How to measure a year in Westeros?

[dios_achilleus]

In our world, we roughly measure a year by the solstices (if you consider pre-modern understandings of the solar system).

What about in Westeros? They don't have a solstice like we do, unless their year is like ours WRT the sun, but the seasons are magically messed up. Thoughts?

[Stannis Eats No Peaches]

They count 12 lunar cycles?

[Ser Greg of House House]

They count 12 lunar cycles?

Now that's what baffles me. Planetos having a moon so similar to our own must be one of the most impressive coincidences ever.

[Julian Rayne]

They may very well have solstices. In fact they probably do. Also you could measure a sidereal year astronomically.

[dios_achilleus]

Has there been mention of long winter days and short summer days? For the solstices to exist in dysfunctional seasons, then the long and short days should occur in the "wrong" season as well. I cannot recall mention of these.

[Panos Targaryen]

According to GRRM, Westeros once had normal 3-month seasons, but a magical event messed Planetos up, causing the long summers and winters we see in ASOIAF. So, we can assume that early civilizations in Westeros measured time like we do, and after the magical event they kept the old system, since the length of days and months hasn't changed, only the seasons.