Klingon Holiday Speculation

Several important dates exist in the Klingon calendar system. These are examined here, along with conjecture on my part about their significance and method of dating.

This is a far more speculative portion of the Klingon calendar examination than the other pages on this topic. There is also quite a bit of information used here that is not gained from novels connected to the Lit-verse. I have included all the information on Klingon holidays I could, regardless of its connectivity with the rest of the literary continuity. None of the speculation here is contrary to anything in the Lit-verse continuity, but it does contain quite a bit of theorizing on my part. If anyone out there wants to offer changes to some of these speculations to make the overall system more coherent, I would love to hear your ideas. And anyone, including any Star Trek authors, are totally free to use any of this for whatever purpose they would like.

The Origin of the Klingon Dating System

The Evidence

The Kenson-Bennett Klingon Calendar begins in 1375. The years of the system are referred to in canon and in the Lit-verse as "the year of Kahless." However, Kahless lived around the 9th or 10th Century according to TNG: "Rightful Heir" and DS9: "The Sword of Kahless." Given the Kenson-Bennett Calendar's assumption that Klingon years roughly correspond to Earth years, this leaves us with the conclusion that Year of Kahless 1 (or 0) cannot be Kahless' birth year, death year, or any other event surrounding his actual life.

However, of note is that in the original unpublished document by Steve Kenson, the Kot'baval Festival, commemorating Kahless's defeat of the tyrant Molor, was the start of the Klingon year, and this event was said to take place in the Year of Kahless 0, and the founding of the First Empire was the Year of Kahless 1.

My Speculation

One important event in Klingon history did occur around the 14th Century: the Hur'q Invasion. According to TLE: The Art of the Impossible, after the defeat of the Hur'q, the Hero Ch'gran constructed a fleet of warships from Hur'q technology and was the first Klingon to venture into the stars. Whether it was this occasion, the defeat of the Hur'q, or some other specific date, it appears the Klingons reckon time from some event in this era of history.

It seems likely that the first system the Klingons would have devoted their effort to visit is Boreth. I speculate that the founding of the Second Empire and the restarting of their calendar at Year of Kahless 1 (Second Empire) occurred on the day that Ch'gran set foot on Boreth and claimed the first new world for the Klingon race. For simplicity's sake, I would say that Ch'gran planned this event to coincide with the start of a new year under the old numbering system, setting foot on Boreth on the Kot'Boval Festival, 1 Jo'vos Year of Kahless 1. On Earth, under the Julian calendar used at the time, this was February 25, 1375. Under the current Gregorian calendar, this would be March 5, 1375.

Kot'baval Festival

The Evidence

In the TNG episode "Firstborn", it is said that the Kot'baval Festival is the celebration of the defeat of the tyrant Molor by Kahless in single combat. Traditions observed this day include reenactments of this pivotal moment in Kahless' life. In 2370 this festival took place several days before Stardate 47779.4. That would mean it fell a few days before October 12, 2370 or 27 Maktag 996. 

Interestingly, the Kot'baval Festival was also depicted in the Dark Passions duology.  This version of the celebration seemed to take place sometime around stardate 47104.  This stardate converts to February 8, 2370, or 24 Xan'lahr 995.  So the Kot'baval Festival seems to have occurred twice in one Earth year, at approximately six Klingon months apart.

As stated above, in the original document by Steve Kenson, the Kot'baval Festival was the start of the Klingon year, which under my system would be 1 Jo'vos. 1 Jo'vos 996 would add another possible Kot'baval Festival to this period, falling mostly on May 22, 2370

The key to explaining all of this is provided in Prey: The Hall of Heroes, where another Kot'baval Festival is celebrated sometime in April 2386. It is noted that while Kot'boval is usually celebrated on the anniversary of Molor's defeat, it can, as in this case, be celebrated anytime the people's spirits need boosted.

My Speculation

Accepting the original explanation by Steve Kenson, I would speculate that the Kot'baval Festival falls on 1 Jo'vos each year. The leap day of 0 Jo'vos is added to the festival once every five years. So the Kot'baval in TNG: "Firstborn" must have been an irregular date called for by the Empire. And the celebration in Dark Passions likewise must have been a special event called for by the mirror Klingons.

The Day of Honor

The Evidence

The most widely known holiday of the Klingon year is the Day of Honor. Eight Days of Honor have been depicted onscreen or in the books and comics, and one other has been mentioned. Their timings during the year have never been consistent during any of those usages. Fandom has commonly placed the Day of Honor on March 23rd in the Earth calendar, in honor of the airdate of the first appearance of the Klingons in "Errand of Mercy." However this date does not align with any of the specific dates given for the Days of Honor shown onscreen on in the literature.

TOS: Day of Honor- Treaty's Law

• Very little chronological information appears in this novel. Chekov is a bridge officer, so sometime after April 2267. Depending on your interpretation of the events depicted, it seems to be implied that four to five years have passed since "Errand of Mercy." While that would place this story post-TMP, we could at least be left with the implication that it's late in the five year mission.

• A certain Klingon is later said to have been retelling the tale of this book on the same night of the year every year for the last twenty years. This is presumably the first phase in a commemoration of the events of this book becoming a tradition throughout Klingon culture.

TNG: Day of Honor- Ancient Blood

• There is very little chronological information to go on in the novel. Alexander is said to be 12 years old, so it must occur late in the service of the Enterprise-D. Alexander's age onscreen was always problematic. His mother died around his first birthday, yet he later said he was three at the time. Perhaps those around him were in the habit of "converting" his age to the equivalent human age, since Klingons develop faster than humans. He was said to be nearing 13 in "Firstborn" during 2370. So this probably takes place at some point that year or the years surrounding.

• The Day of Honor takes place this year on a Thursday.

• The entire "observation period is roughly four [Earth] days."  It isn't clear which of the days referred to is the Thursday, though presumably it's either the first or the last of the "roughly four days."

DS9: Day of Honor- Armageddon Sky

• April 13, 2372. Two chronological clues in this novel point us to this exact date. Worf says that the Day of Honor is taking place three days after the first day of the ninth month under the Klingon calendar. Three days before the Day of Honor in the story, it is also said to have been about 100 days since the Khitomer Accords were dissolved in "The Way of the Warrior." The stardate for that episode converts to January 5, 2372, and the Accords were dissolved the day before the stardate is given. Around one hundred days after this would be some time in April 2372. 

• As I've explained elsewhere, these two facts are what has led me to adjust the last (ninth) month of the Klingon year from Christopher L. Bennett's iteration of the Kenson-Bennett Klingon calendar from Nay'Poq to A'Kahless. The months still fall in the same order, but under my version, A'Kahless would be the final month of the previous year, instead of the first month of the following year. 

• This results in allowing the "fourth day of the ninth month" to become 4 A'Kahless 997. And this falls into the time frame of one hundred days after "The Way of the Warrior" which we are looking to coincide with. The Klingon date then converts to April 13, 2372 for this Day of Honor.

• In addition, it is said that the Day of Honor this year falls on Stardate 3629.  This stardate make no sense in the 24th century, and I've disregarded it.

• Specific mention is made of this holiday commemorating the events of TOS: Treaty's Law.

DS9 (Young Adult): Day of Honor- Honor Bound

• There is very little chronological info in this novel, but it takes place after "Sons of Mogh," but while the Federation still has bad relations with the Klingons. So sometime after late July 2372, but before early/mid 2373.

• This can't be the same Day of Honor as the one seen in the Deep Space Nine novel, as Worf is present in both.

• Based on the days Alexander is in school during this week long story, it seems the Day of Honor takes place on a Friday. Worf is with Alexander the entire preceding week, which perhaps is more evidence to the thought that the full Day of Honor celebration begins with the days leading up to the actual date.

Marvel DS9 Issue 13: Day of Honor

• Stardate 50796. This converts to October 18, 2373. However, this issue is part of the Telepathy War crossover event, which spans many days, and the stardates for each issue are all the same. This error would give us some leeway, if necessary, to adjust this stardate. 

• Indeed, references in the previous few comics suggest we are now at least a month after "Ferengi Love Songs." That episode takes place between mid-September and mid-October.  This gives us a range of mid-October to mid-November, if we ignore the already problematic stardate.

• Worf is said to recently have become part of Martok's house, which took place on October 5, 2373 under my interpretation of the Klingon Defense Force calendar.

• It is noted that working with a sworn enemy on the Day of Honor is auspicious, presumably referring to the events of TOS: Treaty's Law.

Star Trek Unlimited comic story: "The Warrior"

• This story is full of contradictory chronological information. Worf is said to be part of the House of Martok and is wearing a Star Trek: First Contact style uniform, so it must take place after October 5, 2373. However, he encounters B'Etor's infant son, who had to have been born before her death in August 2371. One may imagine B'Etor's son was born through some artificial means after her death, or that the infant was kept in stasis after birth for some political reason.

VOY: Day of Honor- Her Klingon Soul

• Stardate 49588 occurs a short span of time after the Day of Honor in this novel. This date converts to August 3, 2372. So the (apparently second) Day of Honor this year is in very late July or very early August 2372, about three and a half months after the one depicted in the Deep Space Nine novel.

Voyager episode: "Day of Honor"

• March 5, 2374. No exact stardate is given for this episode. But we can arrive at this date from a string of evidence in the following episode in production order. "Revulsion" is said to begin three days after the Day of Honor. The day following that is given the stardate of 51186.2.  That converts to March 9, 2374. So the Day of Honor took place on March 5, 2374. This date spans 5-6 Nay'Poq 999. The majority of each of these days takes place on March 5, so I went with the first one as the Klingon date for this Day of Honor, 5 Nay'Poq 999.

• This is about four and a half months after the Day of Honor depicted in the Marvel DS9 comic.

• The novelization mentions the events of the Voyager Day of Honor novel as being the previous Day of Honor, thereby ignoring the Day of Honor mentioned in the Marvel DS9 comic.

DC TOS Issues 54 and 55: Nightmares and Time to Time

• No specific dates given, but around the early 17th century, there was an annual festival of honor, a traditional harvest celebration dating back to ancient times. The festival lasted as least three days.

The Klingon Art of War

• No specific date is given, only a mention that a Day of Honor falls in the year 2383.

So we are left with only this concrete information on when Days of Honor occur, which is neither consistent about the time of year, nor the duration between celebrations.

My Interpretation

Given the fact that the two Days of Honor B'Elanna commemorates are said to be consecutive celebrations (despite the fact that they occur more than one Klingon year apart, and despite the fact that Worf notes another Day of Honor which takes place between them) I decided to divide the four most specifically dated of the 24th century celebrations into sets of two. A "High Day of Honor" and a "Low Day of Honor." This accounts for B'Elanna only bothering to take note of the "High Day of Honor", while the "Low Day of Honor" celebrations are only mentioned by Worf and Martok, who would be more observant of a lesser cultural occasion.

High Days of Honor

• Late July or Early August 2372 (VOY: HKS)

• March 5, 2374 (VOY Episode)

Low Days of Honor

• April 12-13, 2372 (DS9: AS)

• Mid-October to Mid-November 2373 (Marvel DS9 13)

Under this way of looking at things, it becomes interesting that the two Low Days of Honor could be seen as taking place exactly 1.5 years apart. The High Days of Honor don't seem to take place any notable length of time apart. The only Days of Honor which are specifically mentioned as related to the events of Treaty's Law are the Low Days of Honor.

My Speculation

Going with the assertion from the Day of Honor novelization that the two Days of Honor B'Elanna celebrates are consecutive High Days of Honor, and acknowledging the fact that the span of time doesn't seem to be any round length in the Klingon calendar system (certainly not one year), I speculate that the High Day of Honor actually takes place once every Boreth year. This seems to be a logical alternative to once every Klingon year, in the absence of any concrete alternative. 

Then to account for the multitude of frequent Days of Honor in the early 2370s, and fitting with the fact that the two Low Days of Honor which we know the time frames of could be said to be spaced 1.5 Klingon years apart, I speculate that the Low Day of Honor takes place twice per Klingon year. I also speculate that the High Day of Honor is an ancient tradition, predating TOS: Treaty's Law, the events of which are commemorated on the Low Day of Honor.

I speculate the approximate period of a Boreth year is 1.5958 Klingon "years." This is exactly 689 Klingon "days," 6 Klingon "hours," 6 Klingon "minutes," 41.75 Klingon "seconds." Despite the discrepancy between the Boreth day and the Klingon day, the Klingons celebrate the High Day of Honor as one full Klingon day. The period between High Days of Honor therefore follows a pattern of advancing 689 days five times out of every eight celebrations, and 690 days three times out of every eight celebrations. The pattern proceeds 689, 689, 690, 689, 689, 690, 689, 690. For reference a pattern begins in Year of Kahless 996.

This makes the High Day of Honor fall on these dates in the 2370s (with the Earth dates the days on which the majority of the Klingon day falls): 

• 19 Doqath 996 (December 26, 2370)

• 36 Soo'jen 998 (July 30, 2372)

• 5 Nay'Poq 999 (March 5, 2374)

• 22 Maktag 1001 (October 9, 2375)

• 39 A'Kahless 1002 (May 13, 2377)

• 8 Doqath 1004 (December 16, 2378)

The Low Day of Honor being celebrated twice per Klingon year results in the following two dates repeating each Klingon year, based on the date we know from the Deep Space Nine novel. The Earth dates are the days on which the majority of the Klingon day falls in the 2370s.

• 4 A'Kahless

• The 4th day of the 9th month

• April 13-

• 2372-2374, 2376

• April 14-

• 2370-2371, 2375, 2377-2379

• 28 Maktag

• The 28th day of the 4th month

• October 13-

• 2370-2373, 2376-2378

• October 14-

• 2374-2375, 2379

Given that Worf states the commemoration period for the Low Day of Honor is approximately four Earth days, and he makes a point to say that it falls three days after the first day of the ninth month, I speculate that the holiday is commemorated over the course of four Klingon days, culminating in the actual Day of Honor itself.

I would further speculate that if the High Klingon Day of Honor falls within a Klingon month of a Low Day of Honor, the Low Day of Honor is abrogated. 

Reexamination of the Evidence

With this system of arriving at the dates of Days of Honor in mind, we can reexamine the mentions of the Day of Honor we looked at previously, and determine the success of this speculative explanation, and what dates the novels would therefore take place on.

TOS: Day of Honor- Treaty's Law

• It is my theory that the Low Day of Honor is the version which is inspired by the events of this novel.  Perhaps a similar event where the Klingons had to unite with another enemy (the Romulans perhaps) coincidentally took place exactly 1/2 year after the events of this novel.  That would explain the twice per year dating system that fell into place.

• Based on the vague chronological info, we could choose any instance of either 28 Maktag or 4 A'Kahless between April 2267 and the end of the 5YM. Doing this we find eight possible dates, with the Earth date given during which the majority of the Klingon day takes place. Each of these are possible dates for this novel, though for my part I have chosen April 4, 2268.

• 4 A'Kahless 892- April 5, 2267

• 28 Maktag 893- October 5, 226

• 74 A'Kahless 893- April 4, 2268

• 28 Maktag 894- October 4, 2268

• 4 A'Kahless 894- April 5, 2269

• 28 Maktag 895- October 5, 2269

• 4 A'Kahless 895- April 6, 2270

• 28 Maktag 896- October 5, 2270

• It takes until at least around the end of the century before the formal Low Day of Honor tradition and dating system is fully implemented.

TNG: Day of Honor- Ancient Blood

• We determined this novel should take place around 2370. It is noteworthy that a High Day of Honor falls on 1 Jo'vos 995. This would coincide with the Kot'baval Festival, and be the day after the Festival Leap Day, likely making it a significant occasion. For Worf to be focused on this opportunity as the best moment to introduce Alexander to the Day of Honor would make sense.

• Worf notes this Day of Honor falls on a Thursday, and 1 Jo'vos 995 does indeed fall on a Thursday, May 22, 2369.

• Admittedly, this date for this book would conflict with a straightforward stardate conversion for the DS9 episode "Emissary." However it is possible this book takes place between the Enterprise's two stops at Deep Space Nine. The comparison between day counting episodes and theirstardate converted dates is rarely an accurate endeavor.

• This time frame works well with Alexander's stated age of 12 when compared to the age information given for him in "Firstborn" in 2370.

DS9: Day of Honor- Armageddon Sky

• April 13, 2372. As I used this date as one of my most important establishing facts for developing this explanation, we know a Low Day of Honor falls on this day. The relevant Klingon date is 4 A'Kahless 997, which converts to the Earth date April 13, 2372.

DS9 (Young Adult): Day of Honor- Honor Bound

• Falling within the possible timeframe for this novel is a Low Day of Honor which takes place on a Friday. That makes this story take place on 28 Maktag 998, which converts to October 12-13, 2372. The majority of the Klingon day falls on that Friday the 13th.

Marvel DS9 Issue #13- Day of Honor

• The stardate errors in the Telepathy War miniseries give us some leeway with this story's exact placement. Looking for a Low Day of Honor soon after October 5, 2373, we find one on 28 Maktag 999, which converts to October 13, 2373. This fits well with the various dating issues surrounding the episode "Soldiers of the Empire," which I explained in my Klingon Defense Force calendar examination.

Star Trek Unlimited comic story: "The Warrior"

• Taking place after Worf joins the House of Martok, the first available Day of Honor is the High Day of Honor on 28 Maktag 1000. The previous Low Day of Honor is claimed by the Marvel DS9 issue which also features Worf, while the nearby High Day of Honor takes place during the early days of the Dominion War. So 28 Maktag 1000 converts to October 13-14, 2374, with the majority of the Klingon day falling on the 14th.

VOY: Day of Honor- Her Klingon Soul

• Stardate 59588 (August 3, 2372) occurs a few days after the Day of Honor in this novel. A High Day of Honor under my explanation takes place on 36 Soo'jen 998, which converts to July 30-31, 2372, which the majority of the Klingon day falling on the 30th. This fits acceptably well with the given stardate.

Voyager episode: "Day of Honor"

• March 5, 2374. As I used this date as one of my most important establishing facts for developing this explanation, we know a High Day of Honor falls on this day. The relevant Klingon date is 5 Nay'Poq 999.

DC TOS Issues 54 and 55: Nightmares and Time to Time

• The vague claims here correspond with the idea that there was an ancient Klingon Day of Honor, which spanned at least three days.

The Klingon Art of War

• The claim that a Day of Honor takes place in 2383 corresponds to my system, as at least the two Low Days of Honor take place each Earth year. This year also contains a High Day of Honor, on September 29th.

Final Date List

As an easy overview, I've calculated the Days of Honor as they would fall under this system for each year from the Next Generation era to the Legacy era. The High Days of Honor are in bold. The underlined date is when the majority of the Klingon day falls, and would be the day on which the Day of Honor would actually be celebrated according to the Earth calendar.

Empire Union Day

The Evidence

 In the audio reference "Conversational Klingon," Empire Union Day is said to take place "in the third month." It honors the uniting of the Klingon people into the First Empire by Kahless the Unforgettable. The third month under my version of the Kenson-Bennett calendar is Lo'Bral.

As we've seen in the examination of the Klingon Defense Force's calendar system, they seem to reckon each year as beginning on 14 Lo'Bral, 109 days after the start of the Kenson-Bennett Klingon year.

My Speculation

 I speculate that Empire Union Day takes place each Klingon year on 14 Lo'Bral, and it is this occasion that the Klingon Defense Force is reckoning the start of their year by.

QI'lop

The Evidence

The audio reference "Power Klingon" tells of this Klingon Defense Force commemoration. It celebrates the superiority of the Klingon military. Much eating and drinking are done on this day, especially stuffed to'baj legs. As opposed to the dating given for Empire Union Day, which is said to occur "in the third month," the dating of this holiday is said to be "every tenth Klingon month."

My Speculation

Making note of that distinction in the wording, I take "every tenth Klingon month" to mean that it happens not "in the tenth Klingon month" which would be impossible to reconcile with the Kenson-Bennett Klingon calendar, but rather that it occurs less often than once per year.  I have no reasoning for why this takes place as I do with the Day of Honor.

As there has been no specific date for QI'lop ever given, I have no evidence as to when it takes place.  Any guess I make would be totally random. So in the face of absolutely no evidence, I will leave the exact date of QI'lop to others to determine.

Kahless' Birthday

The Evidence

Kahless' birth date has never been mentioned in canon or the literature. However it is noteworthy that one of the Klingon months is named A'Kahless.

My Speculation

If Kahless was born during the month later known as A'Kahless, that explains why the month seems to be named after him. This is pure speculation on my part, but it seems to make sense.