Klingon Holiday Speculation

         Several important dates exist in the Klingon calendar system. Some of these are examined here, along with conjecture on my part about their significance and method of dating. Some are commemorated weekly, some monthly, some yearly, and some by unique dating systems.

         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 loved i not honor more, 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 cannot be Kahless' birth year, death year, or any other event surrounding his actual life.

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 Empire restarted their calendar at Year of Kahless 1 on the day that Ch'gran set foot on Boreth, and that Ch'gran planned this event to coincide with the start of a new year under the old numbering system. So for simplicity's sake, only the year changed, not the days and months.

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, though Chekov is a bridge officer, so sometime after April 2267.
• 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 12-13, 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.
• 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 five days of celebrating the Day of Honor begin with the four 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.
• 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 Mogh and is wearing a Star Trek: First Contact style uniform, so it must take place in late 2373 or later. However, he encounters Lursa's infant son, who was born in late 2370 or early 2371. It is impossible to reconcile these data points. However, the fact that Lursa's son is still an infant seems to be more integral to the story than the other clues, so an earlier date would be preferable.

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"

• No exact stardate is given for this episode.  The following episode is said to begin three days later.  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 converts to 5 Nay'Poq 997.
• 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.

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.

        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): 

• 18 Doqath 996 (December 24, 2370)
• 36 Soo'jen 998 (July 30, 2372)
• 5 Nay'Poq 999 (March 5, 2374)
• 21 Maktag 1001 (October 6, 2375)
• 39 A'Kahless 1002 (May 13, 2377)
• 8 Doqath 1004 (December 17, 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-
    • 2370-2372, 2375-2376
  • April 14-
    • 2373-2374, 2377-2379
• 28 Maktag
  • The 28th day of the 4th month
  • October 12-
    • 2370-2371, 2375
  • October 13-
    • 2372-2374, 2376-2379

         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 the same Klingon month (within six weeks) as 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

• Stardate 3629. 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.
• If we calculate the Low Days of Honor in 2267 and 2268, the only one which falls in a similar range of stardates is 28 Maktag 893. This date converts to October 5, 2267. This falls into a similar range of stardates around the episode "Journey to Babel."

TNG: Day of Honor- Ancient Blood

• We determined this novel should take place around 2370. Given that this is said to commemorate the events of TOS: Treaty's Law, this is a Low Day of Honor. After examining the dates of all the possible Low Days of Honor, there is one preferable option, staying in line with my speculation regarding the four day observation period beginning on a Thursday. This would make the Day of Honor for this story 4 A'Kahless 994, which mostly falls on April 13, 2369. The Day of Honor ends early Monday, April 14, with the observation period beginning late in the evening the previous Thursday.  This covers a span of "roughly four (Earth) days."

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 13-14, 2372.

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 August 1, 2372, working out acceptably.

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

• This story had no chronological details, besides taking place early in Worf's time on DS9. There is only one Day of Honor available for Worf to celebrate between "Armageddon Sky" and the "Day of Honor" comic. So this must be it.  July 31, 2372 fits the evidence for this story's placement quite well. So this story is concurrent with "Her Klingon Soul."

Star Trek Unlimited comic story: "The Warrior"

• Another story without solid chronological data. But it seems very possible to me that this story could be set as Worf is returning to Deep Space 9 directly after the events of "Honor Bound." I would set it on the same Day of Honor, July 31, 2372.

Marvel DS9 Issue #13- Day of Honor

• We made some allowance for the given stardate, 50796, to be a bit off for this comic. I assigned this exact date as October 13-14, 2373. This converts to around Stardate 50783. 

Voyager episode: "Day of Honor"

• January or February 2374. The High Klingon Day of Honor which takes place during this span is January 29-30, 2374. This date would result in the stardate for this episode being around 51079. Incidentally, this stardate favors air date order for the rearranged episodes in early season 4.

The Klingon Art of War

• The claim that a Day of Honor takes place in 2383 corresponds to my system, as at least one Day of Honor takes place each Earth year (at least during the era we are examining). This one falls on January 30.

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.