A Toad Hop, the Mythos of Months, and a Lunar Celebration

Welcome back to Simterra. Please see my Disclaimer page if you have questions, concerns, find an error, or are just curious about my world and how it works. If you missed the previous post, be sure to read ‘Oh My Sun Mother! And Other Astronomical Delights‘ as it fills in the blanks about how the different races refer to the sun and the Daleth System. This was originally going to be a single post, but it grew increasingly longer with my attempts at humor and background information, but I promise you, it’s an interesting read as I hope… this will be.  Also, thank you for your patience as I’ve worked through editing/updating and modifying this blog. I was recently hacked and had to do a good bit of work to repair this blog. 

a.k.a. An Intro to Simterra, Pt. 2b: Astronomy

What do a Toad Hop, Mythos of Months, and a Lunar Celebration have in common? I’m so glad you asked. Astronomy. This little update has been sitting in my drafts since July. It’s high past time I share my updated calendar for Simterra, and a bit more about Luna, the moon above Simterra. I finally made some edits to it to where I felt comfortable sharing. Enjoy!

Simterran Calendar

Celebrating the new year with music and song! Sha shoobie!

The Simterran year is 365 days with 13 months of 28 days and an extra day at the end of the year. (The calendar is similar to the International Fixed Calendar of our world). Because of the nature of the calendar, the months and weeks are fixed with the 1st day always occurring on a Sunday and the last day occurring on a Saturday, with few exceptions.

Fixed calendar month	Matching dates on the Gregorian calendar
	Starts on fixed day 1	Ends on fixed day 28 (or 29)
January	January 1	January 28
February	January 29	February 25
Suluary	February 26	March 25*
		March 26* (Toad Hop)
March	March 26	April 22
April	April 23	May 20
May	May 21	June 17
June	June 18	July 15
July	July 16	August 12
August	August 13	September 9
September	September 10	October 7
October	October 8	November 4
November	November 5	December 2
December	December 3	December 30
		December 31**(Year’s End)

*An intercalary day or leap day occurs once every fourth year and is commonly called Toad Hop. It is named for the elusive umai, a reptilian race. This extra day occurs during the month of Suluary or Apollon (a month between February and March on the Gregorian Calendar). The day is typically called Sunturday on the calendar so as not to disrupt the week schedule and is always calculated as the 26th day of March.

**The final day of the year (inserted after December 28th and equivalent to December 31st) is called Year’s End (also New Year’s Eve) and does not belong to any week (though it is commonly calculated as December 29th). The day is typically called Sunterday so as not to disrupt the week schedule.

Simterran Seasons

In the Northern Hemisphere, seasons are similar to Eorthe . Winter begins in December, spring starts in March, summer  kicks off in June, and autumn commences in September. There are four months of winter, three months of spring, three months of summer, and three months of autumn. In the Southern Hemisphere, the seasons are the opposite (and there are 4 months of summer). 

Seasons	Northern Hemisphere	Southern Hemisphere
Spring	March-May	September-November
Summer	June-August	December-Suluary
Autumn	September-November	March-May
Winter	December-Suluary	June-August

Simterran Moon

Luna, appears similar to our moon, but is about 1.5 times bigger and hosts a breathable atmosphere, though only a fraction of Luna’s surface is habitable.

Simterra has a moon is called Luna, and hosts a livable, breathable atmosphere. Many structures on the moon’s surface are enclosed by visible and invisible astrodomes in case of space debris. Luna’s gravity is relative to two-thirds of Simterra’s gravity (and Earth’s).

People who live on Luna are called ‘lunes‘ or ‘lunites‘ by the Simterrans. However, the lunar peoples prefer the more ‘civilized’ and acceptable term – ‘selenars.’ The moon hosts several cities, including Oasis Landing,  the capitol,  and Lunar Lakes, and multiple small settlements. Luna’s cycle is approximately 28.25 days, which lends itself to marking the passage of time easily.

The Amazónean moon goddess, Octavia is associated with the month of October. She has a minor mythological cult associated with her, but few practice any real worship. It is said that some supernaturals draw power and energy from the moon, most notably the pyre, enchanters, and the fae.

Sims celebrating the first night of Jubilee at a local bar in Glimmerbrook, Avalon.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the enchanters celebrate their Jubilee during the months of September through November. In the Southern Hemisphere, a shorter Jubilee season is held in March and April, though many enchanters travel north for the full season in the autumn.  Jubilee is a festival season devoted to lunar energy, and honoring the coming of autumn and harvest. (The closest comparison we have on Eorthe for a long celebratory season is Carnival).   The  84-day celebration incorporates feasts and parties, carnivals  and street fairs, and   ceremonies and galas. Many bars, night clubs, businesses, and restaurants host events all season long. All because of the beautiful satellite orbiting Simterra. It’s spectacular and there’s really nothing like it.

Astrology and Mythology

Like on Earth, the months of the year have corresponding astrological signs.

#	Month	Sign	Description	Element	Modality
1	January	Capricorn	The Goat	Earth	Cardinal
2	February	Aquarius	The Water-Bearer	Air	Fixed
3	Suluary	Pisces	The Fish	Water	Mutable
4	March	Aries	The Ram	Fire	Cardinal
5	April	Taurus	The Bull	Earth	Fixed
6	May	Gemini	The Twins	Air	Mutable
7	June	Cancer	The Crab	Water	Cardinal
8	July	Leo	The Lion	Fire	Fixed
9	August	Virgo	The Maiden	Earth	Mutable
10	September	Libra	The Scales	Air	Cardinal
11	October	Scorpio	The Scorpion	Water	Fixed
12	November	Ophiuchus	The Serpent-Bearer	Fire	Mutable
13	December	Sagittarius	The Archer	Fire	Mutable

Octavia is the Amazónean goddess of the moon, keeping an ever-watchful eye each night.

Each month is also named for a character in Amazónean mythology. The mythos takes its origins from the Amazon region of Earth somewhere in ancient and medieval Eurasia. Amazónean mythology is heavily influenced by Roman and Greek mythology. In turn, Albergian mythology borrows from the Amazónean and is also influenced by German and Celtic mythology.

• January – Janos (Amazónean); Janos/Jana (Albergian) – god/goddess of air and wind, beginnings, openings, gates, transitions, doorways, passages, and time 
• February – Febrios (Amazónean); Febrivon/Febriven (more commonly called Vonos/Veni) (Albergian) – god/goddess of the seas, love, romance, desire, pleasure, sex, and poetry 
• Suluary – Apollon (Amazónean); Apollos/Apolla (Albergian) – god/goddess of sun, light, heavens, wealth, sovereignty, knowledge, and prophecy 
• March – Maron (Amazónean); Maros/Mara (Albergian) – god/goddess of weather and storms, war, conflict, competition, protection, sadness and grief 
• April – Aprion (Amazónean); Aprilo/Apria (Albergian) – god/goddess of rains, fruits, flowers, agriculture, animals, gardens, beauty and truth 
• May – Maios (Amazónean); Maia (Albergian) – goddess of spring, fresh water, nature, mountains, animals, preparation, and growth 
• June – Junius (Amazónean); Junia (Albergian) – goddess of earth, wisdom, children, feminine energy, family, fertility, and life 
• July – Julios (Amazónean); Julio/Julia (Albergian) – god/goddess of summer, celebration, relaxation and rest, freedom, theater and story
• August – Augustos (Amazónean); Augusto/Augusta (Albergian)- god/goddess of steam and heat, entertainment and recreation, vigor, youth, greatness and prestige 
• September – Septemos (Amazónean); Septemo  (Albergian) – god/goddess of crops and harvest, work, strength, and masculine energy 
• October – Octovos (Amazónean); Octavios/Octavia (Albergian) – god/goddess of autumn, the moon, mysteries and secrets, the hunt, wild animals, and wilderness 
• November – Novemos (Amazónean); Novo/Nova (Albergian) – god/goddess of fire and hearth, home, domesticity, purity, friendship, sacrifice, and thanksgiving 
• December – Decemos (Amazónean); Decemo/Decima (Albergian) – god/goddess of winter, cold, darkness, endings and closings, the underground (rocks, gems, and metals), death and rebirth

Each corresponding god has a goddess in Albergian mythology, with the exception of goddess only months (May and June) and the god only month of September.

Final Thoughts

Cathy Tea rejecting  a terrible cup of tea in Home for the Holidays.

Hopefully this wasn’t as dry or boring as I think it is. I am fascinated with this kind of stuff – worldbuilding and naming, but I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.  However, I hope you found this information interesting. Dag dag! 

P.S. While ‘Sul Sul‘ means ‘may the warmth and blessings of the sun be upon you‘ within my Sim culture, the phrase ‘Dag dag‘ means ‘may the rest of your day be interesting without me.’ 😉  

P.P.S. Planetary system map coming soon! I can’t wait to share it with you all!