Jaguar Nights Mayan Aztec Calendar book series
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NEW FIRE CEREMONY VERSUS LONG COUNT CALENDAR

Although the Aztecs adopted the 260-day sacred Tzolkin and 365-day secular Haab calendars from the Maya, calling them the Tonalpohualli and Xiuhpohualli respectively, they never used the Long Count. Instead, they held a New Fire ceremony every 52 years when the two calendars restarted their interlocking cycle.

The last official New Fire ceremony, Xiuhmolpilli, “the Binding of the Years,” was in held 1507, before the Spanish Conquest.

A “Calendar Round” signifies a complete cycle, or bundle, of 52 years; every combination of Haab and Tzolkin date. It is 18,980 days long. A calendar round date, the sacred and secu- lar calendar designations, is only accurate within a lifetime, as each combination occurs every 52 cycles. 2018 (starting 1 April 2018) is Haab year 7-Deer. The next day is 8-Rabbit, with another 8-Rabbit in same year of 7-Deer, on 18 December 2018. The Xiuhpohualli designation of 1-Large Hay tells you which 8-Rabbit day it is within the year 7-Deer (the December one), but not which 7-Deer year it refers to. Traditionally, the name of a ruler was often appended: 8-Rabbit, 1-Large Hay, in the year 7-Deer, in the rule of President Trump—although this wouldn’t work for Queen Elizabeth II because she has ruled longer than 52 years.

The Long Count is a superior way of tracking long spans of time. For casual use, the two or three date designation system works for marking time within someone’s lifetime, or within the reign of a Revered Speaker or other ruler. But to know where in the greater flow of time a day lies, the Long Count can’t be beat. Unfortunately, when the Mayan people left their cities, they left behind the Long Count as well, so the Aztec culture that followed them never learned to use it.

See also: Long Count Calendar, Long Count Calendar Math, Calendar Correlation