This is my attempt to recreate those old almanacs that used to inform people of the events of the year. They had a slighlty astrological feel, with details of star signs and planetary motions, but they also kept people informed of saints days, festivals and things like sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset and moonphase data that were useful for people who worked in agriculture.
This almanac is organised by the months in the Anglo-Saxon calendar and shows the following details:
- Number of the day in the current month
- Day of the week
- Events, festivals, holidays etc. The events recorded include those from other cultures and faiths, but primarily those that impact on Engllish modern life, e.g. Hindu, Islamic, Chinese etc. Traditional English or British customs have also been included.
- Sunrise, sunset, moonrise and moonset times. These are for Aberdeen in Scotland as this is where I live.
- Number of the day in the current lunation, i.e. since the last new moon. This number is called the lune, and the sequence begins on the day following each new moon. New moon and full moon markers are also used, and the letters "a" and "p" indicate the lunar apogee and perigee.
- The equivalent date in the Gregorian calendar.
The name Old English Almanac has been chosen because it is based upon the Anglo-Saxon calendar. However, as has been mentioned, the data is not necessarily old or intrinsically English. The sun and moon data are for Aberdeen in Scotland, but the terms "English" and "Anglo-Saxon" are not entirely irrelevant for that location.
The month pages are accessible according to the year:
1564
- Afteryule (Dec 2007-Jan 2008)
- Solmonth (Jan-Feb 2008)
- Rethemonth (Feb-Mar 2008)
- Ostermonth (Mar-Apr 2008)
- Thrimilch (Apr-May 2008)
- Forelithe (May-Jun 2008)
- Afterlithe (Jun-Jul 2008)
- Wedmonth (Jul-Aug 2008)
- Holimonth (Aug-Sep 2008)
- Wintering (Sep-Oct 2008)
- Blotmonth (Oct-Nov 2008)
- Foreyule (Nov-Dec 2008)
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