Hochstralender

Hochstralender is a fictional calendar system used in German-language fantasy and worldbuilding contexts. It is not a real-world calendar, and there is no single canonical version; descriptions vary by author and project.

Structure and timekeeping: Most depictions describe a solar year divided into twelve months of thirty days each, totaling 360 days. A set of five intercalary days is added to reach 365 days; some variants include an additional leap day every four years to approximate the solar year.

Weeks and naming: Weeks are commonly seven days, though some versions use different week lengths. Day names are often linked to celestial phenomena, seasonal cycles, or deities, and are used to date events in the calendar. Months are frequently named after stars, weather patterns, or seasonal cues.

Festivals and seasons: Major festivals typically align with solstices and equinoxes, with additional celebrations marking agricultural or religious milestones. The calendar often serves to coordinate rites, harvests, and civic ceremonies within a fictional society.

Usage and variants: Because it is not standardized, details of the hochstralender vary widely between works. It functions as a flexible tool for storytelling, role-playing games, and worldbuilding, providing a coherent chronology for fictional settings rather than reflecting a real historical system.