nearby villages, handing out crops and food-stuffs to their citizens from the lord or lady’s own larder. Generally, the celebration is associated with thanksgiving, praise, celebration, and goodwill, alongside devout proclamations of gratitude for the bounty of the Frozen Gods.