This Month in Randland: Saven

Author: Atarah al'Norahn
Published: May 8 2020 Tar Valon Times Blog Link

In just a few days, the month of Saven will begin in Randland. The sixth month of the year in the Farede Calendar[1], Saven possesses 28 days and corresponds to our own dates of May 10 – June 6.

There is only one holiday that is located during Saven for certain. On the ninth day of Saven (approximately May 18), Dahan is celebrated to mark the victory of the Light during the Trolloc Wars. (You can read more about Dahan and the Trolloc Wars in our previous blog article on the this feast day!)

Regarding another holiday, the Feast of Fools, there is more uncertainty. While The World of Robert Jordan’s “The Wheel of Time” states that it in most nations it takes place during Saven (with the exception of Arad Doman and the Borderlands, where it takes place in Tammaz [July 6 – August 2]), The Wheel of Time Companion instead states that the Feast of Fools occurs during the fall. Known for its topsy-turvy inversion of roles, in which “servants gave orders and those whom the servants worked for had to serve” (Companion), the Feast of Fools is also known as Foolday–or, in Saldaea, as the Festival of Unreason. Stay tuned later in the month to learn more about this day.

Finally, of interest is the fact that parts of The Shadow Rising likely happen during Saven, given that we know it is late summer during parts of The Fires of Heaven.

• [1] The Farede Calendar came into use after the end of the War of the Hundred Years. There are thirteen months with twenty-eight days each.