List of months | The Ten Commandments Early in our explorations, we spotted a prominent monument located in the public square in front of the capitol building in Abagail DC. The following commandments are inscribed in the stone face of the monument and appear to be the guiding principles of their society. This provided us valuable insights into the character of the people. This is what is written: Citizens of Chaladon, rejoice in your responsibility to uphold our sacred truths: We remember the Prinder legend and sleep with serenity by behaving honestly We remember our beloved Grindles by living in harmony with nature. We proudly walk Markan, holding high our heads as free people. We remember wise Meydle who taught us the meaning of responsibility. We remember Ferd the Wise, honoring our parents and those who came before us. We support our neighborhood Julias and look after the welfare of our children. We honor each patient Agnes by seeking to understand the unknown. We remember Abigail the Funny and laugh at arrogance and the idea of violence. We are brave towards the unknown and face the future with confidence, We sing and dance, we laugh and play, and we enjoy our traditions. Thus, behold our creed, true because we know not a better way to live our lives. Even though all of us instantly recognized the importance of the Ten Commandments, the meanings were not completely clear. Who were Ferd the Wise and Abagail the Funny? Why were they wise and funny, and why were they important? What's a Grindle? Or for that matter, a Julia or an Agnes? And what is the meaning of the expression, "walking Markan?" Only one thought was completely clear—these commandments were critically important and we needed to carefully study and understand their meanings. We brought in experts from the fields of philosophy and theology, as well as sociology and psychology, and considerable time was spent investigating these issues. Even more importantly, we have successfully sent observers to various time periods in Chaladonian history by use of the miraculous, (and heretofore Top Secret), technology of quantum time travel, and their personal observations have been invaluble. (It should be mentioned here that the first quantum transport came about by accident before our scientists were satisfied the technology was safe and indeed even possible. Perhaps even more amazing, the first time travelers were children. My daughter, Lindal who was eleven at the time, and her friend Melvin who was twelve, accidently gained access to the lab, and not realizing the technology was still experimental, managed accidentily to transport themselves to Chaladon in the time of Queen Abagail where they witnessed and actually participated in the momentous events that led to the end of Chaladonian warfare. This astounding trip is described in a separate document.) At the completion of our studies, all unanimously concluded the Ten Commandments form the basis of a secular belief structure that has almost completely replaced the earlier religions in Chaladon. Everyone is guaranteed complete freedom of religious expression, and many still adhere to their traditional religious beliefs, but even these have been adapted to embrace the core commandments etched in the stone monument before their capitol. This conclusion might be troublesome to some readers, but what is beyond dispute is that this "secular religion" works extremely well in this society, and has led to a degree of social harmony that can only be admired, if not in fact envied. An important clue to understanding the meanings of the individual commandments came when one of our researchers noticed that many of the month names in the Chaladonian calendar corresponded to one of the commandments. We concluded that if we could learn why a month was named, we would gain insights into the true meanings of the commandments themselves. The Chaladonian calendar includes thirteen months of 28 days, each month having four weeks. New Years Day is called Jangle and is counted separately. Every four years the Jangle holiday is two days long, corresponding to our leap year. These monthly time periods are:
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MONTH Jangle Prindagal Febanger Markan Abagail Meydle Junigal Julia Grindle Agness Septagle Oktagle Nogumber Nikamber | |||||||||||||
OUR PERIOD January 1 Jan, 2 - Jan. 29 Jan. 30 - Feb. 26 Feb 27 - March 26 March 27 - April 23 April 24 - May 21 May 22 - June 18 June 19 - July 16 July 17 - Aug 13 Aug 14 - Sept. 10 Sept. 11 - Oct. 8 Oct. 9 - Nov. 5 Nov. 6 - Dec. 3 Dec. 4 - Dec. 31 | NAMED IN HONOR OF: Celebration of New Year Remember the Prinder legend King Ferd who honored the elderly Pride in Freedom and Democracy Abagail who ended war and arrogance Meydelism and personal responsibility Celebrations of the arts Remembrance of Grandmother Julia Remembrance of Mother Earth Celebrate the adventure of education Celebrate the pride of accomplishment Celebrate our commitment to courage Celebrate and remember our family roots Remember St. Nik and the spirit of charity | ||||||||||||
Separate reports explaining the background for each month are noted below. The Jangle holiday is followed by the report for the month of Abagail. Additional reports will be posted as research is completed. Jangle The new year begins with the holiday called Jangle. On the eve of Jangle there are many parties where quite a lot of strong spirits are drunk and a great deal of kissing takes place. Following the month of Nikamber where everyone went out of their way to apologize for past insults and arguments, relations between the four groups are at their best, and there is a good deal of “group mixing” at the Jangle parties. Nervous Bloogans allow themselves to be kissed by enthusiastic Celadonians, and mellow Riptornikans try their best not to irritate the dignified Garbonians. (Riptornikans rarely are invited to Garbonian parties, however, unless they promise not to waggle their ears or spit beer between their teeth.) Inevitably of course, many friskey-drinking green people and beer-drinking Riptornikans tend to “overindulge,” and sometimes make fools of themselves, but the brown faces sip their white wine and try to be tolerant. The blue people start the evening with apple juice, but many finally “loosen up” with a few glasses of elderberry wine. If a Celadonian or Riptornikan has organized the party a potent punch is served and this sometimes works wonders at breaking down inhibitions. Garbonians often break out in fits of jump dancing and many Bloogans actually enjoy themselves, much to their amazement. As the clock strikes twelve, everyone runs out into the street and vigorously "jangles" strings of bells to welcome the new year, which is how this day came to be named. Celadonians as well as Riptornikans frequently ring loud, raucous cow-bells and blow wheezy tooters, especially if they have been “in the punch bowl” a little too much. Sometimes, overly enthusiastic Garbonians shake wooden bells that make a "thockity thok." sound. Exactly why they do this is something of a mystery, even to other Garbonians. Kids of course only "jingle" strings of little bells, but they look forward to the day when they will be big enough to ring real bells that jangle instead of jingle.
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