#I have a list of “important dates” and on it are birthdays and lunar calendar holidays and anniversaries of things from cql

[anotherdescentintomadness]

Okay so…. 🤯🤯🤯

＜樂-STAR＞ UNVEIL : TRACK 1 "MEGAVERSE"

[queerasfact]

Queer Calendar 2023

We put together a calendar of key (mostly queer) dates at the start of the year to help us with scheduling - so I thought I’d share it around! Including pride and visibility days, some queer birthdays and anniversaries, and a few other bits and bobs. Click the links for more info - I dream one day of having a queer story for every day of the year!

This is obviously not an exhaustive list - if I’ve overlooked something important to you, feel free to add it in the reblogs!

January

3 - Bisexual American jazz-age heiress Henrietta Bingham born 1901

8 - Queer Australian bushranger Captain Moonlite born 1845; gay American art collector Ned Warren born 1860

11 - Pennsylvania celebrates Rosetta Tharpe Day in honour of bisexual musician Rosetta Tharpe

12 - Japanese lesbian author Nobuko Yoshiya born 1896

22 - Lunar New Year (Year of the Rabbit)

24 - Roman emperor Hadrian, famous for his relationship with Antinous, born 76CE; gay Prussian King Frederick the Great born 1712

27 - International Holocaust Remembrance Day

February

LGBT+ History Month (UK, Hungary)

Black History Month (USA and Canada)

1 - Feast of St Brigid, a saint especially important to Irish queer women

5 - Operation Soap, a police raid on gay bathhouses in Toronto, Canada, spurs massive protests, 1981

7 - National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (USA)

18 - US Black lesbian writer and activist Audre Lorde born 1934

12 - National Freedom to Marry Day (USA)

19-25 - Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week

March

Women’s History Month

1 - Black Women in Jazz and the Arts Day

8 - International Women’s Day

9 - Bi British writer David Garnett born 1892

12 - Bi Polish-Russian ballet dancer Vaslav Nijinsky born 1889 or 1890

13 March-15 April - Deaf History Month

14 - American lesbian bookseller and publisher Sylvia Beach born 1887

16 - French lesbian artist Rosa Bonheur born 1822

20 - Bi US musician Rosetta Tharpe born 1915

21 - World Poetry Day

24 - The Wachowski sisters’ cyberpunk trans allegory The Matrix premiers 1999

April

Jazz Appreciation Month

Black Women’s History Month

National Poetry Month (USA)

3 - British lesbian diarist Anne Lister born 1791

8 - Trans British racing driver and fighter pilot Roberta Cowell born 1918

9 -  Bi Australia poet Lesbia Harford born 1891; Easter Sunday

10 - National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day (USA)

14 - Day of Silence

15 - Queer Norwegian photographer and suffragist Marie Høeg born 1866

17 - Costa-Rican-Mexican lesbian singer Chavela Vargas born 1919

21-22 - Eid al-Fitr

25 - Gay English King Edward II born 1284

26 - Lesbian Day of Visibility; bi American blues singer Ma Rainey born 1886

29 - International Dance Day

30 - International Jazz Day

May

1 - Trans British doctor and Buddhist monk Michael Dillon born 1915

7 - International Family Equality Day

7 - Gay Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky born 1840

15 - Australian drag road-trip comedy The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert premiers in 1994

 17 - IDAHOBIT (International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexism and Transphobia)

18 - International Museum Day

19 - Agender Pride Day

22 - US lesbian tailor and poet Charity Bryant born 1777

22 - Harvey Milk Day marks the birth of gay US politician Harvey Milk 1930

23 - Premier of Pride, telling the story of the 1980s British activist group Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners

24 - Pansexual and Panromantic Awareness and Visibility Day; Queer Chinese-Japanese spy Kawashima Yoshiko born 1907

26 - queer American astronaut Sally Ride born 1951

29 - Taiwanese lesbian writer Qiu Miaojin born 1969

June

Pride Month

Indigenous History Month (Canada)

3 - Bisexual American-French performer, activist and WWII spy Josephine Baker born 1906

5 - Queer Spanish playwright and poet Federico García Lorca born 1898; bi English economic John Maynard Keynes born 1883

8 - Mechanic and founder of Australia’s first all-female garage, Alice Anderson, born 1897

10 - Bisexual Israeli poet Yona Wallach born 1944

12 - Pulse Night of Remembrance, commemorating the 2012 shooting at the Pulse nightclub, Orlando

14 - Australian activists found the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands in 2004

18 - Sally Ride becomes the first know queer woman in space

24 - The first Sydney Mardi Gras 1978

25 - The rainbow flag first flown as a queer symbol in 1978

28 - Stonewall Riots, 1969

28 June-2 July - Eid al-Adha

30 - Gay German-Israeli activist, WWII resistance member and Holocaust survivor Gad Beck born 1923

July

1 - Gay Dutch WWII resistance fighter Willem Arondeus killed - his last words were “Tell the people homosexuals are no cowards”

2-9 - NAIDOC Week (Australia) celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture

6 - Bi Mexican artist Frida Kahlo born 1907

12 or 13 - Roman emperor Julius Caesar born c.100BCE

14 - International Non-Binary People’s Day

23 - Shelly Bauman, owner of Seattle gay club Shelly’s Leg, born 1947; American lesbian cetenarian Ruth Ellis born 1899; gay American professor, tattooist and sex researcher Sam Steward born 1909

25 - Italian-Australian trans man Harry Crawford born 1875

August

8 - International Cat Day

9 - Queer Finnish artist, author and creator of Moomins Tove Jansson born 1914

9 - International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples

11 - Russian lesbian poet Sofya Parnok born 1885

12 - Queer American blues musician Gladys Bentley born 1907

13 - International Left-Handers Day

22 - Gay WWII Dutch resistance fight Willem Arondeus born 1894

24 - Trans American drag queen and activist Marsha P Johnson born 1945

26 - National Dog Day

30 - Bi British author Mary Shelley 1797

31 - Wear it Purple Day (Australia - queer youth awareness)

September

5 - Frontman of Queen Freddie Mercury born 1946

6 - Trans Scottish doctor and farmer Ewan Forbes born 1912

13 - 1990 documentary on New York’s ball culture Paris is Burning premiers

15-17 - Rosh Hashanah

16-23 - Bisexual Awareness Week

17 - Gay Prussian-American Inspector General of the US Army Baron von Steuben born 1730

23 - Celebrate Bisexuality Day

24 - Gay Australian artist William Dobell born 1889

30 - International Podcast Day

October

Black History Month (Europe)

4 - World Animal Day

5 - National Poetry Day (UK)

5 - Queer French diplomat and spy the Chevalière d’Éon born 1728

8 - International Lesbian Day

9 - Indigenous Peoples’ Day (USA)

11 - National Coming Out Day

16 - Irish writer Oscar Wilde born 1854

18 - International Pronouns Day

22-28 - Asexual Awareness Week

26 - Intersex Awareness Day

31 - American lesbian tailor Sylvia Drake born 1784

November

8 - Intersex Day of Remembrance

12 - Diwali; Queer Mexican nun Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz born c.1648

13-19 - Transgender Awareness Week

20 - Trans American writer, lawyer, activist and priest Pauli Murray born 1910; Transgender Day of Remembrance

27 - Antinous, lover of the Roman emperor Hadrian, born c.111; German lesbian drama Mädchen in Uniform premiers, 1931

29 - Queer American writer Louisa May Alcott born 1832

December

AIDS Awareness Month

1 - World AIDS Day

2 - International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

3 - International Day of Persons with Disabilities

8 - Pansexual Pride Day; queer Swedish monarch Christina of Sweden born 1626

10 - Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners host Pits and Perverts concern to raise mining for striking Welsh miners, 1984

14 - World Monkey Day

15 - Roman emperor Nero born 37CE

24 - American drag king and bouncer Stormé DeLarverie born 1920

25 - Christmas

29 - Trans American jazz musician Billy Tipton born 1914

[shigures-house]

My new revised Fruits Basket character ages post

First: I am a massive nerd. I’ve been studying how old the Fruits Basket characters are for over a decade now. I’ve gotten things wrong and people have passed me additional information, so I’m always refining it.

Second: the characters don’t really have birthdays because it’s not important to the story. If it mattered, then we’d know the birthdays.

So, what I’ve put together is a mixture of canon ages, calculations based on relative ages, knowledge of Japanese culture, and a source that may or may not actually be canon, the 2001 Fruits Basket character book. As a source of character data, it has not been outright disowned by Natsuki Takaya, which is good, because the western zodiac signs given in that book are a crucial point in calculating these ages.

So, let’s just run through the birth years of the major characters, oldest to youngest and then go on to explanations:

1971 (Year of the Pig) - Hatori, Shigure, Ayame

1972 or 1973 (Rat or Ox) - Kureno

1976, 1977, or 1978 (Dragon, Snake, Horse) - Ritsu

1978 or 1979 (Horse or Sheep) - Akito

1980 (Monkey) - Kagura

1981 or 1982 (Rooster or Dog) - Rin

1982 (Dog) - Arisa, Tohru, Yuki

1982 or 1983 (Dog or Pig) - Saki

1983 (Pig) - Kyo, Haru

1984 (Rat) - Momiji

1987 (Rabbit) - Kisa, Hiro

I go into tiresome detail below the fold:

First of all, some base principles. Chinese zodiac years in Japan do not follow the lunar new year (typically in late January or February), but instead the calendar year. In Japan, December 31, 2019 was the last day of the year of the pig, January 1, 2020 was the first day of the year of the rat, whereas the year of the rat was not recognized in China until January 25, 2020.

Second, the Japanese school system: the school year starts in the beginning of April. Young children start first grade the year that they are six on April 1st. Thus, the first grade students that started in April 2020 will have been born from April 2013 through March 2014. Elementary school lasts six years. The kids start middle school when they turn twelve, then high school when they turn 15. By the time they graduate from high school, they will have all turned 18 (there can be exceptions, and one of those is applicable to this discussion, so stay tuned).

So: the Mabudachi trio. They were in the same school year together, and they were all born in the year 1971. We know this because Tohru mentions that Hatori is 27 years old in spring 1999, while Shigure is 28 in fall of 1999. According to the 2001 character book, Hatori is a Cancer, Shigure a Scorpio, and Ayame a Sagittarius. So, Hatori was born June/July 1971, Shigure October/November, and Ayame November/December. They are all year of the pig, they started elementary school in April 1978 and graduated high school in March 1990.

Kureno: tells Uo he’s 26 years old in the summer of 1999: he’s either born in the early part of 1973 or the later part of 1972. I prefer to assume the former. Kureno had not been introduced by the time the character book had been published, so we don’t know his western zodiac sign.

Ritsu: The character we know the least about, and that includes age. All we know is that they’re several years younger than their four older cousins, and they’re older that Akito, who is the series character they are most similar in age to. Unhelpfully, their western zodiac sign is Capricorn, meaning they could be born in December or January. Based on relative ages, I think the likeliest birth years for Ritsu are December 1976/January 1977, but they might be year younger than that.

Akito: While Akito’s exact age is not given, we know that they’re between Ritsu and Kagura in age. Being born in 1978 would make them 20 at the start of the series, and I think it is implied that Akito is legally an adult, which was 20 years ol at the time the series was published (legal adulthood is now 18 in Japan). Akito is a Cancer, so approximately June/July 1978.

Kagura is said by Yuki to be two years older than them. She’s a Cancer as well, so she was born June/July 1980.

Rin is the other zodiac member who had not been introduced at the time of the character book, so we don’t have a western sign for her, either. We do have a school year, however: she’s one year ahead of Tohru & co. (Kagura mentions accepting Rin’s graduation certificate on her behalf). Rin was thus born sometime from April 1981 through March 1982.

That brings us to Tohru, Yuki, Kyo, Arisa and Saki. Tohru mentions in the very first chapter that she’s year of the dog. She’s also a Taurus, so she was born in Late April or early May 1982.Yuki is a Virgo, so his birthday is late August or early September 1982. Yuki is said to be 10 years younger than Ayame--given that Yuki’s birthday is earlier in the year, that means Ayame would indeed have been 10 when Yuki was born, turning 11 a couple of months later.. Kyo (as mentioned in a 4koma comic published near the start of the series) is year of the pig. As he’s Capricorn, that means his birthday is early January 1983, thus making him the only character whose birthday we can narrow down to one month in one year.

Now Saki and Arisa represent a puzzle for us. First of all, Arisa is an Aquarius, which means a January/February birthdate. Given that she’s in the same school year as her friends, that would imply being born in January/February 1983. However, that contradicts one piece of information. When she finds out, in the summer of 1999, that Kureno is 26, she thinks “nine years age difference,” implying she is seventeen at the time, rather than the sixteen she would be if she were born in 1983. But let’s not forget that Arisa was a delinquent. It’s a very plausible assumption that Arisa could have been held back a year at some point because of her spotty school performance. So, I choose to go with the assumption that Arisa was born in January/February 1982, making her the oldest of her friends instead of the youngest. Finally, there’s Saki, who is an Aries, meaning that her birthdate in in March or April. And that’s when the school cutoff date is. So, she’s either March 1983 or April 1982. I choose to believe the latter simply for the sake of probability: Aries has more April days than March days. So, by my reckoning, the birth order of the 1-D kids are: Arisa first, then Saki, Tohru, Yuki, with Kyo being the baby of the group.

Haru and Momiji are one year behind Tohru and company in school. Haru is yet another Cancer, meaning he was born in June/July 1983. Momiji is a Pisces, so that puts him at February/March 1984.

Finally, the youngest two. Kisa is three years behind Momij and Haru in school. Like Momiji, she’s also a Pisces, meaning she was born in February/March 1987. Hiro, a Leo, is only five months younger being born in July/August 1987, but since that’s after the April cutoff date, he’s one year behind her in school.

Is some of this information incorrect? Almost definitely--I’ve been refining my character age list for a long time, revising it as find new data. And if the western zodiac signs are invalid, then most of this information is even more worthless than appears at first glance.

But it’s been fun putting it together. I welcome other researchers to make discoveries that others have so far missed.

[noragami-ru-manga]

Chronology of Noragami

To match the events in Noragami with real-life data, we’ve used everything: festivities mentioned, important events that have occurred in Japan, natural disasters, seasonal flower blossoming, study trimesters, exams and school holidays, moon phases that have appeared in the manga, solar and lunar eclipses, Hiyori and Yukine’s birthdays, Hiyori’s diary, and even Yato’s clothes.

Several members of Noragami_ru Manga discussed the series and its time frames, armed with both inspiration and critical thinking. There was a lot of information to process; some of the manga events were very easy to match with the calendar, while others really fell out of the timeline. A prime example is chapter 73. It was impossible to reconcile with any given date and broke the straight string of the events that did line up. Sometimes Hiyori’s diary would cavort and list its dates at random. However, we do know that the events of Noragami happen within the time frame of a little over a year. This one’s easy to check and  prove. The manga started when Hiyori met Yato, several days later they found Yukine and a year later, right after his first birthday, Yukine was accosted by Mizuchi and ended up stinging Yato. Yato then decided to end his father’s attacks once and for all and went to confront him.

Adachitoka started working on Noragami in 2010, and the first chapter was published by Kodansha in January 2011. These dates were the first ones to come to mind. Naturally, other years were carefully examined; members of the fandom stocked up with “magnifying glasses” and “microscopes” and meticulously checked and double-checked several other calendars and tried to reconcile them with the events of the manga. But years 2010-2011 were the ones that fit the best, and very soon you’ll see why. Get ready, dear members, readers and (un)expected guests. We can’t promise you over-the-top fun times. But we hope that you will be pleasantly surprised and look at Noragami and its amazing universe in a different light. Let’s go!

This is our first main clue:

Hiyori says that it’s been two weeks since she first met Yato and became a half-ayakashi. The same day in the evening, they’ll find Yukine. “We had an early snow that day… I wonder if that’s why Yato named him Yukine?”, Hiyori will recollect a year later. It was 29 November, the end of 2010. The sky is overcast, it’s snowing, the moon can’t be seen so it’s impossible to match its phase with the calendar. But we will reconcile memorable dates with moon phases later.

Here we can see young moon behind the trees. It’s an early winter evening; Hiyori comes home and brings Yukine along. Judging by the moon phase, it’s sometime between 10-12 December 2010. Hiyori’s parents come home and say that they’ve been at the class reunion. Those are usually held on Saturdays. If so, the date is 11 December.

The encounter and the first fight with Bishamon happen during fool moon:

First signs of indelible blight start showing on Yato’s skin; Nora appears and tries to persuade him to give up on Yukine and use her instead. The fool moon at the picture looks like it’s been marred by dirt. Date-wise these coincide with 20-21 December 2010. A full lunar eclipse happened that night in real life. In Japan it could be seen in the evening, after the moon rising. Here is a quote from the Russian Wikipedia: “Since this lunar eclipse coincided with winter solstice, 21 December became “the darkest day” in the last 372 years. The next lunar eclipse on 21 December will happen only in 2094”.

The next is “Christmas” chapter (22-26 December). Yato is wearing a Santa cap, there’s a festive shop sign on the wall:

In chapter 9 Hiyori goes on a temple visit to Tenjin’s shrine and New Year’s celebration with her friends. She miraculously avoids death on 1 January:

7 January to 25 March is the last school trimester in Japan. Hiyori is wondering where Yato is. It’s the 3-4th lunar day, when there’s no moon yet, but there are signs of a very slim crescent.

Yato’s epiphany in girl’s bathroom

Soon enough, Yato and Yukine will have to go through misogi – the ablution ritual.

By the way, these two important events changed places in the anime. There, Yato was dying from blight sometime near the end of December, perhaps on that same “darkest day” of the lunar eclipse. Several days later, on New Year’s, Nora set her ayakashi on Hiyori.

Yato meets up with Nora during another full moon. Why can’t they just sleep on these moonlit nights?

Is it 20 January 2011? Or is it already 18 February?

Yukine meets Suzuha when the first spring flowers start blooming:

Hiyori is graduating from middle school and preparing to enter high school. Plumes are blooming (which means it’s either February or March), and Hiyori has her promotion exams coming when she is kidnapped by Kugaha. Yato and Yukine rash to Bishamon’s residence to rescue the girl:

Yato engages Bishamon in battle on the night of the crescent moon:

If we try to match first flowers blooming on the ground with plum blossoming, then it can’t be February, which means it’s the beginning of March. A crescent like this generally appears on 7-9th lunar day. Date-wise it lines up with 10-12 March 2011. The date that interests us is 11 March, since it was a memorable one for Japan. A huge earthquake occurred that day on the eastern cost of Honshu, resulting in a giant tsunami. Nearly 16 thousand people died and 2.5 thousand went missing.

In Noragami this event leads to the gods’ council in Takamagahara:

Bishamon manages to prove that her fall was the sorcerer’s doing, so the Heavens start their hunt on Ebisu. As a result, the actual perpetrator who’s used Aiha and Kugaha to set two warrior gods against each other goes unpunished, whereas Ebisu becomes a scapegoat.

Sakura starts blooming when Hiyori enters high school:

First trimester begins on 1 April. Hiyori is ignoring Yato. According to the calendar, it’s the new moon. Fujisaki enters the scene.

However, as soon as Suzuha’s sakura starts blooming, Hiyory gathers Yato and Yukine, Tenjin, Kofuku and Bishamon and their shinki for flower gazing. There’s even a date this time – 13 April.

The events of chapter 26 happen in early May. End of April – beginning of May are holidays in Japan, which Hiyori spends at home with her parents. Her diary, which we will examine later, is absolutely blank during this time. Hiyori’s mom says that it’s only May, but the water reservoir is empty. There’s also a newscast on TV about possible water shortage in summer, possibly due to abnormal weather conditions

This time Nora appears on a moonless night and kidnaps Yato. Two weeks later Hiyori is seen looking for Yato, asking Daikoku and Tenjin about him. She is doing it with a purpose, since she has plans for 8 May.

Hiyori’s diary here deserves special attention:  

It’s easy to match the dates with the calendar. For example, 10th is a Monday, January, therefore, 11th is a Tuesday. The next page of the diary has another Monday on it – 17th. The dates on the second frame are hard to match with anything, but there’s a mention of the picnic on the third one – 12-13 April, the days are Tuesday and Wednesday. On the fifth frame the pages with dates from 25 April to 7 May are empty. But there’s a trip to Capyper Land scheduled on Sunday.

Yato says he’s been living at his father’s for a month when he is sent to rescue Ebisu from Yomi:

Hiyori’s friends make her go to Capyper Land with them on one of the May weekends. Yukine has been in Takamagahara for a while, where the time flow is different from Earth’s, which is why he’s lost track of time for a bit and only realizes that summer is coming when he meets Hiyori:

There’s unrest in the Heavens. A storm is also brewing on Earth, as noted by Mayu:

2011 was an unlucky year for Japan. Typhoon Songda approached the country at the end of May. Here’s an extract from a real-life news article: “Disasters come treading on each other’s heels. Typhoon Songda, which has been raging near Japan, is approaching Fukushima-1 nuclear station. Bad weather might cause floods and landslides, which the experts fear might result in another radiation leak”.

During old moon Yato is still in Yomi with Ebisu. Storms are raging in Japan and in Takamagahara. A partial solar eclipse is approaching, which you’d think would bother the goddess of sun herself. In Japan it’s supposed to happen early in the morning on 1 June. But?.. Apparently off-screen, Amaterasu lifts her divine ass and goes searching for… the god of the moon, who went missing from the world of the living?

Amaterasu helps rescue the gods from Yomi. When Yato flies out of the vent straight into Hiyori’s arms, it’s already 15 June – there’s a full moon in the sky. According to the calendar, there was a full lunar eclipse that night. Yato is covered in dirt and blight:

After meeting with the reincarnated Ebisu, Yato releases Hiiro:

Judging by these frames, it was Hiiro who used to cut Yato’s hair. Sometime later it starts growing out, so Yato has to pull it into a ponytail since he doesn’t have his free hairdresser now. Though he will get one in Takemikazuchi several months later.

Yato misses Hiyori’s birthday on 28 June. However, he takes her to Capyper Land on one of the weekends. School holidays start on 20 July. Hiyori is seen wearing either dresses or sundresses. It’s also summer when Hiyori sees Yato’s memories and learns about the god’s greatest secret.

Hiyori starts going to school in chapter 48, so it’s September. The month does not begin well: Fujisaki asks the girl to leave Yato alone, and she challenges him. Right after that he uses the second brush from Yomi to summon ayakashi. Those cause chaos at the hospital that Hiyori blames herself for and starts turning into an ayakashi, going further away from the Near shore. It was also in the beginning of September 2011 that tropical storm Talas approached Japan, resulting in 59 casualties. The damage it caused is considered to be one of the biggest ones in the last 20 years. It’s no wonder Hiyori is blaming herself for the disasters; after all, as early as March, right after Yato’s battle with Bishamon and the unrest in Takamagahara and on Earth, Tenjin said to the girl that Yato did that because of her and nearly turned into an aramitama (raging spirit).

In chapter 53 Yukine is secretly reading Hiyori’s letters and says that they haven’t seen each other in two months:

Which means it’s the beginning of November. Fate brings Yato to another Iki and returns him to Hiyori once more. Their ties are written straight with crooked lines.

Yato starts preparing for Kamuhakari and makes clothes for Yukine and himself. Kiun appears and demands that he attends the divine council itself as well. It means that apart from feasting on free food, which was Yato’s intention, he will also have to participate in boring god meetings.

Tama the cat, who also appears at Kamuhakari, ruins this whole line of calendar match-ups. She died in June 2015, not long before chapter 58 was released, and Adachitoka honored her this way.

Bishamon misses Kamuhakari because she goes looking for the burial hafuri. Kazuma comes to Iwami. Full moon is shining through the window, which means it’s 11 November:

Hiyori goes back home from the festivities while Yato has to stay at the boring part of Kamuhakari. The girl notes that it’s been three days since she came back, and recalls that it’s been a year since she met Yato. It happens around 14-16 November. She also thinks that they should throw a party for Yukine, cause it’s almost a year since they found him (two weeks after she met Yato). Yukine’s birthday will be on 29 November. But a lot of events will happen in Takamagahara before that.

By the way, the time flow in Takamagahara is just as messed up as in Yomi. One day for Yato is the same as three days for Hiyori. The moon is old again. And the time in Takamagahara flows three times faster:

There’s also a peculiarity to Yato’s clothes.

“Yato comes to Kamuhakari in white clothes. But then the battle with the Heavens begins. Yato loses his divine white sleeve in his fight with Takemikazuchi. Then only the white cape remains. Finally, he appears in front of Amaterasu dressed in black.

We don’t know how long the battle lasted, but the time in Takamagahara flows differently than on Earth. It’s possible that it’s been two weeks on Earth between the beginning of Kamuhakari and Amaterasu’s trial. Also, during the new moon (when the side of the Moon facing the Earth isn’t lit by the Sun) the sun and the moon go side by side; sometimes the moon overshadows the sun a little, partially or completely. Yes, I’m still hoping an eclipse happened during the trial. Compare this: when Bishamon was at the brink of falling into the state of aramitama, her blight was dark. But Yato’s is black, and the stains it left on Amaterasu’s clothes are black”. (Ivan)

And the calendar? A partial solar eclipse happened on 25 November 2011. Japan was not supposed to see it. However, a black spot landed on Amaterasu and scared her.

“I think that’s the whole point, that the solar eclipse wasn’t seen in Japan. It could only be seen in Antarctica and partially in South Africa and New Zealand. So the picture in chapter 71 is correct. Amaterasu is showering every god and shinki present with her sunlight, then the eclipse starts. Yato, who is tired of the battle and tormented by his shinki’s sufferings, catches his “wave” and tries to make the eclipse happen in Japan as well (albeit figuratively – by striking down the sun goddess), but Take interrupts the moon god’s show of power. Amaterasu looks somewhat tired throughout the trial; maybe she isn’t feeling well, among other things?” (Yana)

The full moon in chapter 73 messes up all the calculations once again.

See, there has already been a full moon not that long ago. Hiyori had spent a day at the Kamuhakari, then waited for Yato’s return for three days, and there’s only one week left till Yukine’s birthday. There can’t be a full moon twice in two weeks’ time. Perhaps Adachitoka started the chapter with Ebisu’s kidnapping as an extra first and then turned it into a full chapter; they added the mention of Yukine’s birthday but either left the moon the way it was drawn for the extra or simply forgot about it.

The next chapter messes up the dates again.

27 November is on Monday in Hiyori’s diary and there’s a note “Fujisaki-senpai was absent again today”. The thing is, 27 November 2011 is Sunday. It was Monday in 2017, when the chapter was released. It was a hard year: one of the mangakas had to take a long sick leave, and the manga soon went on a 14 month long hiatus.

Sometime before the birthday the Heavens summon Yato and he’s questioned by the sacred treasures and then Amaterasu herself.

Yato wakes up covered in blight after Yukine’s birthday. Take’s shinki conduct another misogi, and Yukine admits that Nora kissed him the day before.

Yato goes looking for a shinki that can help him take down Fujisaki. Amaterasu has set a deadline for him on Ooharai, the Great Purification ritual (30-31 December). There has to be a crescent moon in the beginning of December – a very slim one, shaped as a bow. Kazuma comes to Yato and becomes his shinki.

In chapter 79 the dates in Hiyori’s diary are correct: 28 November is Monday, 29 November – Tuesday.

And it’s almost full moon in Chapter 81 when Yukine starts wondering about his past, with the crack on his name growing.

Please focus your attention on the top frames with the moon. Keep your hands on the table and lift your eyes off the bottom frames.

The next full moon is on 10 December 2011, and it’s supposed to be a lunar eclipse, too. Unfortunately, since chapter 81 there hasn’t been any other chapter that had a full moon in it. However, we do have Hiyori’s words in chapter 85 about missing the chance to spend Christmas with her friends. It means that the events of the latest chapters take place between Christmas and New Year’s.

Ooharai is near.

***

Author of chronology: Yana Tarasova

Inspired, came up with ideas and then checked and double-checked them: Darina Episheva, Yana Tarasova, Amoeba Proteus, Ivan Ivanov

Comprised into an article by: Ivan Ivanov

English translation by: Anastasia Bazheeva

[bearingwater]

January Forecast for Aquarius

Ease your way into 2019, as gently as you can. The calendar’s turn is always a little weird for you, because the Sun is in Capricorn and your sleepy twelfth house until the third week of January. Going straight from celebration to hibernation is what your system naturally wants to do. But this go-round, that might not be so easy. With two eclipses jolting you into action on January 5 and 21, there are important moves to make…and you don’t want to snooze through those!

On January 5, your twelfth house of closure is activated by a partial solar (new moon) eclipse in Capricorn, which could shut one door firmly so you can open another. What part of your identity or your past no longer serves you, Aquarius? Let it go so you can make way for the new. With structured Saturn traveling close to the Sun for the first week of the year (making an exact meetup on January 2), you may boldly shed an outworn part of your identity or life. Your father or a significant male might factor into events at this eclipse. You may also establish a new relationship with a mentor figure or be trained by a helpful person who’s a seasoned veteran of your industry. Artists and healers could gain unexpected recognition at the solar eclipse, or you might decide to commit yourself to mastering your craft in 2019.

On January 11, the mystical side of this eclipse could reveal itself, when the Sun makes its annual conjunction (meetup) with transformational Pluto in Capricorn. You may feel called to do some deep forgiveness work, especially if you’ve been clinging to resentment or projecting your past pain onto someone you care about. This Sun-Pluto meetup could bring a psychic moment, perhaps through a dream or a session with a healer. If you’ve ever wanted to try a past-life regression or work with a medium, you may get a serendipitous sign from a departed loved one now. Some profound puzzle pieces can come together in the first two weeks of the year, but you’ll have to be receptive to intuitive flashes and “messages” from your subconscious. Journaling, meditation or sound healing could open the channels.

Amid all this right-brained activity, your logical left brain will also have a heyday in January. Your co-ruler Uranus will rocket out of a five-month retrograde on January 6, powering forward in Aries and your third house of communication. Your trailblazing ideas (and possibly your shockingly authentic commentary) will be back on the fast track again. With assertive Mars also in Aries from January 1 to February 14, your feistiness could reach epic levels. Be careful not to get TOO in people’s faces about stuff, Aquarius, even if you’re valiantly defending your creative freedom or beliefs.

Still, it’s important to nail down your messaging now because on March 6, Uranus will depart Aries, not to return again in your lifetime. You’ve got two more months to put yourself out there in a bold and original way. Writing, teaching, social media and communication-based projects get a special boost. With Mars and Uranus in your third house of community, you might suddenly pick up and move to a new neighborhood or take on an unexpected role in a local project. Your inner social-justice warrior could be fired up now, and this is the perfect year to collaborate with like-minded people around a world-bettering cause.

But before you go splashing truth serum on the world or blasting out an opinion you can’t un-Tweet, make sure your thinking is clear. On January 13, the first of this year’s three challenging squares forms between outspoken Jupiter and hazy Neptune, which can lead to confusion and mixed messages. Jupiter is in your eleventh house of groups while Neptune is in your second house of money and security. This could bring anything from a confidence shake-up to disruptive drama in your social circle. Who are your real friends, and who’s just hanging around because they want something from you?

You may start to notice that a certain friendship has become one-sided or codependent, especially with needy Neptune in the mix. Perhaps there’s someone whose ego always needs a boost or who expects you to pick up the pieces (and the tab) when they make a mess out of their lives. Are you relying too heavily on others for validation or to boost your own status? With Jupiter in your technology house, you might need to take a social media break, especially if you’ve gotten overly concerned with counting “likes” at the expense of connection. Jupiter and Neptune will form two more exact squares on June 16 and September 21, but you’ll feel their tension throughout the year.

You’ll be ready to focus on numero uno again starting January 20, when the Sun swings into Aquarius for a month, kicking off your birthday season. Hibernation: interrupted! Those sluggish vibes that started the year will soon be a thing of the past. Unclear about your direction for 2019? The fog lifts, and you’ll radar in on what YOU want to accomplish this year. Any adventures topping your bucket list? Enlist a couple of trustworthy wingpeople and make those into a reality.

Your closest ties come under major scrutiny on January 21, when a Leo full supermoon and total lunar eclipse blaze into your seventh house of committed partnerships. From romance to finance to friendship, this eclipse will shake up the status quo. A budding connection could move swiftly into official status—or end abruptly. Or you could have an epiphany about what you’re willing to accept from a relationship or how to make your bottom line your top priority. If finding love is on your 2019 resolution list, this eclipse will bring a no-BS realization about how you might be blocking that…or what your savviest next steps should be.

This is the grand finale in a two-year series of eclipses that’s lit up the Leo-Aquarius axis since February 2017, transforming your personal identity as well as your approach to commitment. You’ve gotten so much clearer about who you are and what you stand for, since every six months an eclipse would nearly force you to assert yourself or step into the spotlight. Your interpersonal dynamics have naturally shifted, and as a result there could have been a reshuffling on Team Aquarius. You won’t experience eclipses here again until 2026, so use this powerful portal to make sure your relationships are on solid ground.

Once again, you may have to put on some filters before you clear the air, though. Also on January 21, intense Mars in your communication house locks into an embattled square with rigid Saturn in your twelfth house of closure. Even if you need to set a firm boundary or let someone know that you’re upset, watch your tone: This cosmic clash can either make you overly aggressive or the host of an epic pity party. Instead of hurling accusations or playing the blame game, try to begin any statement with “I feel” rather than “You.”

Or just wait a couple days until January 25, when Mars will form a harmonizing trine with authentic Jupiter, helping you serve up the #realtalk with love and generosity. The blissful union of these courageous planets will activate your interpersonal sectors, helping you step into other people’s shoes and listen with much more acceptance. It’s an amazing day to branch out and network, sparking up new dialogues and friendships.

Redirect your attention if you’re angry. Who knows? That person or issue that seemed SO infuriating a few days ago may now become comedic fodder. Your tale of woe could be a story so outrageous it sends you and a rapt audience into side-splitting hysterics when you reenact it. Laughter is truly the best medicine, and you might enjoy a hearty dose of it as the month ends.

Love & Romance

Witty banter and stimulating conversations are your most effective aphrodisiacs this month as lusty Mars blazes through Aries and your mental, expressive third house until February 14. This can have the effect of drawing people to you like moths to a tiki flame. If you’re looking for romance—or just some fun, flirty times—this is one exciting transit!

But if you’re coupled up, or just not feeling it, you may want to lay a little low because you WILL be found! You might be attracted to a brainy geek or wordsmith; “boring” is not going to cut it for you! With aggro Mars heating up your communication corner, watch for a tendency to be a bit argumentative or sarcastic. If you’re in a relationship, don’t take your beloved for granted or make the rookie error of dumping your stuff on them. It will NOT be appreciated!

The first week of January, when fellow lovebird Venus is flitting through Scorpio and your prominent tenth house, you might be stuck on being “right” or hammering home a point at the expense of getting along. Try to catch yourself in action and nip that behavior in the bud before it spins out of control and you foster resentment. On the upside, this is a great transit for talking about shared future plans and maybe launching a sideline business together. Single? You could be drawn to someone older or more established than you.

Then, from January 7 to February 3, Venus will sweep through Sagittarius and your eleventh house of socializing and technology. If you’re not attached at the hip, you’ll prefer to keep your interpersonal interactions on the light-and-breezy side and put off getting into anything too serious. Since this zone rules your digital life, this is a particularly good time for online dating. But focus on the fun and adventure of it, not the “end zone.”

January brings a pair of romantic red-letter days, so watch for them. On January 18, and Venus and Mars align in a harmonious trine that could set the stage for meeting someone through mutual friends or a dating site—which could catch you totally off-guard! On January 22, Venus makes her once-a-year merger with fellow “benefic” Jupiter. You might spark a new connection with a person from another culture, who lives in another time zone or works remotely from various location. But if the chemistry (and other qualities) are there, you won’t mind. Couples could travel together, perhaps with mutual friends. Rally your favorite people and book a ski lodge chalet or a cool Airbnb rental.

Love Days: 17, 21 Money Days: 27, 10 Luck Days: 25, 7 Off Days: 19, 23, 5

[savedfromsalvation]

The Gregotria New Year is a Fake!

When Was the First Christmas?by D.M. Murdock/Acharya S

For the past nearly 1,700 years, a significant portion of the Western world has celebrated the day of December 25th as the birth of the divine Son of God and Savior Jesus Christ. Thousands of images have been created, as well as songs, poems and other artistic endeavors, depicting the baby Jesus lying in a manger surrounded by ox and lamb, with the Virgin Mary, Joseph, angels and three Wise Men looking on in wonder at the luminous infant. This imagery, we are told, represents the very first Christmas, when the Lord of the Universe was born on this earth, on the 25th day of December in the year 1 AD/CE. But is this story true?

"O, how wonderfully acted Providence that on that day on which that Sun was born...Christ should be born."

The tradition of "Christmas" or December 25th as the birth of Jesus Christ, the main figure of the New Testament who is believed by nearly two billion Christians worldwide to have been God in the flesh come to save mankind from its sins, is traceable to the late second to third century AD/CE. During that time, the Church father Cyprian (d. 258) remarked (De pasch. Comp., xix): "O, how wonderfully acted Providence that on that day on which that Sun was born...Christ should be born." In other words, the Savior's birth was being observed at the winter soltice. What is seldom known, however, is that prior to that time, Christ's birth was placed on a variety of days, indicating its non-historicity:

January 5th, January 6th, March 25th, March 28th, April 19th, April 20th, May 20th, August 21st, November 17th and November 19th.

December 25th as Christ's birthday makes its way into a "calendar" or chronology created in 354 AD/CE called the Calendar of Filocalus or Philocalian Calendar. In addition to listing the 25th of December as the Natalis Invicti, which means "Birth of the Unconquered (Sun)," the Calendar also names the day as that of natus Christus in Betleem Iudeae: "Birth of Christ in Bethlehem Judea." Hence, we can see that people of the fourth century were clearly aware of the association, if not identification, of Christ with the sun, as they had been in Cyprian's time and earlier, since Jesus is claimed to be the "Sun of Righteousness" in the Old Testament book of Malachi (4:2).

"But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings."

Over the past few decades, many people have come to understand that "December 25th" represents not the birthday of a "historical" savior named Jesus Christ but the time of the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere, when the day begins to become longer than the night, and the sun is said to be "born again," "renewed" or "resurrected."

Numerous Winter-Solstice Celebrations Globally

By the time Jesus's birth was placed at the winter solstice there had been numerous solstitial celebrations of the coming "new sun" in a wide variety of places. Many winter-solstice festivals can be found listed in my 2010 Astrotheology Calendar, for the month of December. As I write there:

December is full of winter-solstice celebrations beginning in remotest antiquity. For example, the date of December 21st as the festival of the Japanese sun goddess Amaterasu represents her "coming out of the cave," a typical solar myth.

Likewise noteworthy is the festival of the Egyptian baby sun god Sokar occurring on 26 Khoiak, as related in the Calendar of Hathor at Dendera, corresponding at the turn of the common era to December 22nd. The longstanding ritual of Sokar being carried out of the temple on this day in an "ark" closely resembles the censored commentary by Church father Epiphanius (c. 310/320-403) concerning the Egyptians bringing forth the baby sun born of a virgin at the winter solstice.

The winter-solstice celebrations were so important that at times they exceeded the one or two days of the actual solstice in the Gregorian calendar, i.e., December 21st or 22nd. Solstice celebrations therefore do not necessarily fall on the traditional time of the solstice but may occur up to several days before or after, such as is exemplified by the Roman celebration of Saturnalia, which began on  December 17th and ended on the 23rd.

Hence, a "winter solstice" birth as asserted for a number of gods would not necessarily be celebrated on those exact days or even on the more commonly accepted date of December 25th, which signifies the end of a three-day period of the solstice—meaning "sun stands still"—as perceived in ancient times. In this regard, the winter-solstice birthday of the Greek sun and wine god Dionysus was originally recognized in early January but was eventually placed on December 25th, as related by the ancient Latin writer Macrobius (4th cent. ad/ce). Regardless, the effect is the same: The winter sun god is born around this time, when the day begins to become longer than the night.

In 275 ad/ce, December 25th was formalized by Emperor Aurelian as the birthday of Sol Invictus, the Invincible Sun, and it is claimed that Aurelian likewise combined the Greek festival of the sun god Helios, called the Helia, with Saturnalia as well to establish this solstice celebration. The highly important Mysteries of Osiris, which begin on the 14th of December and end with his resurrection on December 26th, follow a winter-solstice pattern similar to the Brumalia, Saturnalia and Christmas celebrations. The facts that this period comprises several festivities having to do with the passion, death and resurrection or rebirth of this prominent Egyptian sun god, and that the dates for these mysteries happened to correspond to the winter solstice when the wandering Egyptian Calendar was finally fixed, are extraordinary.

How Far Back Do Winter-Solstice Celebrations Go?

In my 2011 Astrotheology Calendar, the month of December is illustrated by the "passage tomb" at Newgrange, Ireland, which is oriented to the sunrise on the winter solstice or around December 21st in the Gregorian calendar. This tomb—which has also been called a "temple" based on its evident importance—is guarded by a large boulder with spiral solar symbols and dates to around 3200 BCE. The winter-solstice sunrise at Newgrange sends a shaft of light down the cruciform corridor and chamber. This ceremony is believed to signify the "return to life" or resurrection from the death of winter. In this sacred site is thus a 5,000-year-old "cross of light" representing the resurrection to life or rebirth on "December 25th."

"In the sacred site at Newgrange is a 5,000-year-old 'cross of light' representing the resurrection to life and rebirth on 'December 25th.'"

There are many other archaeological sites globally that are astronomically aligned, particularly to the winter solstice, some even older than Newgrange, such as the wooden circle or "henge" at Goseck, Germany, which may be 7,000 years old. The building of such astronomically aligned edifices, which are widely understood to be "temples" of a sort, indicates that the ancient astrotheological motif of the sun god's birth at the winter solstice is at least that old. Moreover, there is evidence that this solar observation is much older even than that.

The suggestion that the winter-solstice celebration by human beings in several parts of the world, particularly in the farther northern reaches of the northern hemisphere, dates back to Paleolithic times and was part of religious "mysteries" even then is indicated by a number of artifacts, including the painting known as "Sorcerer with the Antelope's Head" from Les Trois Freres caves in the French Pyrenees. As I write in Suns of God, these caves were occupied during the Magdalenian period, 10,000-16,000 years ago, although mythologist Robert Graves dates the paintings therein to "at least 20,000 B.C."

In Prehistoric Lunar Astronomy, Indian scholar S.B. Roy theorizes that these paintings are representative of secret deposits relating to the mysteries, remarking that they would "necessarily be performed at a particular auspicious moment," upon which their potency would depend. This auspicious moment would be dependent on the solar and lunar phases, as well as the seasons.

As I also relate in Suns of God, Roy further posits that the antelope-headed "sorcerer" was "a figure marking the onset of a season." The reasons for this assertion include that the "remote traditions" in the Rig Veda and in Vedic astronomy relate that the Stag's head represents the star L-Orionis and the winter solstice at the new moon, as well as the summer solstice at the full moon. Roy concludes that the sorcerer figure "marked the winter solstice," which was "a great day in the Ice Age of Europe." Based on the astronomy, the figure dates to 10,600 BCE.

Discussing the European Magdalenian cave-dwellers of around 10,000 years ago, Roy also asserts:

In Northern Europe and Asia, in latitudes of 60º and higher, where Slavonic languages now prevail, the winter was then long and dark. It was very cold. Everyone looked to the day of the winter solstice when the sun would turn North. The astronomers would know the date even though the sun itself was not visible. This was the great day, for the spring would now come.

Thus, the winter solstice was an important factor in human culture, particularly that of the cold, northern latitudes, at least 12,000 years ago.

"'Christmas' is thus an extremely ancient celebration, predating the Christian era by many millennia."

The winter solstice celebration that developed throughout much of the inhabited world has been handed down as "Christmas," i.e., December 25th, the birthday of the "sun of God." "Christmas" is thus an extremely ancient celebration, predating the Christian era by many millennia.

Have a Happy Solstice!

[psychic-readingonline]

Astrology Zone Gemini January 2018

Contents

. … making gemini

Forecast. aries. mar

Taurus. apr 20

Birth data: important

Astrology 2019 Birth Chart Get detailed free 2019 Horoscope Predication information based on your moon sign. 2019 Horoscope covers about your love and marriage, career, finance, … 2019 Horoscopes – Get free 2019 astrology predictions for all 12 Zodiac signs from … Know about all areas of life with your future horoscope 2019. What does 2019 have in store for Astrology Chart Indian Read Nov 9, 2015 … Your chart also shares intimate secrets about your healing and transformation process. Jyotish is the Vedic science of astrology. It takes hours … Cyberastro.com for free astrology report 2019, Astrology online, Indian astrology, Future Prediction by date of birth,indian horoscope, free daily horoscope, vedic astrology website, free prediction 2019, free daily forecast,monthly

Nov 2, 2018 … NOVEMBER 2018. Dear Reader,. Tomorrow, I fly to San Diego to give my Year Ahead 2019 weekend seminar at the La Costa Resort & Spa in …

This month belongs to you. It's birthday time, and the Sun is favoring all your wishes, dear Gemini. As you enter your special month, you have recently come off a …

Gemini Horoscope for December 2018. May 21 – June 20 . To view the current horoscopes, click here. … making gemini the sign most likely to marry in 2019 or to gain from business-based collaborations in the coming year. … Get the new Astrology Zone app for horoscopes …

Read this month's horoscope by Susan Miller. Select your sign for your forecast. aries. mar 21 – Apr 19 · taurus. apr 20 – May 20 · Gemini. May 21 – Jun 20.

Dec 6, 2018 … December 2018. Dear Reader,. I have two big surprises, and I am bursting to tell you about both! I can tell you about the first surprise, below, …

Your January Horoscope. Read this month’s horoscope by Susan Miller. Select your sign for your forecast. … Gemini . May 21 – Jun 20 . Cancer . Jun 21 – Jul 22 . Leo … Astrology Zone for Apple Watch. Go Shopping.

Your Horoscope by Susan Miller Also at this full moon, Saturn will orbit near the full moon, but not as close as Uranus will be, thank goodness. Saturn will be ten degrees away from the Sun and full moon, which is the far end of the range I use, so this is considered an aspect in wide degree.

Astrology Houses Leo Astrology Calendar 2018 Uk Astro MOON CALENDAR 2019 . SOLD OUT! Unique and beautiful lunar and astrology wall calendar which features powerful sacred stones in the moonlight. Astrology is the study of the movements and relative positions of celestial objects as a means of divining information about human affairs and terrestrial events. Astrology has been Astrology Chart And Interpretation Free Back to Free Reports Home and list of charts. Tips for Entry of birth data: important: For best results, enter your birth city ONLY in the birthplace location field. Have you ever wondered why some people are lively, others generous, some artistic and others just plain shy ? Your Astrology Chart interpretation will tell you

Your Horoscope by Susan Miller. This certainly has been a year to scrub clean your life and to delete people or projects that no longer held your fascination, …

This will be the last eclipse in the Leo-Aquarius series, and it seems tied to the last two we had in 2018, on July 27 and August 11. Gemini is talented in …

Astrology Calendar 2018 Uk Astro MOON CALENDAR 2019 . SOLD OUT! Unique and beautiful lunar and astrology wall calendar which features powerful sacred stones in the moonlight. Astrology is the study of the movements and relative positions of celestial objects as a means of divining information about human affairs and terrestrial events. Astrology has been dated to at least

[mnemease]

Birthday

A celebration of the day that one is born, recurring yearly though holding different meaning as one ages through the decades. In the first decade, birthdays are filled with excitement. Family members, friends, and even classmates show up to congratulate us on our special day. 

In the second decade, birthdays are awaited with impatience as we approach the transition into adulthood. During this time, some people come up with bigger, more elaborate party plans to make their anniversary truly special, while others choose to simply spend time with some close friends and relatives, otherwise treating the day as nothing special. 

Beyond the third decade, however, the excitement gradually falls, and even those who adore parties eventually cease to make their birthday a special occasion. For the passage of a birthday is a sign of aging, bringing us one step closer to the day we cease to exist.

It is interesting how birthdays, or really anniversaries of any kind, are treated with such importance. For really, an anniversary is just a date that happens to be a whole number multiple of the number of revolutions that the Earth travels around the Sun. Even then, this calculation is not exact, for the existence of leap years makes it merely an approximation. In fact, I have once even wondered what it would be like to have a birthday on February 29th. I thought it might allow for a very different experience of time. 

In fact, birthdays based off the traditional solar calendar are not the only ones that exist. There are ones based off the lunar calendar, ones that assume that people are one year old at the time of birth, ones that use daylight savings time…the list goes on and on. In fact, given all the time zone differences, sometimes immigration to a foreign country means that one’s birthday could in reality fall on a completely different day. 

Given all these complications, it really is a wonder why we place such importance on something that is so arbitrarily defined. Wouldn’t it make better sense to measure the change in some biological or social property, and use that as a personalized indicator of when one should celebrate one’s “birthday”?

But of course, this sort of measurement would pose a whole new set of problems. Such changes in age can be difficult to predict. One might remain in the same life stage for decades, or, on the contrary, pass through multiple milestones within a single day. 

There is something about having some form of acknowledgement for the passage of fixed interval of time. There is something comforting in reaching that special day, year after year. Even if there is are no candles, no cakes, and no one for company, it is nice to have a reminder that we have survived another year. That in itself should be reason enough to celebrate.

~

I really need to remember to be more active with this blog…and all of my other writing projects too to be honest. Also, I happened to post about birthdays on Mewtwo's birthday. I guess I'm not completely immune to revealing my Pokémon addiction here either. 

[willidleaway]

Actually, thanks to the Japan Anniversary Association and the easy-to-use search tool on their website, I believe I’ve come up with some suitable alternate celebration programming for the really, really die-hard Japanophiles.

For example, 14 Feb is Car Insurance Day. Loose partial translation:

Established by the Tokio Marine Nichidou Fire Insurance Corporation. On 14 Feb 1914 (Taishou 3), the company, then the Tokio Marine Insurance Corporation, received the first sales authorisation for car insurance in Japan, with the idea that ‘every day with humans and cars should feel safe’.

Fun titbit: The same company recently became the first Japanese vehicle insurer to cover accidents involving self-driving cars.

More alternate observances after the break.

14 Mar: Aside from March being Life Insurance Review Month, 14 Mar specifically happens to be ... Seppuku Monaka Day.

It’s not actually as horrifying as it sounds. Mostly.

To pass down numerous things about the Chuushingura to many people, the Japanese sweets shop Shinshoudou (新正堂) opens in Shimbashi, Tokyo, which has the Seppuku Monaka amongst its goods.

It’s also Home Inspection Day, but honestly I think I’ve done enough talking about safety for now.

1 Apr: This is important, folks. Mark your calendars. Forget April Fools’. Forget Training Day (the Japanese anniversary, not the film). Forget Online Trade Day. Definitely forget Mobile Phone Strap Day. I hear you ask (because I’m delusional and am hearing voices in my head and also I’m almost entirely confident that I’ve made this joke before): what, then, could it be? Real Estate Appraisal Day? ＷＨＯＰＰＥＲ® Day? Day of Steel? No. All of those pale in importance compared to the major milestone in Japanese society—nay, in human history—that I’m about to reveal to you.

The first of April is the anniversary of the founding of the Japan Anniversary Association, in 1991.

I know, I too thought that it had been with us since the dawn of time. Or at least the dawn of Japan. One of those.

1 May: Coin Day. Get it? Because quasi-homophones!

Said to be one of the most important inventions of humanity, money has a history of nearly three thousand years.

Great! When’s Wheel Day? (Editor’s note—no such thing exists, but there is a Tyre Day on 8 Apr and an Okonomiyaki Day on 10 Oct. Since the tyre is vital to many modern wheels, and the okonomiyaki is also one of the most important inventions of humanity, I find both of these to be adequate substitutes.)

25 May: Well, you could celebrate Terminator Day, marking the day that the first movie premiered in Japanese cinemas. But frankly, doesn’t Bessho Line Day sound far more interesting to you? The Bessho Line is a small rail line connecting downtown Ueda to a hot springs area, and the date is actually taken from the Type 5250 trains (image via here) that used to operate on that line. Look at those tiny round windows!

4 Jul: Nanashii Day! Again: homophones!

What, you don’t know what Nanashii is? Well, that’s fine! It’s perfectly fine with the Toyomaru Industry Corporation of Nagoya, because—well, you see, the day is meant to promote the company’s Nanashii series of pachinko machines.

Yes, pachinko. The Japan Anniversary Association is perfectly fine assigning a day for pachinko PR.

Erm, look, I don’t actually know what kind of pachinko this is, but ... just give me a mulligan on that one, okay?

4 Jul, again: Repair Your PC Day!

Established by Shouin Corporation, based in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, dealing in used PC sales and PC repair. The purpose is to disseminate the ideas of not throwing away and repairing broken objects. Notebook computer repair classes offered for all ages.

Well, until all OEMs follow Apple, who are obviously leading the way to just offering a block of circuitry coated in impenetrable solder. (Editor’s note—you can’t actually coat everything indiscriminately in solder and expect it to work properly. The figurative image stands.) Still, good work in the meantime.

7 Jul: Are you tired of people celebrating Tanabata on the wrong calendar? (I mean, some Tanabata festivals in Japan actually take place on the Gregorian 7/7 date rather than near the lunar 7/7 date, but what do they know about their own customs?) Well, you’re not short on alternatives, which include:

Calpis Day, in celebration of the Japanese soft drink first marketed on this day in 1919.

Moony’s Birthday, basically the fictional birthday of a fictional baby and therefore the doubly fictional birthday of a triply fictional ... teddy bear diaper mascot? Or nappy mascot. Whichever is less confusing to you. Seriously, though, look at that mascot’s profile—name, height, birth date and place, talents ... all that’s missing is blood type. But it does get more and more weirdly adorable as you look at it.

Bamboo Leaf Fish Cake Day, or, if you’re feeling less rote-translation-minded, Sasa-kamaboko Day. It’s grilled fish cake in the shape of bamboo leaves. Kind of cheating listing this separate from Tanabata, because the only reason this day is even on this date is because Tanabata and bamboo are heavily connected. In fact, you might say that a lot about Tanabata hangs on bamboo. Get it? Get ... I’ll get me coat.

Mary’s Summer Valentine Day. Erm. What? Eek, another holiday riding on the tailcoats of Tanabata. And this time, even more explicitly marketing-driven! Move along.

Two other marketing holidays tied to the romantic aspects of Tanabata—one that I literally cannot translate in any other way than Love Day or Day of Love, and, erm ... Love Soumen Day? Yes, there’s a love-themed brand of Japanese noodles. It looks disgusting. Probably actually decent noodles, though.

Ponytail Day, for which the Japan Anniversary Association isn’t even responsible. The Japan Ponytail Association (yes, that apparently existed) went rogue on them and just declared it all by themselves! Those maniacs! They blew it up! Even the twin-tail enthusiasts went through the JAA! This is most unorthodox!

oh god another pachinko-related day just skip it

And finally—Ultimate Day. Yes. You know what that means. ... no, not the End of Time Itself, actually—it means ultimate, the flying disc sport. You know, what some of you call ultimate frisbee. Most of you, probably. Kind of disappointing, really. Could really use an apocalypse this year.

31 Oct: well, Vegetable Day falls on the 31st of every month, but it’s obviously best when it’s facing off against Hallowe’en.

Established by the 5 A Day Association, which engages in food education activities and recommends that you eat five servings (350 g) of vegetables and 200 g of fruits each day.

No, vegetable-shaped sweets don’t count. Eat your greens.

Okay, but listing a monthly event is kind of cheating. Let’s try this again.

31 Oct, specifically: Tohsai Day. It’s literally just got a ceramics company’s name on it. Also, I can’t figure out how 陶彩 is supposed to be kind of sort of read as ten thirty-one.

Oh god, it’s supposed to be kind of sort of read as three-one. Oh and I can’t believe there is an alternate reading of 十 that sounds vaguely like 陶.

I can’t stand this. Go to a different one without homophone-play.

31 Oct, again: Izumo-zenzai Day. It’s red bean soup with mochi. It sounds delicious. It is delicious. I want a bowl now.

Oh, wait. Zen-za-i ... 1000 ... 3-1 ... oh god. I can’t avoid it. I just can’t.

Note to Japan: stop. You’re worse than the Anglosphere’s punniest.

5 Nov: Well, it’s apparently also Life Insurance Review Month in November. For the fifth of November specifically, we have Delicious Conger Eel Day.

Established by Matsuiizumi, a shop in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, specialising in conger eels.

Remember, buy conger / This fifth of November / Gunpowder, treason and fish / I know of no reason / Why in any good season / You'd ditch such a yummy dish!

25 Dec: Pudding Day!

Established by Ohayou Dairy Corporation, based in Okayama, Okayama Prefecture, maker of milk, processed milk, milk beverages, yoghurt, and other dairy products. Designated because of its many popular pudding products.

Actually, as with Vegetable Day, it falls on the 25th of every month (yet again due to a convoluted pun that doesn’t remotely translate into English)—so no, nobody intentionally went up against Christmas here.

It’s actually the same story with Boxing Day, where Sunsweet of Japan established a Prune Day for the 26th of every month. Nobody designated anything specifically for the 25th or 26th of December. Kind of surprised, really, considering all the crowding around Gregorian Tanabata.

In conclusion: does anyone know of any other examples of these anniversary associations? I desperately want to search through to find out who’s paying these kinds of people all that money to get something on some calendar, somewhere, possibly, but in countries that are not Japan.