celebrations varying based on local traditions and popu-
lar faiths.
Midwinter. The' first festival day of the year is known
generally as Midwinter, though some people name it
differently. Nobles and monarchs of the Heartlands look
to the High Festival of Winter as a day to commemo-
rate or renew alliances. Commoners in the North, the
Moonsea, and other, colder climes celebrate Deadwinter
Day as a marking of the midpoint of the cold season,
with hard times still ahead, but some of the worst
days now past.
Greengrass. The traditional beginning of spring,
Greengrass is celebrated by the display of freshly cut
flowers (grown in special hothouses wherever the cli-
mate doesn't permit flowers so early) that are given as
gifts to the gods or spread among the fields in hopes of a
bountiful and speedy growing season.
Midsummer. The midpoint of summer is a day of
feasting, carousing, betrothals, and basking in the
pleasant weather. Storms on Midsummer night are seen
as bad omens and signs of ill fortune, and sometimes
interpreted as divine disapproval of the romances or
marriages sparked by the day's events.
Shieldmeet. The great holiday of the Calendar of
Harptos, Shieldmeet occurs once every four years
immediately after Midsummer. It is a day for plain
speaking and open council between rulers and their
subjects, for the renewal of pacts and contracts, and for
treaty making between peoples. Many tournaments and
contests of skill are held on Shieldmeet, and most faiths
mark the holiday by emphasizing one of their key tenets.
The next Shieldmeet will be observed in 1492 DR.
Highharvestide. A day of feasting and thanks, High-
harvestide marks the fall harvest. Most humans give
thanks to Chauntea on this day for a plentiful bounty be-
fore winter approaches. Many who make their living by
traveling road or sea set out immediately following the
holiday, before winter comes on in full force and blocks
mountain passes and harbors.
The Feast of the Moon. As nights lengthen and
winter winds begin to approach, the Feast of the Moon
is the time when people celebrate their ancestors and
their honored dead. During festivals on this day, people
gather to share stories and legends, offer prayers for the
fallen, and prepare for the coming cold.KEEPING TIME FROM DAY TO DAY
Most people don't keep track of the time of day beyond
notions such as "mid-morning" or "nigh sunset." If peo-
ple plan to meet at a particular time, they tend to base
their arrangements around such expressions.
The concept of hours and minutes exists mainly
where wealthy people use clocks, but mechanical clocks
are often unreliable, and rarely are two set to the same
time. If a local temple or civic structure has a clock that
tolls out the passing of the hours, people refer to hours
as "bells," as in "I'll meet you at seven bells."THE SHIFTING OF THE SEASONS
The worlds of Abeir and Tori! drifted apart in 1487 and
1488 DR. In some places this change was accompaniedTHE CALENDAR OF HARPTOS
Month
l2
3
4Name Common Name
Hammer Deepwinter
Annual Holiday: Midwinter
Alturiak The Claw of Winter
Ches The Claw of Sunsets
Tarsahk The Claw of Storms
Annual Holiday: Greengrass
5 Mirtul The Melting
6 Kythorn The Time of Flowers
7 Flamerule Summertide
Annual Holiday: Midsummer
Quadrennial Holiday: Shieldmeet
8 Eleasis Highsun
9 Elient The Fading
Annual Holiday: Highharvestide
10 Marpenoth Leaffall
11 Uktar The Rotting
Annual Holiday: The Feast of the Moon
12 Nightal The Drawing Downby cataclysm, while in others the shift went without no-
tice. Astronomers and navigators who closely watched
the stars couldn't fail to see that there were nights
when they seemed to hang in the sky. The winter of
1487 - 1488 lasted longer than normal. It was then noted
that the solstices and equinoxes had somehow shifted,
beginning with the spring equinox falling on Green-
grass of 1488 DR. The seasons followed suit, with each
starting later and ending later.
This shift in seasons has caused some sages, and the
priests of Chauntea, to consider changing the marking
of some of the annual feast days, but most folk counsel
patience, believing that the seasons will fall back to their
previous cycle over the coming years.A BRIEF HISTORY
The known history of the Sword Coast region spans
thousands of years, extending back into the misty ep-
ochs of the creator races and the ages of the first nations
of the elves and dwarves. Comparatively recent history
is the story of the rise and deeds of humans and other
younger races.
Much of what follows in this section is known mainly
by sages, some of whom have been alive for the last few
centuries of Faerfm's history. The common folk across
the continent have little knowledge of, and little use for,
events that have transpired far away in time and space.
News does travel, of course, so even people who live in a
village along the Sword Coast might get wind of happen-
ings in distant lands.THE DAYS OF THUNDER
Tens of thousands of years ago, empires of reptilian,
amphibian, and avian peoples-known in Elvish as
Jqua'Tel'Quessir, the creator races-dominated the
world. They built great cities of stone and glass, carved
paths through the wilderness, tamed the great lizards,
worked mighty magics, shaped the world around them,