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If they really are measuring the year by complete moon phases (a Lunar Calendar
or Lunisolar Calendar, then Alternative Calendar.
If it's just a vernacular thing where they're casually replacing "month" with "moon" and "years" with "winters" without it explicitly being part of their calendar system, apparently this is a construct of fantasy fiction and was not a common historical practice.
That would seem to make it Artistic License – Linguistics, but I couldn't find anything more specific. I think maybe there's room for a trope about these kinds of common fantasy word swaps in general rather than specifically just moons and winters.
Edited by KD
It's more of the fact that I'm reading a (not greatly written) historical-set Native series and the MC is measuring the age of her younger brothers as them being "four winters" old. It's very "we are closer to the earth and tell time unlike the white man" vibes. So likely Artistic License – Linguistics is what I need. Thanks.
ETA: It may also be Tonto Talk, except the Natives aren't talking with or around any other white people.
Edited by Nethilia I know more about obscure 1990s Middle Grade Literature novels and dolls than most people.
You have an example of Aluminum Christmas Trees: See Winter Count, a method of calendar keeping used by numerous Native American cultures, particularly the Sioux.
If anything, the author is displaying some cultural awareness here, as Winter Counts are kind of a big deal tied into the oral history of many tribes: The start of a year was the first freeze/snowfall, years were named for and given symbols representing a noteworthy event from that year. Someone trying to remember how old they were might recall they were born in the Year of Two White Deer, and consult the tribe's count skin for how many winters had passed since then.
Edited by Scorpion451
But what if that tribe's not 100% known for doing the same? Would that still count? (I don't want to assume all Indigenous tribes did the same thing.)
I know more about obscure 1990s Middle Grade Literature novels and dolls than most people.
Sometimes you get things like this that sit in an ambiguous zone between Shown Their Work and Accidentally-Correct Writing-
If there's a lot of other artistic license suggesting that they didn't do a lot of fact-checking, you could probably file it under Accidentally-Correct Writing with a note about it being unclear whether they hit on a vaguely plausible cultural practice by accident or by doing at least enough research to know this was a thing in some tribes and extrapolating.
All right, that seems to work. I think accidentally correct writing fits best. Thanks!
I know more about obscure 1990s Middle Grade Literature novels and dolls than most people.
Is there a trope about measuring time on earth/other places according to things like "moons", seasons, or the like? Such as a character saying they're "seven winters old".