Time: Olvana

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Olvanese see time as a precious resource, which is extremely important, as such they frequently apologize for taking up someone's time. They do not accept tardiness and will often usually 30 minutes prior to an agreed time. Olvana sits within the Olvanese Time Zone (OTZ) which is seven hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)/Coordinated Universal Time (UTC); they do not observe Daylight Saving Time (DST).

Key Dates, Time Periods, or Events

To be published

Routine, Cyclical Key Dates

Traditional Wedding Seasons

The timing of the typical Olvanese wedding is primarily determined by four things: weather, agricultural cycles, proximity to major holidays, and astrological considerations. Spring and fall are usually the most pleasant times of the year, and are the most popular seasons for marriage ceremonies. A plurality of the populace is engaged in agricultural pursuits, so wedding dates often avoid planting and harvest periods. In addition, the couple’s families will carefully plan around both secular and religious holidays. Dates are often set with the assistance of astrologers, who help determine the ideal timing based on the birthdates of the bride and groom.

National and Religious Holidays

National holidays follow the Gregorian calendar, while religious holidays follow the Hindu calendar. The latter is lunar in nature, with an additional month added in certain years to keep the other months within the correct season. The celebration of religious holidays is tolerated by the Olvanese government, but not officially sanctioned. As a result, individuals must ask for the day off from their employer, who may or may not grant their request.

National Holidays

Date	Holiday
1 Jan	New Year’s Day
2 Jan	People’s Day
8 Mar	International Women’s Day
1 May	Labor Day
13 May	Mother’s Day
17 Jun	Father’s Day
29 Aug	Liberation of the People Day
1 Oct	National Day
15 Dec	Teacher’s Day

 

Religious (Hindu) Holidays

Date	Holiday	Description
Feb	Maha Shivaratri	Festival of Shiva (2 days)
Feb-Mar	Holi	Festival of Colors
Apr	Rama Navami	Birthday of Lord Rama
Jul-Aug	Raksha Bandhan	Renewing of sibling bonds
Jul-Aug	Krishna Janmashtami	Birthday of Lord Krishna (2 days)
Aug-Sep	Ganesh Chaturthi	Birthday of Ganesh, son of Shiva (10 days)
Sep-Oct	Navaratri	Victory of Rama over demon king Ravana (10 days)
Sep-Oct	Dussehra	Final day of Navarti
Oct-Nov	Diwali	Festival of Lights (5 days)

Harvest Cycles

Agricultural cycles in Olvana are primarily determined by regional climate and the crop in question. In the southern, more tropical part of the country, crops such as tea and rice can be harvested multiple times annually. Most agricultural products, however, are planted in the spring and harvested in the fall. One notable exception—wheat—has two crops per year: winter wheat, which is harvested in spring, and spring wheat, which is harvested in late summer. (For additional information on Olvana’s agriculture and seasons, see the Physical Environment variable.)

Elections

Elections in Olvana are held every five years and are hierarchical in nature. The local populace elects the members of the provincial-level people’s assemblies; these assemblies in turn elect delegates to the Olvanese National Congress (ONC). Subsequent elections by the ONC determine the President, Prime Minister, and other key government members.

Cultural Perception of Time

While the primarily Hindu Olvanese historically viewed time as an unending cycle of days, months, seasons, and lives, this view has shifted to a monochronic perception of time (performing tasks in sequence) since the country officially became atheistic. The government instilled in people the view that time is a precious resource—so important, in fact, that an Olvanese will frequently apologize for taking up someone else's time. Slogans like “run before time so it cannot leave you behind” and “the sun never rises late” have been instilled in the Olvanese psyche to such an extent that extreme punctuality is the norm. The government desire for things to be done “in order” has reinforced this monochronic view of time, as has the prevalence of work in manufacturing—which almost always requires specific steps in a set order to produce the final result.

The prevalence of Hinduism in the country has not impeded this transition, but has rather helped enabled it. The concept of karma, which could be described as “what goes around, comes around” or “you get what you deserve,” is played out in a people-focused manner: consideration toward others brings good karma (results), while inconsideration brings bad karma. This, coupled with the belief in reincarnation to a higher or lower social level (caste) based on actions in the preceding life, ties in quite nicely to a monochronic view of time: Punctuality is seen as a form of consideration toward others, and each person has only a small amount of time in this life to build up enough good karma to advance to a higher caste in the next life.

Tactical Exploitation of Time

Olvana Perception of Time

This emphasis on punctuality and a lack of time leads to a seeming contradiction: in order to focus on another person, one must use as little of his time as possible. Starting times for appointments are set in stone, and they are scheduled for the smallest possible amount of time required to hear out all attendees and make a decision. Participants will usually show up 30 minutes early “just in case” the others are already available (making them wait would be seen as inconsiderate), and actually being late is unheard of. By the same token, despite their short scheduled duration, meetings rarely use the full amount of time allotted.

Olvana’s armed forces have the same perception of time, as shown in the military expression, “stay three steps ahead of the enemy and get there before him.” This mindset is reflected in the offensive nature of the Olvanese military: why act defensively when one can beat the enemy to the punch? This requires two different but complementary abilities: (1) to have a long-term strategic view of conflict in order to determine a potential adversary’s intentions, and (2) to translate this into a set of short-term concise tactical and operational actions that can be instigated immediately in order to dissuade—or defeat—the adversary before he acts.

US Perception of Time

US military members, while trained for punctuality and quick action, will quickly feel themselves slow when compared to their Olvanese counterparts. US personnel should expect meetings to begin early, end even earlier, and be conducted at an extremely fast pace. Extensive preparation beforehand will be essential to effective interaction with Olvanese military members, as will the authority to make decisions without needing to consult the US chain of command afterward. The highest-ranking officer available will receive the best reception, as he will both have the most ability to commit and will be seen as the highest person on the socio-cultural ladder. Ideally, US attendees should match or exceed their Olvanese military counterparts in rank.

Summary

Olvanese time management stems from the other-centric view that one should use as little of another’s time as possible. The concept of karma as applied to consideration of others leads to short, concise events that begin early and end even earlier. This extremely fast-paced and time-focused culture is viewed positively by the government and has been reinforced accordingly. This has resulted in a proactive, offensive view of conflict that focuses on pre-emptive action. US personnel interacting with Olvanese military leaders will need to prepare extensively beforehand and have potential decisions pre-approved by the chain of command in order to be successful.