4.15Christian events

Christian events works out the dates of Easter, Christmas and ten other feast days, shows the next event on the dashboard, and can run KNX actions on the day. You find it under Server > Engines > Solar Engine > Christian Events.

#What it does

• Calculates the date of each supported event for the current year, or for next year once it has passed.
• Provides the name and date of the next event as system values for dashboard objects.
• Runs KNX actions on an event's day, with an optional delay.

#Before you enable it

• Enable the Solar engine and set a location there. The gateway runs no calendar actions at all while the location is missing, even though the dates do not depend on it.
• For actions, the KNX engine must be running.

#Settings

#Supported events

Easter is calculated with the Western (Gregorian) method. Dates for churches that follow the Orthodox calendar are not offered.

#Events

A new project has no Christian events. Add Event opens a menu of the twelve events above that are not in the list yet; each event is in the list once. The trash icon on a card removes the event. Edits apply as you type.

Each event is a card with:

An action with an empty group address does nothing. Actions are write only: they cannot read, wait or run other system commands.

#The Actions editor

The actions are edited in one place, like the actions list of a ThinkNX project. Under ACTIONS, Edit Actions... opens a window with every action of this section in one list on the left (1-Outside light on, with the event it follows) and the fields of the selected action on the right:

The buttons under the list: Add adds an action (on the event of the selected one), Clone copies the selected action next to it, Remove deletes it, and Down and Up move it. The order only matters between actions of the same event, so Down and Up are available only next to an action of the same event. OK keeps your changes and Cancel discards them. Each event card shows how many actions it has.

The action delay needs gateway runtime 1.0.16 or later. An older gateway runs every action of an event at the event's own time.

#How it works on the gateway

• A Christian event has no time of day. Its actions run at 00:00 on the event's date plus the delay. A delay of -120 runs at 22:00 the evening before, and 600 runs at 10:00 on the day.
• Each second the gateway compares the current minute (in the project's timezone) with each event's time plus delay. The actions run once, and an action with its own Action delay runs at that time plus its delay. A missed minute is not caught up.
• Actions need Solar Engine and Christian Events both on, and a valid location.

#System values

Objects with Protocol = System Object can show Next Event Name and Next Event Date under Christian Events. On a State Action, Format chooses how the date is written: Short (8/15/2026), Medium (Aug 15, 2026), Long (August 15, 2026) or DD/MM/YYYY. See Using system objects and State Action. The apps calculate these values themselves, and they do not depend on the Enabled switches.

#Example

Switch on the Christmas lights at 18:00 on Christmas Eve.

1. Enable Solar Engine and Christian Events.
2. Click Add Event and choose Christmas.
3. Set Delay (min) to -360. This is 18:00 on 24 December.
4. Under ACTIONS, click Edit Actions... and Add. Set Sun Event Christmas, keep the bit command, set Group Address to 1/3/9 and Value to ON (1), then click OK.
5. Deploy.

#Tips and common problems

• The action did not run. Both switches must be on and the project deployed. The action runs at midnight plus the delay, not at a time you pick.
• Orthodox dates. The calendar offers Western dates only.
• Wrong day. Check the project's timezone on the Solar engine page.

#See also

• Solar engine
• Solar events
• Muslim prayer times
• Using system objects
• State Action