#fantasy holidays

[vestracore]

more on the three houses saint day celebration's concept-

adding on to @medicallyfascinating's ideas on the three houses saint day festivities- i conjured up the idea that the adrestian noble class and the commoner class celebrate church holidays almost wildly differently except on a few occasions where they vaguely overlap. i think the holidays have their origins specifically with smaller festivals that the commoners created for the saints in their names- iirc at one point the saints did live among humans but i admit my 3h plot knowledge before the adrestian founding is rusty. anyway this to say that the saint days originated from commoner celebrations, were then added to the churches list of annual holidays. obviously, these celebrations would have been more humble- happy nonetheless but we have to remember they're being celebrated by the commoner class. we wouldn't see very extravagant parties or feasts or showy displays for specific groups of people- no no, that comes later. when we consider how wildly over-commercialized western holidays have become over the years (and religious holidays across the world too, i'm sure), i think a very similar thing happened among the noble class- wherein the traditionally humble and intentional festivities take on much more superficial and exaggerated iteration. they have to keep up some level of genuine intent surrounding the holidays- after all the noble class is looked up to as an example across much of the empire. think like how corporations and influencers nowadays continue pushing how the "true spirit of christmas" is all about giving to others and spending time with family- yet continuously push the agenda of consumerism, extravagance, and outdoing everyone else for the sake of social attention. in this case, the noble class are acting in a similar way. i suggested that saint cichol day follow a sort of month-long fasting period, similar to ramadan, culminating in a early morning/nighttime feast (similar to the feast day of saint lucy, celebrated in scandanavian countries-specifically sweden iirc) which celebrates aspects of the new winter months, resilience, gathering, and hope in the midst of the present darkness. cichol was regarded as one who could perform miracles, and motifs of light and abundance admist the winter famine periods certainly fit this bill. alternatively, i think the noble class fully plays up the idea of "miracles", choosing to sell it more like a "12 days of christmas" kind of deal- where extravagant gifts are presented over a sequence of days, then ending in a feast as well (calling back to the roots of the holiday). it's an interesting way to look at the way that the noble class versus the commoners interpret the teachings and religion of seiros, as well as enhancing the ever widening class divide.

[hallowgracie]

Dragon Holidays & Festivals

Within the Inverted City of Agartha, various traditions have arisen among the dragons who live there, including a set of holidays and festivals that are unique to dragon-kind.

Janus (January 2nd)-- the draconic new year is traditionally celebrated on the second day of the new year. There are fireworks over the city skyline all day, parades, and the burning of slips of paper with wishes for the new year. It is popular to get your fortune read on Janus through a variety of Divination techniques. In the two days before, many families will declutter and buy new clothes.

Vernal (March 21st)-- The spring-coming is the only day when rain falls in Agartha. It is customary to come out and wade in the water as it fills the city and feel it on your skin. Clothes are simple, with jewelry and metallic motifs forsaken for floral designs and jewelry crafted from flowers. Garlands hang over the city, and poetry and music is shared. It is considered good luck to hold a goblet to the sky as the rain falls and drink from it.

Trista (April 23rd)-- a day of national mourning for all slain dragons, set on St. George's traditional feast day. It has recently been co-opted into a festival for the last Pendragon and one of hope for the next Ananta heir to appear and claim their throne, bringing an end to the curse.

Pyrrha--The Pyrrha Festival is the biggest, grandest celebration amongst all of dragon-kind. For the first full week of July, there are fireworks, parades, barbecues, and fire-dancing. The festival is about celebrating draconic culture and the power of the dragon's signature fire.

Mythos-- a holiday around retelling dragon lore and recalling traditions. There are great feasts, costume balls, and lots of theatre/live performances throughout the last week of October.

Luma (December 21st)--the draconic solstice celebration. All dragons wear white and light special lanterns for making wishes. Gifts are often exchanged and it is considered an opportune occasion for love confessions.

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[cloudyswritings]

Holidays of Hallownest

So I just saw an absolutely gorgeous art piece by @mebis-art-dump which in addition to be being completely fantastic(please check them out) also asked about what holidays Hallownest would practice. It really got me thinking.

Wyrmalia: Basically just a Saturnalia expy name wise but actually is pretty far diverged in practice. This is a holiday celebrating the death and the Wyrm and the rebirth of the king. During this holiday bugs swap out their masks for different ones and hold a small funeral for the previous owner of the mask they’re wearing. Generally the masks worn are those which belonged to dead family members. It’s thought by wearing their masks it gives them some semblance of life for a single day. During this time the mask wearer takes on the identity of their mask in full. It’s a celebration of past lives and accomplishments while also being a way to symbolically lay ghosts to rest.

The Festival of Lights: A celebration of the bright gods and higher beings of Hallownest. Pale lanterns are released into the city of tears to drift until the festival ends. Generally the festival lasts the equivalent of a week in our time. The King and Queen would generally make an appearance in the city and from there go on tour throughout Hallownest during this festival. It’s customary to burn small offerings to whatever higher being you follow in addition to the traditional sacrifices given to the king(generally some sort of live non sentient bug-some bugs believed a more vicious sacrifice like aspids or in rare circumstances garapedes would gain the kings favor.). During the festival most bugs would swap out their cloaks and clothing for brighter colors, and the upper class would generally wear pale cloaks.

Rootsday: A day celebrating the bountiful harvest the White Ladys boon provides. This is effectively thanksgiving and the feasts would generally last the entire day, with preparations being done in the weeks leading up to it. Unn actually benefits from some of the worship from this holiday as well. She was worshiped by many of the farmers of Hallownest in addition to the pale lights. Stuffed gruzzers and boiled gulka are staple foods of this holiday.

Dawnsday: Nearly completely erased by the Pale king in his effort to kill the radiance only a few faithful moths even remember this holiday. Those who do make a pilgrimage to the crown of Hallownest at dawn(or dusk) to worship at the last shrine to the old light. It’s said this holiday was originally a day where dreams and reality mixed and one’s wildest fantasies could come true, now it’s merely a way to keep the Radiance alive.

The Day of Sealing/Day of mourning: This holiday only came to exist after Hollow was sealed. All bugs in the kingdom wore black or pale white cloaks and went about the entirety of their day in silence. Not many bugs really knew what the holiday was for beyond paying their respects to the Hollow Knight and dreamers who had saved them from the infection. Silent prayer sessions for the Dreamers and Knight were held at the black egg temple. This holiday actually served as a supplemental means of strengthening the seals and prevent the dreamers from dying, the residual power of these prayers is what elevated Hollow to godhood and allowed the dreamers to persist past the fall of Hallownest. This holiday largely ceased to exist once the infection returned.

Deepnest has its own holidays too, but I think I’ll probably make a separate post for them and for greenpath and maybe dirtmouth.

Happy holidays y’all!!

[alexanderwesker]

i'd love to hear more about the different holidays and celebrations of your world. like, what is the holiday that las nevadas is being decorated for about? are there any other holidays that LN celebrates (or just any country in general)? do followers of specific gods participate in certain holidays? i'm sure people celebrate independence days, but how do they celebrate? what about how people celebrate more personal things, like weddings and birthdays? my head's just so full, man.

As for holidays, and celebrations there are many if them, some of which are just specific of some small villages. The biggest are usually religion related, or have something to do with the History of a Nation/Village.

To answer your question Las Nevadas is being decorated to celebrate the Eternal Day Festival, it's technically a festival dedicated to the Sky Gods, the Oldest of them in particular whose called by mortals 'Eternal Day' his name in Ancient is Enál. As for how it's celebrated, it's usually a week of parades and smaller scale 'games' meant to emulate the Sky Gods games. Of course in Las Nevadas, most of the 'games' played are less lethal than they would in a village that worships the Sky Gods. (The Eternal Day Festival is kind of based on the Fiesta de San Antonio de Padua, also called Día de Los Locos, celebrated in the town of San Miguel de Allende in Mexico).

Other celebrations specific of Las Nevadas are: Foundation Day, The Gambler's Favor Festival, some few music related festivals that have nothing to do with religion or anything it's just for the patrons to have fun and spend money and the Week of the Flower Serpent.

Followers if specific Gods do have their own Holidays.

For Independence Day, it depends on the place really, in L'Manberg there used to be a masquerade celebration, in which people wore a mock up of the Sovereign's mask that was then burned at mid-day to show they were free of him.

Oh, weddings are big, like they are a big thing in the Shattered!Verse, cause marrying is literally bounding your soul to someone under the eyes of whatever God you follow(it can also be multiple if each of the future partners have a different religious belief). I could make a post about that if you want since it's a pretty big thing. (Hence why in tHAW what Sapnap and Karl did hurt Quackity so much).

Birthdays are not really celebrated, instead there is a after winter celebration that is more like 'you survived another year's instead of a celebration about when someone is born.

Feel free to ask more questions if you want to know more ^D^

[illthdar]

The Harvest Triad -  Lughnasadh, Mabon and Samhain

In Illthdar, there are several holidays. Some unique to the planet that logic and reason forgot, some less so. In Guardians of Las, the characters experience Solstice - a three day non stop event. After Solstice comes Year Turning, which is the equivalent of our New Year's Eve and day. After that comes Hallmarks' wet dream: Twelve Nights. After that we have Ostara, a cross between Easter and Mothers Day. Then Beltane - the holiday of meetings and unions, which falls lockstep with Walpurgis Night. After these comes Litha, the not-a-celebration event heralding the Harvest Triad’s approach. We’ll be talking about the triad today, starting with Lughnasadh, then Mabon and finally Samhain.

Harvest time requires all hands on deck to get the most out of the harvest and first harvest is Lughnasadh: harvest of grains and grasses before the weather turns too wet and causes rot to set in. Every able body is threshing, gathering grain, and guarding the fields so no one tries to steal it, while the perhaps less-able are preparing food and drinks to be brought out to the aforementioned workers to keep their energy up. Tradition has braided loaves of bread handed out with a fatty nut or animal based spread slathered on it and seasoned either with herbs or fruit gathered during Litha.

Next is Mabon: the harvest of green. It’s a footrace to get the last of of the veg and fruit in to be processed before the first frost. Tradition here sees helpers fed with stews and and vegetable soups.

Last is Samhain: the harvest of gourds and the most resilient crops before the cold takes hold. Here again, tradition has farmers eating what they reap - all manner of squash is prepared as bread, cakes, pies and soups to keep them going.

At last we’ve completed the Illthdarian calendar. These are the most commonly celebrated events, and it’s worth noting that there is really no limit to the sub-cultures of people that call Illthdar home, so there’s plenty of more obscure events that could be observed and explored.

[chaoskirin]

Some Holidays on Erit

Rebirth of the Phoenix

Rebirth of the Phoenix is celebrated in various forms across the whole planet, by many different species. It occurs in midsummer, though because seasons vary in length on Erit, the holiday is placed on what is predicted to be the hottest day of the year. (This is usually accurate because magic.)

Kaneer and Shastaa, the fire goddesses, switch roles every fifty years. One becomes the actual deity while the other becomes her herald. On that night, all the denizens of Erit can see one of the phoenixes fly through the sky, appearing to light it on fire. The sky continues to “burn” for many hours.

And even though this doesn’t happen every year, it has become a day of celebration, feasting, and gift-giving. People are encouraged to play games and tell stories related to phoenixes and the fire goddesses. Parents tell their children that if they aren’t good leading up to the holiday, then Kaneer and Shastaa won’t ever raise the sun again.

Never mind that the goddesses have nothing to do with the rising and setting of the sun.

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More under the read-more~

Prenha-En

Prenha-En is a holiday celebrated mainly by fauns and satyrs, although other species living in fauni forests are likely to partake in the celebration. During a three-day period in the spring, conduits of Petalvine attempt to create and grow the most unique fruits that the world has ever seen. It’s not a contest so much as a constant feast, as those celebrating the holiday are encouraged to try as many fruits as possible.

For fauns, this is also a very popular day to propose marriage or to become lifemates. There’s usually an official on hand to perform ceremonies.

Satyrs add a twist to the holiday. In every clan, one doe or buck is designated as the “trickster” whose job it is to grow the most delectable-looking fruits that actually taste terrible. Part of the fun is trying to figure out and “accuse” the trickster of “ruining the holiday.” At the end of the third day, if the trickster has been caught, the other celebrants get to pelt them with their own terrible fruit.

As satyrs rarely become conduits, this holiday is also a celebration of their “chosen” status. Most likely, the satyrs that become conduits have faun somewhere in their family line.

Ban-Shiea

Ban-Shiea is celebrated by banshees. This marks the day the First Clutch won their freedom by killing the sorcerer who created and imprisoned them.

The story of Shiea’s defeat is told by one of the Aviary Mothers, who is usually a rather elderly banshee who cares for the flock.

It is a day of dancing, where highly-trained dancers, usually in various groups with color-coordinated feathers, create intricate productions for the rest of the flock to watch.  Magic-users skilled in the use of fire might also create pyrotechnic displays in the sky.

Traditional harpy and banshee foods are served on this day. Because a good number of them contain seeds and extracts rich in cyanide, it’s unwise for outsiders to partake, although most flocks will provide alternatives for their non-banshee kin.

An effigy of Shiea is often set up outside the aviary and is bombarded by banshee screams throughout the day and night. By the next morning, the only thing remaining is often just scraps of hay, cloth, and straw.

Tersehtt

Tersehtt is basically Halloween, but on Erit.

Celebration of the holiday is generally up to local preference, though it’s celebrated in one form or another throughout the world.

It’s one of the only days where therians are fully accepted by the public at large; many stay in their animal forms throughout the day and give candy to any costumed children who approach them. It’s said that the decorations, which are carved out of blocks of soft wood and displayed outside, keep the evil therian spirits sedated.

Many people are under the mistaken belief that therians are unable to be dangerous on this day, though the truth is that most therians have no violent tendencies at all and are perfectly safe to be around.

Despite the bias, many therians still participate for various reasons. For some, it’s fun. Others hope to prove to their neighbors that they aren’t dangerous. Some just like scaring children.

Older people also dress in costumes and have parties of some kind or another throughout Tersehtt night.

[illthdar]

Litha - Midsummer

In Illthdar, there are several holidays. Some unique to the planet that logic and reason forgot, some less so. In Guardians of Las, the characters experience Solstice - a three day non stop event. After Solstice comes Year Turning, which is the equivalent of our New Year's Eve and day. After that comes Hallmarks' wet dream: Twelve Nights. After that we have Ostara, a cross between Easter and Mothers Day. Then Beltane - the holiday of meetings and unions, which falls lockstep with Walpurgis Night. Today, arguably belated in relation to the Earth calendar, we're going to be taking about Litha.

Perhaps better known as midsummer, Litha marks the point where the sunlight hours are at their longest. Because daylight lasts so long on this day, it’s a semi-official day of gathering wild produce - fruits, herbs as well as some nuts and seeds are collected at this time in preparation for the coming dark that forces many not to roam. It’s perhaps a bit unfair to call Litha a holiday, given how much work and how little partying is involved, but it acts as a signal that the time of preparing for winter is upon them and that makes it worth remembering. It’s the official sign that fun time is over and real work must begin for survival. Because it will likely be one of the last chances to do so, come sunset, many can be found tending fires and cauldrons full of preserves or making seed or nut brittle to gift during the three harvest events: Lughnasadh, Mabon and Samhain. 

The next holiday on Illthdar is Lughnasadh, the harvest of the summer produce. Because of they are called the harvest triad, Mabon and Samhain will also be discussed. 

[illthdar]

Litha - Midsummer

In Illthdar, there are several holidays. Some unique to the planet that logic and reason forgot, some less so. In Guardians of Las, the characters experience Solstice - a three day non stop event. After Solstice comes Year Turning, which is the equivalent of our New Year's Eve and day. After that comes Hallmarks' wet dream: Twelve Nights. After that we have Ostara, a cross between Easter and Mothers Day. Then there's the conjoined holidays: Beltane - the holiday of meetings and unions, and Walpurgis - the holiday of cleansing. Today we're going to be looking at Litha - better known as Midsummer.

The day of the year with the most sunlight, Litha starts at dawn and ends at sunset. The festival of blessings, token plants are pulled from the fields and sacrificed to a large pyre in the hope of securing bountiful harvests for the harvest triad: Lughnasadh, Mabon and Samhain that occur in the following moons.

This is the holiday for the fire users and the daring - some seeking blessings for their hunts will leap through the blaze of the pyre themselves. Those who are less exuberant will opt for jumping over lit candles as a reasonable substitute. Others will set fire to old possessions and charms to release unspent mana, which is then collected by new charms for people to wear.

Interestingly enough, the celebration of Litha is also tied to the death of the Spring King - a character in Illthdarian lore that was said to have overthrown the Winter King during Solstice. Following his passing came the reign of the Autumn King, who is remembered throughout the harvest triad.

As the year progresses, I'll post information on each of the holidays in the Illthdarian calendar. The next one is the first harvest festival, Lughnasadh.