A Moveable Feast

Notes on the Winfield Calendar System

An almanac often contains a Table of Moveable Feasts, allowing conversion of dates between a normal calendar and another one, generally a church calendar. For instance, Easter falls on a different calendar date in different years. Several other dates are related to the date of Easter, and not to their calendar date. Examples would include Good Friday, Palm Sunday, Ash Wednesday, and even Mardi Gras. If one were to chart weather for Mardi Gras over the years, it would make more sense to compare all Mardi Gras instead of all dates that coincided on a normal calendar.

Winfield has some of the characteristics of a religious event for some, and, like a religious event, true Winfield fans tell time by a Winfield calendar. Unfortunately, weather records are generally kept by a normal calendar. Fortunately, I have converted much of the weather information on these pages into the Winfield calendar many of us use. The base-point for this calendar system is Winfield Sunday and all other dates are calculated relative to this base. Winfield Sunday is known by other names, such as breaking camp. It is not to be confused with Homecoming Sunday, which is the Sunday before Winfield Sunday, much as Palm Sunday is a week before Easter. Those unfamiliar with the term Homecoming Sunday need to consult Aileen and/or Elkin Thomas.

Another important date on the Winfield calendar system is Land Rush. The term refers to the Thursday ten days before Winfield Sunday, and is derived from an event which happened just south of Winfield. Those unfamiliar with the term need to consult an Okie.

Temperature charts on this site thus chart temperatures from Land Rush to Winfield Sunday, although conventional calendar dates are provided on the x-axis of graphs. Since precipitation can have more lasting effect on the campground than temperature, some precipitation records will include information that goes back, past Land Rush, to the Saturday prior to Land Rush. Many Winfielders know this as the Saturday of the Pack the Gear weekend.