Timekeeping
The passage of time throughout the year was marked by the calendar holdaysi, which were linked to the changing seasons. The yearly rhythm of life and work depended on the annual processes of nature.
An oral calendar of "counting weeks" was used - counting the weeks from one holiday to the next. This matched to the lunar calendar, as one phase of the month lasts about a week. Counting the weeks usually started on Candlemas, but it was also common to start in autumn.
In the following examples of weeks counting, two different beginnings are visible - counting autumn and spring holidays. In autumn, time is counted from one holiday to the next, while in spring it is counted from Candlemas. The adjustment of the weeks of the lunar calendar to the fixed dates of the solar calendar was more complicated, as can be seen in the last line of the following example: where there is an imprecise figure, the meaning is 'ten to eleven' weeks.
From Michaelmas six weeks to Martinmas,
from Martinmas two to St Catherine's,
from St Catherine's four to Christmas,
from Christmas six to Candlemas,
from Candlemas seven to Lenten Mary,
seven to letting out pigs,
eight to letting out cattle,
ten to plough and
eleven-ten weeks to St George's.
Comment. The oral calendar, called Lugunädalad 'The count of weeks', was used. In the present example the verse lines 1–4 count weeks between two holidays, and the lines 5–9 the weeks from the Candlemas to the next holidays.
Mihklipäevast kuus märti,
märdist kaks katri,
kadrist neli jõulu,
jõulust kuus küünlapäeva,
küünlapäevast seitse maarjapäeva,
seitse sikku1,
kaheksa karjalaskmisse,
kümme kündi ja
üksteist-kümme jüripäeva.
1 seitse nädalat sigade väljalaskmiseni maarjapäeval
Seletus. Ridades 1–4, on arvestatud aega ühest pühast teiseni, ridades 5–9 aga kõiki pühi alates küünlapäevast.
From Martinmas two weeks to St Catherine's,
four to Christmas,
six to Candlemas,
seven to pigs – then the pigs were let out –,
eight to [letting out] cattle,
ten to plough,
in nine weeks the horses out through nights,
ten to St George's.
So, there were ten weeks from Candlemas to St George's day.
Comment. The verses 1–3 count weeks between two holidays: from Martinmas two weeks to St Catherine's, from St Catherine's four to Christmas, from Christmas six to Candlemas. The verses 4–8 all count weeks from Candlemas: seven to St. Mary's day when pigs were let out, eight to cattle letting out, etc.
Mardist kaks katri,
neli jõulu,
kuus küünlapäeva,
seitse sikku – siis lasti sead välja –,
kaheksa karja,
üheksa nädala pärast hobused õitsi,
kümme jüripäeva.
Nii et siis küünlapäevast on jüripäevani kümme nädalat.
Seletus. Ridades 1–3, on arvestatud aega ühest pühast teiseni: mardipäevast kaks nädalat kadripäevani, kadripäevast neli jõuluni, jõulust kuus küünlapäevani. Ridades 4–7 aga arvestatakse kõiki pühi alates küünlapäevast, kust on seitse nädalat paastumaarjapäevani, mil lasti sead välja, kaheksa karjalaskepäevani, üheksa hobuste öise karjataimse ehk õitsil kämiseni.