Ræm

Daughter of Jinnie and Jack, Ræm is born at the zenith of the full moon, at midnight on 19th September 2013.
 

The Shaman

She is aware of forces at work with regards to the position and state of the sun and moon.
 

Jien Noi

The Empress realises that at the Harvest Moon, their busiest time of year, people are lost to take the Trails of Passage, and get married.

She decides to change the date to the Spring Moon, when the fields are already under cultivation. She also changes back to using the Sun Calendar.
 

Lo Si devises a Sun Calendar. according to Jien Noi's wishes. It is made up of six days per week, and five weeks per month. There are twelve months, plus an extra month for the Spring Festival, which is five days long, six every four years.

The new month of Spring is a holiday, where people can enjoy the Trails of Passage, and subsequent marriage ceremonies without the worry of work.
 

Lunar Calendar

The Moon plays a dominant role in the first trilogy, and many events are linked to the Full Moon, some to the Dark of the Moon. The author tracked these, associating the actual phases of the moon, with the trilogy's timeline. Therefore, all phases of the Moon are correct.

Artistic License

The 16th March 2014 is notable for several reasons; it is a Full Moon at midday (preceding Harvest Home). The Shaman's banishment is publicly rescinded by Empress Jien Noi, and the Old Religion is officially reinstated. The phase of the Moon is correct, the eclipse of the Sun is artistic licence.

For those interested, the research and links used are listed below.

Phases of the Moon

The phases of the Moon, especially the times of the Full Moon are very important to The Second. Throughout this trilogy the date and phase of the moon are correct – all the way up to 2033.

Note:
The fictitious island lies in the Southern Hemisphere, and the tables below relate to the Northern Hemisphere. Therefore the dates below represent the Islanders Spring Moon. The author has used several of the links below to confirm the dates for the Islander’s Harvest Moon, with total precision down to the hour of the day concerned, using information for latitude and longitude re data for extant nearby islands.

Main references used are repeated below for convenience:

References: 2.2.1. Lunar Phases April 2012 - sourced from International Light Association: http://www.rodurago.net/en/index.php?month=4&year=2012&geodata=-17.32%2C-149.34%2C-11&site=details&link=calendar

http://www.rodurago.net/en/index.php?site=details&link=calendar
http://www.rodurago.net/en/index.php?site=details&link=moon#planets
http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/time/moonorbit.html

General References:
Ides and Nodes = date of the Full and New moon, from Wikipedia.

Here below are some of the research results the author interpreted:

The Islander celebrate Harvest Moon at the Spring Moon of the northern hemisphere

The Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar, which is in September or early October in the Gregorian calendar. In 2010 the Mid-Autumn Festival fell on September 22.

The author has validated all relevant dates of the full Moon up to 2033, using the links listed near the top of this page.