Like the "ancient" play-in, which began yesterday, voting for the final spots in the "religious" bracket will take place by paired matchups between months from the same calendars, "win and in." Voting closes in two (2) days.
In the battle for the 45th seed, voters will have their first introduction to the Zoroastrian calendar and its wonderful Avestan orthography:
- Āθrō: The modern spellings Adur and Azar also signify this month, which is named in honor of fire, one of the holiest concepts in Zoroastrianism.
- Daθušō: "Day" or "Dey" are the modern equivalents of this month, whose name means "Creator," signifying Ahura Mazda.
- Xšaθrahe Vairyehe: This month is named after Kshatra Vairya, one of the Amesha Spentas, or "divine sparks," of Zoroastrianism.
- Amərətātō: This month, named after the Zoroastrian concept of immortality, is known in modern spellings as "Amurdad" or "Mordad."
- Elul: This is a late-summer month most notable as a time of preparation for the High Holy Days.
- Tammuz: G-d may have commanded the Israelites to have no other gods before him, but curiously, the Hebrew calendar contains a midsummer month named after the Mesopotamian deity Tammuz.
- Parmouti: As we have previously learned, the 23rd of Parmouti is when the martyrdom of St. George is celebrated in the Coptic church.
- Paremhat: The Coptic pope Shenouda III died on 8 Paremhat 1728, which corresponds to March 17, 2012, in the Gregorian calendar.
- Sharaf: Meaning "honor," this is the sixteenth (16th) month out of nineteen (19) in the Baha'i calendar, and falls in mid-winter.
- Nur: Meaning "light," this is the fifth (5th) month in the Baha'i calendar, and falls in early summer.
BALLOT: COPY/PASTE TO VOTE
45 seed: Daθušō v Āθrō
51 seed: Xšaθrahe Vairyehe v Amərətātō
62 seed: Elul v Tammuz
63 seed: Paremhat v Parmouti
64 seed: Sharaf v Nur