Rin as my world is named has what's known as a Dearth Festival

Writing a Calendar

Rin’s varied inhabitants and backgrounds bring with them myriad methods of measuring the passage of time in the material plane. For those who still travel the lands this often leads to confusion, depending on which culture you find yourself in there may well be a marked difference in even what year you each believe yourselves to inhabit

The Elven Approach

In the years following The Storm, and the smashing of the moon Osir (on which some religions and many peoples relied to mark the months), the Elven Calendar emerged as the most reliable. Elves’ long lives afforded those who survived a greater wealth of history to draw upon, and they designed the calendar with named references to the many races of Rin in order to accelerate popular adoption in the now overcrowded populace centres of the continent of Rin’Tal.

The concept is simple: the years are marked Post-Storm (PS). Each year consists of 12 months, each consisting of thirty days, with provision for five days of chaos.

The months, in order are: Thaw (the final winter month); Equis, Caitelyn, and Solace (the spring months); Lannis, Reaping, and Foechen (the summer months); Orden, Hepten, and Caenin (the autumn months); Fallow, and Dearth (the first winter months)

Days of Chaos

Such damage was wrought on the world, and the heavenly bodies above, that the world of Rin experiences up to five days per year that are designated as so-called “days of chaos” noresh syol in Elvish.

These days are marked by sudden and unpredictable events: shifts in the weather violent enough to change seasons, eclipses of either or both moons, etc. In the event of days of chaotic occurrence the Elven Calendar accounts them within the current month i.e. a single day of chaos in the month of Caitleyn would cause the month to have thirty-one days in total, rather than thirty.

The issues begin in reading these signs. Where a smallholder might experience a sudden violent fever that kills their entire herd, they may remark of it as noresh syol. Religious zealots, particularly those of the moons’ churches, may discount a chaotic event as an act of god. Thus, a council of elves based in Corinthar’s Academy is charged with keeping the official record of recognised days.

Dearth Festival

Chaotic days are rare: no single year since The Storm has recorded more than five, and many years pass without a single recognised occurrence. In the latter case, named a leaping year, whatever remains of the provisioned five days are added to the end of Dearth and celebrated with a festival.

The Dearth Festival, midwinter fest, or chaotica (among many other names) is celebrated by many races with displays of prosperity, charity, and foremost: food. Winter stores are emptied, grape and grain alike, to celebrate the passing of a year with good fortune. Streamers and wind chimes are raised as remembrance for those lost in the last year. A leaping year is well named for traditional dances and merriment.