Happy New Year… on October 15th!?!

Posted on October 13, 2012 by The Dwarrow Scholar

If you think October 15th is all about the launch of Riders of Rohan… think again… as it is also the Dwarven New Year or “Durin’s Day” !

The first day of the Dwarven year is calculated according to the last new moon of autumn.  This places Durin’s Day, anytime between about Oct. 7 and Nov. 6, on the last day before the astronomical new moon, as the moon sets just before the sun.  This year Durin’s Day falls on Monday October 15th.

You have to hand it to Turbine, what timing !

Though, not every single Dwarven new year is a “Durin’s Day”, as Thorin mentioned:

“We still call it Durin’s Day when the last moon of Autumn and the sun are in the sky together.”

Only a Dwarven New Year where this occurs would technically be called a “Durin’s Day”.

So, is this one a Durin’s Day ?

Well, we can usually see the Moon during the day if it is close in direction to the Sun. But on days with excessive glare or cloudiness, the Moon may not be visible, especially just before and after a new Moon.

So, we can see the Moon during the daytime when the Sun and Moon are relatively close in direction, but not too close either! (When they are aligned too closely, we can not see the Moon because the Sun is directly behind it and can not light up the side of the Moon facing us.)

Meaning that we’ll have to look to the skies on October 15th… while on our journeys in Middle Earth and see if we can spot the moon while the sun is out.

Will it be (just) another Dwarven New Year on the 15th… or a “Durin’s Day” ?

Durin’s Day – Sun and Moon

If you see the moon and sun in the sky at the same time (in real life or Middle Earth for that matter), make sure to make a picture/screenshot of it and feel free to leave a post!

To celebrate the dwarven new year, the Durin’s Folk band, “The Rolling Kegs” will be giving a new years eve concert at the kinhall ((Laurelin – Thorin’s Hall Homesteads – Ulfhirth, 2 Highspires Street)) on sunday 14th of October, right after the kinmeeting (usual 3PM).  Though the kinmeeting itself is for kinmembers only, all friends and allied people are welcomed at the new years eve concert.

Hope all can make it brothers and sisters, see you there!

And don’t forget to look at the skies on the 15th!

About The Dwarrow Scholar

The Dwarrow Scholar first experienced the brilliance of Tolkien when he received a copy of The Hobbit from his uncle as a kid, reading it feverishly again and again. Some years on, when he got his very own walk-man (aye forget about tiny phones, this thing was a brick and played cassette tapes) he made his own little audiotape of The Hobbit, so he could listen to it on his bike on his way to school. Between reenacting the Battle of Five armies with 4 of his school friends (still feel sorry for the kid that had to be the Orc) and before the days of the internet, you would find Roy frequently in libraries trying to find all he could about Tolkien and his beloved dwarves. When Roy isn’t delving into Neo-Khuzdul or searching for lost dwarvish treasures on the net he’s enjoying time with his wife and son, re-reading his tormented Tolkien paperbacks, watching a good movie, learning new languages or playing a game of LoTRO or other dwarf related games.
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10 Responses to Happy New Year… on October 15th!?!

  1. Pingback: Episode 167: Trapezoid | Casual Stroll to Mordor

  2. Ori's Plume says:
    May 20, 2013 at 5:13 am

    Hi Dwarrow Scholar,
    I am doing research on a future essay on Durin’s Day and have a question. Since those in the Southern Hemisphere are approaching their winter in June, is their Durin’s Day technically fast approaching? If so, our friends in New Zealand, home of the film version of Middle-earth, might need to do some fast calculations. Is there a website to go to? I am also doing this future article to be published on thorinoakenshield.net. Are you interested in contributing anything towards the article? Perhaps co-author or joint publication?
    Thanks,
    Plume

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    • The Dwarrow Scholar says:
      May 21, 2013 at 12:04 pm

      Hi there,

      The last new moon of autumn for New Zealand has passed, that was May 10th.
      So, afraid the Durin’s Day celebrations will have to wait till next year (on May 29th 2014).

      Feel free to use any of my writings if you find them usefull, a mere mention of the blog would be appreciated.

      Cheers,

      DS

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  3. Ana says:
    May 30, 2013 at 3:09 pm

    Sorry, I can’t see where I’m wrong. Here in the Southern Hemisphere the last new moon of Autumn will be on June 8th, so Durin’s Day will be on the 9th or 10th.

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    • The Dwarrow Scholar says:
      May 30, 2013 at 4:07 pm

      Hello there!

      You are correct indeed. A miscalculation on my part there.
      The last new moon of Autumn would indeed be on June 8th there, setting Durin’s day on that day as well. (“We still call it Durin’s Day when the last moon of Autumn and the sun are in the sky together.”)

      Thank you for that correction, cheers 🙂

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  4. Dís says:
    January 22, 2016 at 11:18 am

    When is the Durin’s day this year in Victoria, Australia?

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    • The Dwarrow Scholar says:
      February 26, 2016 at 3:02 pm

      To be honest, it is challenging enough to calculate the day for the Northern Hemisphere. 🙂
      Nor can you merely transpose the calculations for the Southern Hemisphere, but let’s throw that overboard for a minute, shall we…
      If we base ourselves on the last dwarven “new” autumn-moon of the Southern Hemisphere, we would land on April 8th…
      IF, in Australia, we were to see the moon and the sun in the sky together on this day, we could call it “Durin’s Day” (forgetting for a moment that the Longbeards lived in the Northern Hemisphere of course).

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