Work Text
Jump to Northern HemisphereJump to Southern HemisphereIn the process of writing In The Dark Of The Night, I found myself constantly trying to figure out where in the Stardew Valley year things were supposed to happen. Phrases like "the next day" or "the next week" would make the story feel far too rushed, because it contained some very heavy material and I wanted it to be a believable depiction of recovery from trauma, but since SDV only has seasons and no months, using those would (at least in this case) break immersion too much.I tried finding information from other players of the game who'd struggled with this problem, from people just wanting to find their own Stardew Valley birthday to full astrological analyses of the Stardew Valley characters. But every time, the dates felt kind of... off to me. Either the maths seemed too convoluted, or people tried too hard to make the calendar line up with their own headcanons. So eventually, I decided to create my own table of dates.
In general, the first day of each Stardew Valley season lines up with the meteorological season dates in our world (March 1st, June 1st, September 1st, and December 1st), and each day in Stardew Valley corresponds to about 3.25 days in our own calendar (112 days in a year versus 365). I found that simply adding 3.25 to each date already gave a decent rough estimate, but I wanted more precision, so I used the lengths of the individual months in each real world season, added the number of days together (92 for March/April/May, 92 for June/July/August, 91 for September/October/November, and 90 for December/January/February), and divided the total for each season by 28.While doing so, I also realised that there was little to no consideration of the fact that making Spring 1 correspond to March 1 in the southern hemisphere would feel utterly absurd, since spring there starts in September. So I made two calendars, one for each hemisphere. My own Stardew Valley fics are set in a generic northern hemisphere setting, but I lived in Australia for some time, and I always get annoyed at people assuming that "Spring" means the same month everywhere.This also meant that trying to line up specific Stardew Valley festivals with certain dates, like having Spirit's Eve fall on October 31st or the Feast of the Winter Star on December 25th, made absolutely zero sense. Winter Star was especially painful to wedge into any date, because it occurs three days (or 9.75 days in our calendar) before the start of Spring, and there's just no way to make that fit with Christmas. Especially when you take into consideration that in the southern hemisphere, Christmas is a summer event. So I basically ignored all imagery that seemed to suggest certain equivalences between Stardew Valley festivals and holidays in our own world.Finally, because of the nature of the Stardew Valley timeline, with each day corresponding to 3.25 calendar days, I've treated all birthdays between the 19th and the 24th of each month as cusp signs, even if the cusp in our own calendar is slightly more defined.
You are of course free to use this resource however you see fit, but if you publish a story on AO3 that is inspired by this calendar, I would really love it if you let me know, link to this work, or use the checkmark for "this work is a remix [...] or was inspired by another work" in your work settings. It would mean so much to me!Northern Hemisphere
Stardew date
Calendar date
Sign
Character name
Spring 1
March 1
Spring 2
March 4
Spring 3
March 7
Spring 4
March 10
Pisces
Kent
Spring 5
March 14
Spring 6
March 17
Spring 7
March 20
Pisces/Aries
Lewis
Spring 8
March 24
Spring 9
March 27
Spring 10
March 30
Aries
Vincent
Spring 11
April 2
Spring 12
April 6
Spring 13
April 9
Spring 14
April 12
Aries
Haley
Spring 15
April 16
Spring 16
April 19
Spring 17
April 22
Spring 18
April 25
Taurus
Pam
Spring 19
April 29
Spring 20
May 2
Taurus
Shane
Spring 21
May 5
Spring 22
May 9
Spring 23
May 12
Spring 24
May 15
Spring 25
May 18
Spring 26
May 22
Taurus/Gemini
Pierre
Spring 27
May 25
Gemini
Emily
Spring 28
May 28
Summer 1
June 1
Summer 2
June 4
Summer 3
June 7
Summer 4
June 10
Gemini
Jas
Summer 5
June 13
Summer 6
June 17
Summer 7
June 20
Summer 8
June 24
Gemini/Cancer
Gus
Summer 9
June 27
Summer 10
June 30
Cancer
Maru
Summer 11
July 4
Summer 12
July 7
Summer 13
July 10
Cancer
Alex
Summer 14
July 13
Summer 15
July 17
Summer 16
July 20
Summer 17
July 23
Cancer/Leo
Sam
Summer 18
July 27
Summer 19
July 30
Leo
Demetrius
Summer 20
August 2
Summer 21
August 5
Summer 22
August 9
Leo
Dwarf
Summer 23
August 12
Summer 24
August 15
Leo
Willy
Summer 25
August 19
Summer 26
August 22
Leo/Virgo
Leo
Summer 27
August 25
Summer 28
August 28
Fall 1
September 1
Fall 2
September 4
Virgo
Penny
Fall 3
September 7
Fall 4
September 11
Fall 5
September 14
Virgo
Elliott
Fall 6
September 17
Fall 7
September 20
Fall 8
September 24
Fall 9
September 27
Fall 10
September 30
Fall 11
October 2
Libra
Jodi
Fall 12
October 6
Fall 13
October 9
Libra
Abigail
Fall 14
October 12
Fall 15
October 16
Libra
Sandy
Fall 16
October 19
Fall 17
October 22
Fall 18
October 25
Scorpio
Marnie
Fall 19
October 29
Fall 20
November 1
Fall 21
November 4
Scorpio
Robin
Fall 22
November 8
Fall 23
November 11
Fall 24
November 14
Scorpio
George
Fall 25
November 17
Fall 26
November 21
Fall 27
November 24
Fall 28
November 27
Winter 1
December 1
Sagittarius
Krobus
Winter 2
December 4
Winter 3
December 7
Sagittarius
Linus
Winter 4
December 10
Winter 5
December 14
Winter 6
December 17
Winter 7
December 20
Sagittarius/Capricorn
Caroline
Winter 8
December 24
Winter 9
December 27
Winter 10
December 30
Capricorn
Sebastian
Winter 11
January 2
Winter 12
January 6
Winter 13
January 9
Winter 14
January 12
Capricorn
Harvey
Winter 15
January 16
Winter 16
January 19
Winter 17
January 22
Capricorn/Aquarius
Rasmodius
Winter 18
January 26
Winter 19
January 29
Winter 20
February 1
Aquarius
Evelyn
Winter 21
February 4
Winter 22
February 8
Winter 23
February 11
Aquarius
Leah
Winter 24
February 14
Winter 25
February 17
Winter 26
February 20
Aquarius/Pisces
Clint
Winter 27
February 23
Winter 28
February 26
Southern Hemisphere
Stardew date
Calendar date
Sign
Character name
Spring 1
September 1
Spring 2
September 4
Spring 3
September 7
Spring 4
September 10
Virgo
Kent
Spring 5
September 14
Spring 6
September 17
Spring 7
September 20
Virgo/Libra
Lewis
Spring 8
September 23
Spring 9
September 27
Spring 10
September 30
Libra
Vincent
Spring 11
October 3
Spring 12
October 6
Spring 13
October 10
Spring 14
October 13
Libra
Haley
Spring 15
October 16
Spring 16
October 19
Spring 17
October 23
Spring 18
October 26
Scorpio
Pam
Spring 19
October 29
Spring 20
November 1
Scorpio
Shane
Spring 21
November 5
Spring 22
November 8
Spring 23
November 11
Spring 24
November 14
Spring 25
November 18
Spring 26
November 21
Scorpio/Sagittarius
Pierre
Spring 27
November 24
Sagittarius
Emily
Spring 28
November 27
Summer 1
December 1
Summer 2
December 4
Summer 3
December 7
Summer 4
December 10
Sagittarius
Jas
Summer 5
December 13
Summer 6
December 17
Summer 7
December 20
Summer 8
December 23
Sagittarius/Capricorn
Gus
Summer 9
December 26
Summer 10
December 29
Capricorn
Maru
Summer 11
January 2
Summer 12
January 5
Summer 13
January 8
Capricorn
Alex
Summer 14
January 11
Summer 15
January 14
Summer 16
January 18
Summer 17
January 21
Capricorn/Aquarius
Sam
Summer 18
January 24
Summer 19
January 27
Aquarius
Demetrius
Summer 20
January 31
Summer 21
February 3
Summer 22
February 6
Aquarius
Dwarf
Summer 23
February 9
Summer 24
February 12
Aquarius
Willy
Summer 25
February 16
Summer 26
February 19
Aquarius
Leo
Summer 27
February 22
Summer 28
February 25
Fall 1
March 1
Fall 2
March 4
Pisces
Penny
Fall 3
March 7
Fall 4
March 10
Fall 5
March 14
Pisces
Elliott
Fall 6
March 17
Fall 7
March 20
Fall 8
March 23
Fall 9
March 27
Fall 10
March 30
Fall 11
April 2
Aries
Jodi
Fall 12
April 6
Fall 13
April 9
Aries
Abigail
Fall 14
April 12
Fall 15
April 15
Aries
Sandy
Fall 16
April 19
Fall 17
April 22
Fall 18
April 25
Taurus
Marnie
Fall 19
April 29
Fall 20
May 2
Fall 21
May 5
Taurus
Robin
Fall 22
May 8
Fall 23
May 12
Fall 24
May 15
Taurus
George
Fall 25
May 18
Fall 26
May 22
Fall 27
May 25
Fall 28
May 28
Winter 1
June 1
Gemini
Krobus
Winter 2
June 4
Winter 3
June 7
Gemini
Linus
Winter 4
June 10
Winter 5
June 14
Winter 6
June 17
Winter 7
June 20
Gemini/Cancer
Caroline
Winter 8
June 23
Winter 9
June 27
Winter 10
June 30
Cancer
Sebastian
Winter 11
July 3
Winter 12
July 7
Winter 13
July 10
Winter 14
July 13
Cancer
Harvey
Winter 15
July 16
Winter 16
July 20
Winter 17
July 23
Cancer/Leo
Rasmodius
Winter 18
July 26
Winter 19
July 30
Winter 20
August 2
Leo
Evelyn
Winter 21
August 5
Winter 22
August 8
Winter 23
August 12
Leo
Leah
Winter 24
August 15
Winter 25
August 18
Winter 26
August 22
Leo/Virgo
Clint
Winter 27
August 25
Winter 28
August 28