The Hours of the Day
In large cities, temple bells toll to mark the hours, and each hour is a "bell" - counting from the hour after midnight or noon and numbering 1-12. Noon and midnight are both referred to as "12 bells," though some of the temples most concerned with precise time (Gond and Lathander, for example), have gone to a 24-bell nomenclature, where noon is 12 bells and midnight is 24 bells.
A tenday is also, though less commonly, called a ride, and consists of ten days. The days do not have names, but are instead referred to by number: first-day, second-day, and so on. Most people count using their thumbs as first-day; halflings, however, are famous for using their pinkies to count first-day, and thus the phrase "counting like a halfling" has come to mean someone is being different just to be difficult.
The months and holidays are listed below; the days of the solstices and equinoxes are:
| Month | Name | Common Name | ||
| 1 | Hammer | Deepwinter | ||
| Annual holiday: Midwinter | ||||
| 2 | Alturiak | The Claw of Winter | ||
| 3 | Ches | The Claw of the Sunsets | ||
| 4 | Tarsakh | The Claw of the Storms | ||
| Annual holiday: Greengrass | ||||
| 5 | Mirtul | The Melting | ||
| 6 | Kythorn | The Time of Flowers | ||
| 7 | Flamerule | Summertide | ||
| Annual holiday: Midsummer | ||||
| 8 | Eleasis | Highsun | ||
| 9 | Eleint | The Fading | ||
| Annual holiday: Highharvestide | ||||
| 10 | Marpenoth | Leaffall | ||
| 11 | Uktar | The Rotting | ||
| Annual holiday: The Feast of the Moon | ||||
| 12 | Nightal | The Drawing Down | ||
| 1372 DR | The Year of the Wild Magic |
| 1373 DR | The Year of the Rogue Dragons |
| 1374 DR | The Year of the Lightning Storms |
| 1375 DR | The Year of the Risen Elfkin |
| 1376 DR | The Year of the Bent Blade |
| 1377 DR | The Year of the Haunting |
| 1378 DR | The Year of the Cauldron |
| 1379 DR | The Year of the Lost Keep |
| 1380 DR | The Year of the Blazing Hand |
© Copyright Maryrita Steinhour, 2002.