If you've ever looked at my various online galleries since January of last year (2010), you might notice I've posted stuff related to Easter (choconiverous teeth and
), Souther (a... rock?), and Wester (a hungry hedgehog). After that, there's a possibility you might pause and wonder just what the heck I'm trying to pull here.
Think of it this way: there are four seasons and four cardinal directions. If Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first Full Moon after the Spring Equinox, might Wester fall on the first Sunday after the first Full Moon after the Autumn Equinox? How about Norther and the Winter Solstice? Souther and the Summer Solstice? (I'm using the Northern Hemisphere's equinoxes and solstices here. Obviously, the Southern Hemisphere would have them inverted.)
Naturally, if there's an Easter bunny, I just had to pair small, cute mammals with the other holidays. The mammals needed to be familiar to Europeans, available more or less as pets, and could be paired with Australian mammals in the same manner as the Easter bunny is paired with the Easter bilby. (2010's Souther picture had a pet rock simply because I hadn't matched the squirrel to Souther at that time.)
Then
posted this journal, which prompted me to see if he liked my idea. He did, and I wrote up this journal, to put together what I've got so far.
The dates are as follows, starting from 2010 (when I first made a Norther picture) and continuing to 2020. All follow the rule of "on the first Sunday after the first Full Moon after the equinox or solstice". Thus, if a Full Moon falls on a Sunday, the holiday is the next Sunday. If a Full Moon falls on the equinox or solstice, then the following Full Moon is used. All except Easter use the actual astronomical Full Moons and equinoxes or solstices. (Easter uses the ecclesiastic calendar which has its Spring Equinox set on March 21.)
Norther Easter Souther Wester 2010 January 3 April 4 June 27 October 24 2011 January 23 April 24 July 17 October 16 2012 January 15 April 8 July 8 October 7 2013 December 30, 2012 March 31 June 30 October 20 2014 January 19 April 20 July 13 October 12 2015 January 11 April 5 July 5 October 4 2016 December 27, 2015 March 27 July 24 October 23 2017 January 15 April 16 July 16 October 8 2018 January 7 April 1 July 1 September 30 2019 December 23, 2018 April 21 July 21 October 20 2020 January 12 April 12 July 12 October 4
Whew, that's a lot of figuring for what's essentially three gag holidays. :p Feel free to ask questions below. If you're nuts enough to want to check my figures or extend this list further out into the future, I used the Data Services on the US Naval Observatory's site. If you'd like to share these holidays with other folks, feel free to.
Thank you. :) Also, thank you for prompting me to do this. I needed to calculate the dates anyway, and getting it done now beats scrambling about a week or so before next Norther. :p
Thank you. :) Also, thank you for prompting me to do this. I needed to calculate the dates anyway,
