Kawaiian Calendars
Like nearly every other facet of Kawaiian culture, the calendars they use are devised for ritual purposes, to keep track of important times of worship. Kawaiians maintain two separate calendars. The first, the "Lunar" or "Ritual" Calendar, is a purely lunar calendar; that is, it tracks the phases of the moon rather than the seasons of the solar year. It is used to schedule the monthly sabbaths and mark birthdays and personal dates. The second, the "Solar" or "Farmer's" Calendar, is similar to the to the Gregorian one. It is used to schedule the seasonal Festivals and to inform farmers, ranchers, hunters and fishermen of the proper times for agriculture and animal husbandry.
Contents
The Lunar, or Ritual Calendar
Months of the Year
The Lunar Calendar is based on a cycle of 60 lunar months, considered five years of 12 months each. Each month is named after the 12 Divine Beasts (excluding the Cat, who was denied re-entry into the spirit world), and the five sacred elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Iron, and Water. The cycle is as follows:
First Year Second Year Third Year Fourth Year Fifth Year Wood Rat Earth Rat Water Rat Fire Rat Iron Rat Fire Ox Iron Ox Wood Ox Earth Ox Water Ox Earth Tiger Water Tiger Fire Tiger Iron Tiger Wood Tiger Iron Rabbit Wood Rabbit Earth Rabbit Water Rabbit Fire Rabbit Water Dragon Fire Dragon Iron Dragon Wood Dragon Dragon Wood Snake Earth Snake Water Snake Fire Snake Iron Snake Fire Horse Iron Horse Wood Horse Earth Horse Water Horse Earth Sheep Water Sheep Fire Sheep Iron Sheep Wood Sheep Iron Monkey Wood Monkey Earth Monkey Water Monkey Fire Monkey Water Rooster Fire Rooster Iron Rooster Wood Rooster Rooster Wood Dog Earth Dog Water Dog Fire Dog Iron Dog Fire Boar Iron Boar Wood Boar Earth Boar Water Boar
(Note that this is a similar cycle to the Chinese 60-year one.)
The Moons of the Rat, Tiger, Dragon, Horse, Monkey, and Dog have 29 days, the others have 30. The exceptions to this are the Moon of the Wood Monkey, which has 30 days, and the Moon of the Wood Dragon, which has 30 days unless the number of the five-year cycle is divisible by 6. (With the exception of the naming convention, this calender is similar in design to the Islamic tabular calendar, which is also based on a 30 lunar year cycle with 11 leap-days.)
Days of the Month
Each month is divided into four seven-day weeks, with 1 or 2 extra days between the second and third weeks. Because Kawaiian folklore regards the Moon as female, the weeks are named after her "stages of life": Himechan (little girl), Jouchan (maiden), Kachan (mother), and Bachan (grandmother).
The names of the days in the month are as follows:
1st Week 2nd Week Midpoint 3rd Week 4th Week Himechan 1 Jouchan 1 Fullness Kachan 7 Bachan 7 Himechan 2 Jouchan 2 (in 29-day months) Kachan 6 Bachan 6 Himechan 3 Jouchan 3 Kachan 5 Bachan 5 Himechan 4 Jouchan 4 or Kachan 4 Bachan 4 Himechan 5 Jouchan 5 Entering Fullness Kachan 3 Bachan 3 Himechan 6 Jouchan 6 Leaving Fullness Kachan 2 Bachan 2 Himechan 7 Jouchan 7 (in 30-day months) Kachan 1 Bachan 1
Note that the days in the first two weeks (called Tsukihime) count upwards, while the days in the latter two weeks (called Tsukidono) count downwards.
Sabbath Days
The sabbath days are:
- Himechan 1
- Jouchan 1
- Entering Fullness (in 30-day months)
- Fullness (in 29-day months)
- Leaving Fullness (in 30-day months)
- Kachan 1
- Bachan 1
Note that this gives a 2-day holiday at the new Moon, a one day holiday at each quarter-moon, and a 1-2 day holiday at the full Moon. Oftentimes the "7ths" as well as the "1sts" are taken as holidays, especially Jouchan 7 and Kachan 7, giving a 3-4 day holiday at the full Moon.
From this, one can easily understand the timing of many important Kawaiian ceremonies. Weddings, for example, almost always take place on the full Moon. Coming-of-age ceremonies take place on Jouchan 1, the first quarter, retirement ceremonies at Kachan 1, the third quarter, while both funerals and baby showers are held at the new Moon, at Bachan 1 and Himechan 1 respectively.
The Solar, or Farmer's Calendar
Like the Gregorian calendar, the Kawaiian solar calendar is based on a year of 365 days (366 in leap years). Five days are set aside as extra-calendary days to mark the Four Greater Festivals:
- Spring's Morn (celebrated at sunrise on the vernal equinox)
- Midsummer's Day (celebrated at noon on the summer solstice)
- Fall's Eve (celebrated at sunset on the autumnal equinox)
- Midwinter Night (celebrated at midnight between two days at the winter solstice)
On leap years an extra day is added to Midsummer. In those years the summer holidays are called Leapsummer's Eve and Leapsummer's Day, and the festival is celebrated at midnight between them, as in Midwinter.
The remaining 360 days are divided into 24 terms that divide the Sun's progress along the ecliptic nearly evenly into 15-degree segments of longitude. Because the Earth's orbit is not perfectly circular, each term can have 14, 15, or 16 days, and the number of days can vary from year to year. Thus the Solar Calendar is not tabulated, but determined by astronomical observations and published annually.
The 24 terms are named after weather and agricultural events associated with the season they represent. The names of the terms and their relationship with the seasons are as follows:
Winter Terms Spring Terms Summer Terms Fall Terms Darkness Mushrooms Carrots Apples The Cold Cherry Blossoms Cucumbers Squash Blizzards Planting Time Potatoes Rutting Season Melting Snow Warming Days Lazy Heat Growing Darkness Wind and Rain Full Grain Harvest Time Frost Buzzing Insects Strawberries Grapes Snow
The Four Lesser Festivals are at the mid-points of the seasonal quarters:
- Winter Sun (Melting Snow 1)
- Planting Day (Warming Days 1)
- Lazy Day (Lazy Heat 1)
- Day of the Dead (Growing Darkness 1)
Meanings of the Festivals
- Midwinter
- The seasonal "new year". Not a time for making resolutions (that falls on the lunar new year, Himechan 1 of the Moon of the Rat), but a celebration of the death/rebirth of the seasons. Traditionally celebrated by staying up all night and ringing bells and setting off fireworks at midnight.
- Winter Sun
- Somewhat similar to the Western holiday called Groundhog's Day. Traditionally celebrated by cleaning public buildings of winter grime, and making predictions for the end of winter and the arrival of warm weather.
- Spring's Morn
- Similar to the pre-Christian European holidays supplanted by Easter. Traditionally celebrated by decorating homes with flowers and at sunrise parading newborn animals through the community.
- Planting Day
- The planting holiday. Originally marking the time rice planting in paddies was completed. Traditionally celebrated by holding picnics out in the fresh-planted fields. Also considered "practical joke day" (similiar to April Fools), a way to let off steam after the rigorous planting season.
- Midsummer
- The opposite of Midwinter, but celebrated similarly: by ringing bells, holding dances and setting off fireworks. During leapyears, the celebration is moved from noon to midnight.
- Lazy Day
- Marks a pause in the cycle of planting and harvest. Celebrated similar to Planting Day, by holding picnics. Considered a day for "goofing off", with contests to see who can be the laziest.
- Fall's Eve
- Similar to the American holiday of Thanksgiving. Traditionally celebrated with a large feast at sunset.
- Day of the Dead
- Nearly the same as the western holidays of Halloweeen and All Saints Day. A traditional time for honoring one's departed ancestors. Kawaiian superstition holds that the spirits of the un-honored dead walk the earth on this day, and must be warded off. The Kawaiians also celebrate a curious version of "trick or treat" that refers to their funeral custom of exposing the dead to scavenger birds. On the Day of the Dead, Kawaiian children dress up as ravens and go from house to house, threatening to eat its inhabitants unless they're bribed with candy. Kawaiian Day of the Dead candies are in the shape of skeletons, corpses or other goulish things, and the traditional raven-child's cry of "Feed me! Feed me!" to an older Kawaiian is replied to with the handing over of a sweet with the admonition, "This will be you some day, little one!"
Interactions of the Calendars
It should be noted that the Solar Calendar has a year of just under 365 1/4 days (on the average), while the Lunar Calendar has a year of just over 354 1/3 days. Thus the two calendars do not keep in synch with one another. Each year the Festivals are celebrated around 11 days later in the lunar year, cycling through the months. Kawaiians often attach symbolic significance to what element or animal a season begins in; this forms the basis of Kawaiian astrology.
Similarly, a Kawaiian's birthday (always celebrated on the lunar date) re-occurs earlier and earlier in the season as they age, so for example a child celebrating his birthday in the late spring will by the time he's an adult celebrate it in mid-winter. The lunar year "laps" the seasons about every 33 years, so a Kawaiian's 33rd, 66th (and for the very lucky, 99th) birthdays are considered especially fortuitous.
