In the Wild era, before the Calamity, many towns would throw festivals honoring the Goddess. There was one major one a year, held at the height of spring, when the weather was warm enough to enjoy the outdoors without being burdened with cloaks. How extravagant they were depended on the town, and full festivals were pretty exclusive to Hylian towns. The biggest events were in Hyrule Castle Town, Hateno, and Kakariko. Castle Town was the biggest just due to population density and resources, and people from allied regions or smaller towns would travel there to celebrate, sell their wares, drink, eat, and tour. Banners would line the city streets, bright gold, yellow, and pink contrasting with the vivid blue roofs. City square had a stage in the center of the plaza where musicians would perform and people would dance. It was a chance where one could sample foods and recipes from different regions, bringing much more varied cuisine from the more dedicated races. The Royal Family would make an appearance and a speech, but they spent most of the holiday praying, learning about the history, and paying reverence. Zelda wanted so badly to be out in the streets with the townsfolk rather than in a Temple, trying to tap into the connection she was supposed to have with the Goddess. It was hard for her to focus when she knew everyone else was getting to enjoy the spoils and diversity and generosity of the Kingdom she so loved.
Hateno’s focused on the new growth and life, often with large arrangements of flowers, flower crowns, grass bundles and weaving, and dried flowers and herbs. Ranchers would open up their farms to show off their chicks, calves, goat kids, and any other offspring that had been raised and were old enough to be around people. Before dusk, many of the adults would work to cook a community meal; stews were pretty common, but if there was a good hunt, it would also have venison or boar prepared in different ways. Kids would be running around between farms to see the animals, sitting in the grass making things out of flowers, getting scolded by the adults for picking too MANY flowers, or trying to taste the ingredients or stew early. At dinner, the Mayor would often give a speech or invite everyone to share gratitude for what they believed the Goddess had given them. But the focus was on the community. The Goddess Statue always got decorated in such beautiful bouquets and fabrics, and offerings would be left around it. These offerings were always gone the next morning. I always wondered what they did with them.
Kakariko’s was much more dedicated to the Goddess herself, and was much more reserved. The townspeople would spend their time making offerings for a gathered worship, sometimes for others, sometimes for Impa, many times for Hylia. The wreaths were commonly hung on every door and crowned their Statue. Sometimes Shiekah representatives would travel to the other towns and have a gathering where they would tell their stories, legends, and prophecies related to Hylia.
Smaller towns may have held smaller gatherings or had different practices depending on their connection to the Goddess. Many people would travel to the larger towns to take part in their traditions, though.
I got to enjoy them in varied ways over the years; I grew up with Hateno’s celebrations. The first Day of Hylia I attended at Castle Town, I went with my father and was absolutely enthralled, especially by the food and liveliness of the city. When I got a little older, he would show me how the Knights would celebrate; Royal Guards were expected to stay with the Royal Family, but the regular infantry would hold their own party in the barracks. A portion of the day would be for servitude and prayer, mostly giving thanks or making an offering. After that, they would do their own cooking, drink and eat, play games, and host a sparring tournament. Sometimes the tournament was open to the public. I remember watching my dad fight and win in one such tournament when I was about 10, and it was one of the factors that made me pursue my role as a Knight. I hoped to be good enough to spar against him someday.
As I got older and advanced in the ranks, I got to participate less and less in the Day of Hylia. I looked forward to it every year, primarily because of the food. But as my purpose and destiny became clear, its charm was dulled as everyone would use that day to remind me of my importance. I felt it wasn’t appropriate for me to enjoy it like I used to.
By the time I was assigned as Zelda’s personal Knight, I’d fallen into the Royal Guard’s role of guarding the Family. But I noticed Zelda’s forlorn glances out past the Temple’s and Castle’s walls. And in a much lesser way, I could relate to her desire to be out there with them.
After the Calamity was a different story. As far as I’m told, the festivals all but stopped, even in lesser affected towns like Hateno and Kakariko. So much effort was focused on just dealing with the aftermath and helping survivors. It took a few years for the holiday to start back up, and it was spurred on by people from outlying villages like Lurelin. It became a lot more reserved, more just…thanks for survival. For any positive that could be gleaned from those times, like a decent harvest, hearing from other towns, and personal achievements like marriages and kids. By the time I awoke and got to experience Hyrule post-Calamity, the festivals had returned but in far less exuberant affair. They kept the vibrance for the children, to give them hope. To give each other hope. Hateno was getting visitors from out of town the way Castle Town used to, and you could sample some of the non-local foods and goods that way still. I remember Kass performing at Hateno the first year I was awake for the holiday, then he set off hoping his music would brighten the holiday at the more cut off villages and settlements. I remember some places, especially Kakariko, wanting to pay tribute to me, as if I was the divine ray of hope sent by the Goddess. Or that the Goddess’s will was what enabled my survival. I told them not to make a big deal out of me, to focus on their own celebrations, but I did attend Kakariko’s festivities at least once. People started making offerings to ME, to help me on my journey. Food, armor, tools, weapons, a flower crown from the children. Feeling undeserving, I stopped attending. Maybe I’d accept the fanfare once I corrected my failure and fixed everything.
And I did. After the Calamity was defeated and Zelda and I journeyed to help rebuild the land, Zelda was eager to get the holiday back up and running. She wanted it to be as close to what she missed as she could, and thus took to organizing the festivals with the townsfolk. The first year, we held a much more reserved memorial on the ruins of Castle Town. Invites were sent to every stable, town, and settlement. Zelda was the leader everyone needed; she told tales of what was, and what will be again. Motivating speeches over how we would band together as a community to help rebuild what was lost and bring that lost spark back to the Kingdom. We planned to hold the biggest festival yet post-calamity, with foods, vendors, merchants, and bards from all over, in Lookout Landing. Those plans got cancelled by the Upheaval.
The Day of Hylia wasn’t just a holiday for the Goddess, but to celebrate its people, the Kingdom, and the land. It was the biggest event of the year. It was meant to bring unity among all its races and villages, to celebrate each other in one cohesive setting. After all, we wouldn’t exist or be where we were without Hylia and each other. I truly do miss it.
