# The Calendar The Barovian calendar is based on the lunar cycle. In Barovia, the lunar cycle is 30 days, with the New Moon 🌑 on the 1st of each month, and the Full Moon 🌕 on the 15th. There are twelve months to the year. However, in the middle of the summer there are 5 days where the moon sits large and fat, just above the horizon, unmoving and deep red - the color of blood. The Blood Moon. There are many theories to this phenomena, but no one really knows. The weather is especially warm for Barovia during this period, with the air still and stagnant. The months are: » Yinyavr (Cold Moon) » Fenravr (Wolf Moon) » Martavr (Raven Moon) » Prylla (Rain Moon) » Mada (Maid Moon) » Eyun (Summer Moon) » *BLOOD MOON SPLITS EYUN IN TWO* » Eyun (Summer Moon) Continues » Eyul (War Moon) » Ugavr (Wine Moon) » Sintavr (Harvest Moon) » Ottyavr (Hunter's Moon) » Neyavr (Rot Moon) » Dekavr (Winter Moon) --- # Holidays in Barovia **New Year's Day, end of Yule** *1st of Yinyavr (Cold Moon)* Celebrations to the New Year, with gifts given for luck, health, and prosperity. **Imbolc: The Promise of Spring** *2nd of Fenravr (Wolf Moon)* Imbolc translated literally means "in the belly". It is called this because it is when the sheep first began to give milk again, signifying they were pregnant. Or in Barovia, is it when the wolves begin to give milk again? 🐺 **Ostara: Spring Equinox** *16th of Martavr (Raven Moon)* Spring has arrived! The Days are beginning to overtake the Nights. Our days are becoming warmer and longer. New life is sprouting all around us. Fertility is abounding and is represented by the hare and eggs. Some families in Barovia celebrate with rituals of fire, as Light overtakes Darkness, in honor of the Morninglord, the Dawnbringer. **Beltane: Festival of Fire.** *1st of Mada (Maid Moon)* Beltane is the halfway point between spring equinox and summer solstice. It is an exciting time because spring is now in full bloom, and the longer, warmer days of summer are approaching. A time to give gratitude and thanks to the fertility of spring, festivities start on the eve of Mada 1st with big beautiful bonfires representing life and end on Mada 1st with wearing flower crowns and dancing the maypole. Beltane is also considered a time when the veil between worlds is thin; therefore, it is a magical and powerful time. Beltane was also considered to be an important event for celebrating and nurturing the harvest. **Blood Moon / The Moringlord's Tears** *5 extra days between 15th and 16th of Eyun (Summer Moon)* What constitutes a Barovian "summer" is 5 days right in the middle of spring. Barovians dub this season Morninglord's Tears. Though one could call this a holiday, it's not a particularly festive one, and the denizens of Barovia open their wine bottles not out of celebration, but to bide their time through the terrible thunderstorms that plague this week. Superstition says that the Morninglord weeps greatly on these days, as he cannot (or will not) shed light during his sacred season. Though the name The Moringlord's Tears would imply that the Morninglord "weeps" every day, it normally rains only 2-3 days out of the season. However, these rains are especially hard, often accompanied by thunder and lightning. During the worst of seasons, areas that are low-lying or near bodies of water will flood. Barovia has only ever seen hail once during what the natives call Morninglord's Wrath. Dozens of people were killed by the hail and flooding and even more in the months after due to ruined crops and killed livestock. **Litha: Summer Solstice.** *22nd of Eyun (Summer Moon)* Litha is the midsummer celebration of the longest day and shortest night of the year. It is the time when not only all work can be done but enjoyment as well; the days have become long enough to do both. It is also a time when engagements are announced, and blessings are made for a full, abundant crop in the coming harvest. Traditional methods of celebration include bonfires and torchlight processions—rituals intended to encourage the sun, whose power shall wane throughout the remainder of the season. Some refer to Litha simply as “Midsummer.” **Lughnasadh: First Harvest.** *1st of Ugavr (Wine Moon)* The midway point between summer and autumn, this festival marks the first harvest of grains and fruits. It celebrates the new harvest of bread and fresh fruits, gives gratitude for it, and is also the time when many would become married. **Mabon: Autumn Equinox.** *23rd of Sintavr (Harvest Moon)* Mabon is the arrival of autumn and, with it, the reaping of the harvest. It celebrates the abundance, the fruit of the labor put in throughout the year and signals preparations for the winter soon to come. **Samhain: Witches' New Year.** *30th of Ottyavr (Hunter's Moon)* Samhain is one of the most important festivals of the year. It is believed to be a very magical time as the veil between the world of the living and the dead is thin. It is on this eve that one honors their passed family, friends and familiars. Jack o'lanterns are lit to light the way for the passed souls. It is considered a very powerful time, and it is great to ask for guidance, help, clearing of negativity, and starting of the new year in a positive light. It is a magical time that many still celebrate today. **Yule: Winter Solstice.** *20th of Dekavr (Winter Moon) through the New Year* Yule is held during the winter solstice when our days become shorter. It is the time in which last preparations are made for the coming cold months. It is also a time to remind oneself of the warmth and life-giving source of the sun or fire. Trees are decorated with foods that thrive in the cold months to represent continual growth and life through the dark, cold nights. **New Year's Eve** *30th of Dekavr (Winter Moon)* --- # Weather in Barovia **Typical Weather** Seasons in Barovia are very similar. Tepid-to-cold conditions and the occasional precipitation reinforce the empty, dreary feeling of the valley. Average temperature year round is 45° Fahrenheit. With the exception of winter, dawn is at approximately 7 AM and dusk is at 6 PM. During winter, dawn is at 9 AM and dusk is at 5 PM. Wind is brisk throughout all seasons, though it is especially strong during winter and spring. **Spring** Spring consumes over half of the Barovian weather cycle, lasting for 200 days out of the year, with summer dividing the season in half. The first month of spring is relatively cool by Barovian standards, approximately 8 degrees cooler than the rest of the season. However the frost that grips the landscape thaws quick and by the end of the month, the temperatures are more Autumn-like. The rest of the season breathes much life into the Barovian flora, though only about as much life is breathed into a corpse by a necromancer. The average temperature during spring is 49°F with an average low being 43°F and the average high 55°F. **Summer** What constitutes a Barovian "summer" is 5 days right in the middle of spring, during the Blood Moon. Some call this the Morninglord's Tears (see the holiday entry above). Though the name the Moringlord's Tears would imply that the Morninglord "weeps" every day, it normally rains only 2-3 days out of this short season. However, these rains are especially hard, often accompanied by thunder and lightning. During the worst of seasons, areas that are low-lying or near bodies of water will flood. Barovia has only ever seen hail once during what the natives call Morninglord's Wrath. Dozens of people were killed by the hail and flooding and even more in the months after due to ruined crops and killed livestock. The average temperature during summer is 60°F with an average low being 54°F and the average high 65°F. **Autumn** Autumn is the most normal of all Barovian seasons, lasting for a full 90 days. Though autumn is normally seen as the start of the death-to-rebirth cycle of the seasons, in Barovia this is more like a decay-to-reanimation cycle. Instead of the gorgeous reds, oranges, and yellows associated with autumn, the trees drop muddy brown and grayish leaves. The air is just a hair more chilly throughout most of the month when compared to spring, though the frost starts to creep in towards the start of winter. The average temperature during autumn is 47°F with an average low being 40°F and the average high 53°F. **Winter** Winter is harsh though thankfully short in Barovia, lasting only 62 days. Precipitation is peculiar in winter. With the exception of the mountainous regions, it never properly snows in Barovia. Everything is glazed in ice as shallow bodies of water freeze and frost grips anything that might have once been living. Only the malformed evergreen forests maintain any semblance of life, as everything else hibernates or dies. In the place of snow, Barovia occasionally gets ice pellets and, even rarer, freezing rain. The average temperature during winter is 28°F with an average low being 23°F and the average high 33°F.