The old year had eight seasons, not four.

Before calendars got flattened into twelve numbered months, country people across Britain, Ireland, and southern Europe tracked the year by eight turnings — moments when the light, the weather, or the work on the land actually changed. Four of them are the sun's big markers: the two solstices and the two equinoxes. The other four fall roughly halfway between — the cross-quarter days that gave us Groundhog Day, May Day, Lammas, and Halloween.

The families who built Cardiff brought these rhythms with them — the Stewarts from Scotland, the Woodfords from Wales, the Tombrellos from Sicily, the Negrons from France. Whatever language the old names were said in, the days themselves were the same. Candlemas and Candelora. Beltane and May Day. Lammas and the harvest feast. Hallowtide and All Saints'. Different tongues, the same sun.

We kept the old names here because they're older than the country, older than the state, and they still line up with what's happening outside. Candlemas is when the light starts coming back. Beltane is when the woods go green. Lammas is when the first things ripen. Hallowtide is when the killing frost comes.

The calendar below opens on whichever turning contains today. Tap any other turning to open it.