The Calendar of Harptos

Faerûn uses a 365-day calendar, but now you don't have to memorize the number of days in a month!

SCAG

Structure

The Harptos calendar year consists of twelve months, each of which has three tendays.

Seasons

The seasons of the year are comparable to those IRL. Expect them to act as such, within the bounds of weather being whack due to The Dread.

Spring

Spring begins on the Spring Equinox on Ches 19 and ends on the Summer Solstice on Kythorn 19.

Summer

Summer begins on Kythorn 20 and ends on the Autumn Equinox on Eleint 20.

Autumn

Autumn begins on Eleint 21 and ends on the Winter Solstice on Nightal 19.

Winter

Winter begins on Nightal 20 and ends on Ches 18.

Holidays

The Sword Coast has six holidays, one of which occurs once every four years (don't say it Theo).

Green Grass

Occurring between Tarsakh and Mirtal, this holiday marks the celebration of spring once it is in full swing. Nobles parade through the streets, giving flowers to the less fortunate, who than either decorated their garb with them or arranged them into flora blankets outside their doors as an offering to Chauntea, wishing for summer to come soon.

Midsummer Night / The Long Night

Think Shakespeare. But everyone does it. Storms on Midsummer Night are considered bad luck.

Shieldmeet / Cinnaelos'Cor "the Day of Corellon's Peace"

Occurs every four years after Midsummer, the next one being in 1512 DR. A festival in Yartar welcomes nobles from the Lord's Alliance to host an open council between them and commoners. The council is followed by tourneys and constests, a significant attraction and the main source of income for the river town.

Higharvestide

A feast celebrating thankfulness occuring on the day between Elient and Marpenoth. Often marks the last day of a traveling family member's visit, as it is just before any mountain passes are snowed in or sea channels ice up.

The Feast of the Moon

An homage to ancestors and the honored dead occurs between Uktar and Nightal. Festivals during the day include sharing of stories and legends, prayers for the dead, and preparation for the following winter.

Midwinter / Deadwinter Day

Midwinter marks the middle of the winter season, occurring between Hammer and Alturiak. To well-to-do's and nobles, it represents a day to renew alliances, but to most it represents the cold suffering left until spring comes, thus calling it Deadwinter Day.

The most commonly used calendar in the Sword Coast counts its years based on the Dale Reckoning (DR). The Dread campaign will begin in the year 1512 DR.

The Dale Reckoning

Year 1 DR marks the event of the raising of the Standing Stone, a monolith that holds the enscription of a treaty established between the humans of the Dalelands and the elves of Cormanthyr. This treaty allowed the Dalefolk to pass through the Cormanthor Forest and settle into its more open spaces.

Years in the Forgotten Realms are often given a name based on prophecies foretold about them or major events that occurred during them. 0 DR is called the Year of Sunrise, and 1512 DR is called the Year of the Shattered Mirror.