Difference between revisions of "Calendar"

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= Further reading =
 
= Further reading =
* The '''[[Calendar/Seven calendars|seven calendars]]'''
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* The '''[[Seven Calendars]]'''
  
 
= Notes =
 
= Notes =

Revision as of 16:37, 23 May 2019

Navigation: Main Page Lore Calendar




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This article or section contains lore-related information.
Though not strictly necessary for playing the game, you are encouraged to read this section if you wish to have a better understanding of the game's universe.


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Please ask the following users for permission before editing this page: Tempest
Unfinished, not proofread yet.


Though the Mazes use a calendar that is very similar to that of the real world, there are still a number of differences, which will be explained in detail in this page.

Periods of time in a single day

See Time for more information.


Era system

There have been a number of periods of time throughout the History of the Mazes where the calendar was symbolically reset to year zero. As of today, the calendar has been reset six times, making the current era Era 7, and the current year is Year 704. Usually, when referring to the current year, all that is needed is to simply say "704" or "year 704", however if the era number must be specified, such as in historical contexts, it is possible to add the prefix "E" followed by the era number. As such, the extended form of the current year is Era 7, Year 704 or E7-704.

Calendar resets meant going all the way back to the first day of the first month, in what would then become another year 0. Every time they occurred, regardless of what the day of the week was on the last day of last year, the first day of the first year in a new era is also automatically reset to an Advenday. There is much symbolism in doing so, but generally it is because it is considered lucky (see below for more details).


Calendar system

The calendar used in the Mazes possesses 365 days and 12 months, very similar to the real world. However, there is a number of key differences:

  • Unique names for each day of the week and each month of the year.
  • Because the Mazes do not significantly change the way an "outside" world would (no changes in weather, ecology, or daylight), there are no real seasons. The concept of a 'season' is really just a symbolic three-month period.
  • No leap years - every year is strictly 365 days, similar to the Egyptian civil calendar.
  • Certain months are 31 days, others are 30 days, with the exception of the second month being 28 days - just like a regular Gregorian Calendar non-leap year.
  • Every week is 7 days.

Days

Every day of the week is named after either one of the five classical elements (Wood, fire, earth, metal, and water), or after words synonymous with beginning (Advent) and end (Break).

xth day of the week 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th
Mazes name (Common) Advenday Woodsday Firesday Earthsday Metalsday Watersday Breakday
Mazes name (Youkai)a 初曜日 (Shoyoubi) 木曜日 (Mokuyoubi) 火曜日 (Kayoubi) 地曜日 (Chiyoubi) 金曜日 (Kinyoubi) 水曜日 (Suiyoubi) 終曜日 (Shuuyoubi)
Real world name Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
Symbolic color White Green Red Brown Yellow Blue Black

Each day of the week is tied to a certain amount of symbolism; they are given colors and a number of traits and attributes, which are part of popular folklore and superstition, the importance of which may vary greatly between individuals, depending on their upbringing and personal beliefs.

  • Advenday is a lucky day for those who are starting (or resuming) new work or projects (such as starting a new assignment, or starting a new painting). It is the day of beginnings, just as the week begins.
  • Woodsday is a lucky day for meetings, discussions, negotiations. It is the day for talking and connecting with others.
    • Bars and drinking establishments traditionally use wooden furniture - particularly the bar counter - for this reason. Happy hours are typically thrown on a Woodsday as well.
  • Firesday is a lucky day for martial activities and those who are expecting training (or actual fighting). It is considered to be a good day to train, practice drills, and prepare for combat.
  • Earthsday is a lucky day for making important decisions, for solving problems, and generally speaking planning and committing to changes. It is considered to be the day to put plans and projects in motion, and turn wishes into reality.
    • Both Angelic and Demonic faith consider that if you have a wish to make to their respective deities, you should come to their shrine/sanctum on an Earthsday.
  • Metalsday is a lucky day for trading and doing business, and generally speaking the "money" day. It is considered auspicious for making important sales and purchases, and it is particularly lucky to be paid on a Metalsday. These are the reasons why Metalsday is assigned the color yellow, as it reminds one of the color of gold.
    • In Youkai culture, Metalsday is translated to 金曜日 (kinyoubi). The kanji (kin) can mean "metal" in the elemental sense, but it is most commonly translated to "gold". Therefore, kinyoubi transliterates to "Golden day" or "Day of gold".
  • Watersday is a lucky day for learning, studying, mental and spiritual pursuits of any kind. It is also more generally considered to be a good day to reflect on, and learn from the past.
    • Libraries usually announce new releases and books on Watersday. Angelic shrines and Demonic sanctums tend to hold sermons on Watersday as well.
  • Breakday is a lucky day for those who are ending work, those who seek to take a break (hence the name) from their endeavors, and more generally, for relaxing, resting, and taking it easy.
    • Although every day of the week is typically worked by most inhabitants of the Mazes, the 'break' symbolism comes all the way from a royal decree in Era 4 by King Silfazril of the Silverlight Kingdom, which decreed that working on the last day of the week was outlawed, in order to encourage spending time with family, visiting the nearest shrines/sanctums, and resting to prepare for work on the next day.

Weeks

Weeks are made up of seven days each.

Weeks are not named, but they are sometimes numbered, from 1 to 52, usually on calendars and on certain time management computer programs.

Months

Months are made up of either 30 or 31 days, with the exception of the second month, Duplima, being made up of 28 years. This specific combination appears to have been chosen in order to ensure that every single year starts and ends on the same day of the week, therefore creating only seven possible calendar permutations (see Years below).

In Common, the names for the twelve months of the year are based on Old Tongue words for ordinal numbers. The Youkai language names ended up being adapted from their own words for numbers followed by their word for month (, gatsu, which can also mean "moon"), making the general meaning the same.

xth month of the year 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th
Mazes name (Common) Prima Duplima Triema Quartema Pentema Hexema Heptima Octama Nonama Decima Penultima Ultima
Mazes name (Youkai) 一月 (Ichigatsu) 二月 (Nigatsu) 三月 (Sangatsu) 四月 (Shigatsu) 五月 (Gogatsu) 六月 (Rokugatsu) 七月 (Shichigatsu) 八月 (Hachigatsu) 九月 (Kugatsu) 十月 (Juugatsu) 十一月 (Juuichigatsu) 十二月 (Juuichigatsu)
Amount of days 31 28 31 30 31 30 31 31 30 31 30 31
Real world name January February March April May June July August September October November December

Seasons

The world of the Mazes does not significantly change with variations in weather or sunlight in the few areas where the outside can be seen. Therefore, there are no seasons to speak of.
The term "season" refers to largely symbolic groups of months - usually trimesters. Their signficance varies depending on culture.

Angelic faith recognizes four seasons of three months each, based on each one of their deities:

  • The black season or season of the Black Tortoise
  • The blue season (sometimes azure season) or season of the Azure Dragon
  • The red season (sometimes scarlet season or vermilion season), or season of the Vermilion Bird
  • The white season or season of the White Tiger

Youkai culture re-uses Angelic faith season names, simply translating the Angelic season names and deity names into their language, as follows:

  • Black season: 黒季節 (kurokisetsu)
  • Black Tortoise: 玄武 (Genbu)
  • Therefore, Season of the Black Tortoise: 玄武の季節 (Genbu no kisetsu)
Season name (Common) Black Blue/Azure Red/Scarlet/Vermilion White
Season name (Youkai, color) 黒季節
(kurokisetsu)
青季節
(aokisetsu)
赤季節
(akakisetsu)
白季節
(shirokisetsu)
Season name (Youkai, deity) 玄武の季節
(Genbu no kisetsu)
青龍の季節
(Seiryuu no kisetsu)
朱雀の季節
(Suzaku no kisetsu)
白虎の季節
(Genbu no kisetsu)

Years

In such a calendar system, years start and end on the same day of the week. With no leap years, there are therefore only seven different possible permutations of the calendar. Each such permutation is given a name, corresponding to the name of the day that year started on. For example, the current year, Year 704, is a Year of Metal.

Year started on... Advenday Woodsday Firesday Earthsday Metalsday Watersday Breakday
Year name (Common) Advent year Year of Wood Year of Fire Year of Earth Year of Metal Year of Water Break year
Year number calculation 0 or divisible by 7 Last Advent year +1 Last Advent year +2 Last Advent year +3 Last Advent year +4 Last Advent year +5 Last Advent year +6


Further reading

Notes

  • a: Many of these names are very similar if not identical to the name of certain days of the week in real-world Japanese - for instance, 木曜日 (mokuyobi) also exists, however in the real world it corresponds to the fourth day of the week (Thursday). In the Mazes, it corresponds to the second day of the week (Woodsday, or the equivalent of Tuesday).