diff --git a/tests/__init__.py b/tests/__init__.py
index 1f2a59a2c164e11f1240b36ec11002ac429922f2..de0e2376fb11a404a34862de5e73c6666b75c895 100644
--- a/tests/__init__.py
+++ b/tests/__init__.py
@@ -1,19 +1,26 @@
 import collections
 import configparser
+import datetime
 import decimal
+import operator
 import pathlib
 import re
 
+import babel.core
 from import2ledger import __main__ as i2lmain
 
 decimal.setcontext(i2lmain.decimal_context())
 
 DATA_DIR = pathlib.Path(__file__).with_name('data')
+START_DATE = datetime.date.today()
 
 def normalize_whitespace(s):
     return re.sub(r'(\t| {3,})', '  ', s)
 
 class Config:
+    LOCALE = babel.core.Locale('en_US_POSIX')
+    TODAY = START_DATE
+
     def __init__(self, options_dict=None):
         self.config = configparser.ConfigParser(
             defaults={
@@ -29,3 +36,5 @@ class Config:
             return self.config[section_name]
         except KeyError:
             return self.config[configparser.DEFAULTSECT]
+
+    __getitem__ = property(operator.attrgetter('config.__getitem__'))