Thedosian Lunar New Year

Eat, drink, rejoice and live, my child. When the moons rest, we light up the night for them.

[more-aoe-deactivated20200131]

Dwarves of Tevinter: Customs of Asariel

Asariel is a small city most notable for the many waterways and channels crossing it.  It lies on the Nocen Sea almost directly due south from Minrathous.  Unlike Neromenian or Marnus Pell, however, buildings in Asariel feature bright paints and rectangular shapes without the many angular, stylistic features that are the hallmark of Tevinter architecture.  The dwarves have lived here since Archon Danarius established the alliance with Kal-Sharok, and their influence is obvious in the construction of the houses and in the wide stone bridges that would not be out of place in Orzammar.

The dwarven population in Asariel is small but tightly-knit, and most if not all of them are Andrastian.  Despite that the dwarves celebrate the festival of the new moons, which corresponds to the lunar new year of the Dalish and the Free Marches.  The festival itself predates the mass conversion to Andraste.

The most important practice is the dance of the fans, performed after sundown on the eve of the new moons.  The dwarves draw runes for fortune, happiness, health, and luck onto large fans, one per fan, which are then displayed on either side of the river which bisects the city.  The runes glow after dark because of the small amount of lyrium dust in the paint, and may be seen clearly from the other side.

Once the first star appears the dance of the fans begins.  Each rune fan is controlled by a single dancer, though there are often more than four dancers to a group, and the runes may be combined in different ways to change the meaning of the blessings.  Dances range from simple to intricate, the most complicated of which involves acrobatics.  Twelve groups of dancers take turns alternating across the river, and once the last group is finished fireworks are lit to usher in the birth of both moons.

- From In Pursuit of Knowledge: The Travels of a Chantry Scholar, by Brother Genitivi

@thedosianlny

[tsyele]

Masks and the New Year

The People have used the harelinan since the years of Elvhenan, but few are the occasions when the use of masks is as grand as during the Lunar New Year.

Some masks are unique in their purpose, such as the mask of Fen’Harel, the mask of Sulanin, or the spirit masks, worn by seasoned fighter-dancers. But there are others for those who do not, or cannot, practice the careful and exerting choreography of the fight in Fen’Harel Tel’solas, or the rhythmic beat of the Dragon and Spirit dances, and yet should be given the opportunity to join the celebration in its fullest.

There is no better time for a da’len’s lesson than during such a festive time. The children don harelinan of vallaslin in a show of maturity and age in the opening dance of the festival, the Humbling of the Dread Wolf. While their older clanmates perform their choreographed fight of Fen’Harel Tel’solas with their own special masks, it is the role of the little ones to cheer on Sulanin and, as a clan, help the hero deal the defeating blow against the Wolf, learning the value of unity in a Clan, and how a Clan can help a single member achieve great and seemingly impossible things.

In the morning of the next day, skilled dancers wear the elgar’harelinan, or spirit masks, and dance to the beat of the drums, visiting aravel to aravel, performing their dance to the families, who then offer a trinket to keep the preying spirits and demons away from their dreams in the coming year.

— as recorded by Keeper Archivist Aleran of Clan Taveni

One last thing for @thedosianlny, with a little bit of an expansion on the masks that I drew for my piece for this year, continuing the meta I had written for last year! X X

Thanks for @ridethefrostback for the idea for mask name!

[ridethefrostback]

A little bonus of an older Hale getting all dressed up to celebrate Talasin, Clan Telvaris’ final ceremony of the Lunar New Year! He’s got his Sarenan armor on and his hair all braided Telvaris-style. ;v; Hale’s ready to have a good time!

You can read more about Talasin here! :D

[ridethefrostback]

On the final day of the Lunar New Year celebrations, Clan Telvaris has a special ceremony called Talasin. During Talasin, the Keeper of Clan Telvaris (and their bondmate) will personally hand out red envelopes to all of the children of the clan who have yet to receive their vallaslin.

The Origins of the Tradition

While gifting red envelopes between family members or close friends had always been a tradition for the clan, Talasin (lit. “last gift”), comes from the practice of the beloved Emerald Knight, Tanaris Telvaris.

Born a city elf, Tanaris was the founder of Clan Telvaris, its first Keeper, and the woman who united clans Havira and Sarenan under Telvaris’ banner.

Tanaris would personally gift all of the children who had yet to receive their vallaslin a red envelope filled with small trinkets, delicious treats, or coins. After her passing, Tanaris’ successor carried on the practice in her honor, thus beginning a treasured tradition that continues to the present day.

The Talasin Red Envelopes

The Keeper’s red envelopes for Talasin (pictured above) are specially made with gold leaf for the ceremony. While they used to be made by hand, Clan Telvaris’ contract with an Antivan printer has made its production a much simpler task. What each envelope is filled with depends entirely on the Keeper.

The current Keeper, Ithirael, tends to fill her envelopes with wrapped sweets or small raven-shaped charms.

Each red envelope features the crest of Clan Telvaris and the colors of the three original clans: red (Havira), gold (Sarenan), and black (Telvaris). Three ravens feature prominently on the crest, symbolizing the unity of the three clans.

Credits: The meaning of Talasin comes from @averagesparrow‘s incredible work on elvhen language. Thanks for letting me use it as a reference! <3

More information on Talasin and how Clan Telvaris celebrates the Lunar New Year below the cut! :)

Keep reading

[vir-ghilani]

“How should an immortal mark the passage of time? In seasons? Decades? Perhaps centuries. The origins of Vian Sa’ras have been lost to the People for millennia. Yet it remains one of our oldest celebrations, and our most beloved.

Legends say the moon was ever full in those ancient days, but I wonder. For one whose life is unending, perhaps the moons passed in nothing but the blink of an eye; a brief moment of shadow, there and gone before conscious thought. 

Vian Sa’ras. “The Path to a Place of One Light”. The elders speak of Suleras as a symbol of our enlightenment, a spiritual path we must traverse before our gods may return to us. 

I wonder if any of them have given thought to how the spirit of the People has changed along this wandering path. And what will happen if we reach the end of it.”

– Keeper Andras of Clan Vaharel, High Keeper of Elgar’nan

While the Dalish celebrate a solar new year at the beginning of Wintermarch (a holy day dedicated to Dirthamen, which would eventually come to be known as First Day by shemlen), many clans hold the lunar new year and the festival of Vian Sa’ras to equal or greater importance. 

Vian Sa’ras follows the legend of the goddess Mythal, and her creation of Thedas’ first moon Suleras, and while the accompanying traditions are unique to each clan, it is generally deemed a time of cleansing and new beginnings by all. 

For Clan Vaharel, Vian Sa’ras starts on the first new moon of Wintermarch and lasts until the full moon, symbolizing the shedding of the past year’s ill fortune to begin the year fresh. It also marks the end of their raiding season (melana solasin esh’elgara, the Time of Elgar’nan’s Pride) and the start of their yearly migration to their southern holdings beside the Sennua river. 

Vaharel’s season of planting (melana athimin esh’elgara, the Time of Elgar’nan’s Humility) begins the day after Vian Sa’ras is complete, during which most of the clan’s noncombatants will cross the Silent Plains and gather the rich topsoil left by the river’s yearly flooding. Thus, Vian Sa’ras is also one last time for families to be together before potentially parting until Bloomingtide, where the entire clan gathers again for the summer months and the season of harvest.

Continued under the cut!

Keep reading

[more-aoe-deactivated20200131]

A Gathering of Family

My first offering for @thedosianlny​ this year!  Here’s a short with Wren and Sparrow, the newest additions to Aeveth Trevelyan’s found family and the protagonists of Bloodsong, the Blood Moon sequel.  The new year is first and foremost about family, but it’s also about food and the making of food with your family.

Many thanks to my sensitivity reader @juneboba​ for guidance on the finer details of making bánh tét.

The banana leaves were out of reach.  Wren, her hands occupied with shaping ground beans around seasoned pork belly, looked over at the far counter and frowned to herself.

“Sparrow sweet,” she called over the low din of a busy kitchen.  Wren could get the leaves herself, but it was her motherly duty to make her daughter do the small tasks.

No response.  “Sparrow sweet,” Wren called again, turning her head so she could see her daughter perched on a stool at the baker’s table, frowning over a book, her quill tapping freckles into blank parchment.  Beside her was a small plate heaped high with steamed buns.

“For the last time, Sparrow sweet,” Wren said, keeping the annoyance from creeping into her voice.  When she was a child, she would have jumped and ran the second she heard her name.  Then again, her mother had hollered with enough force to shake the thatch on the house, and wielded the switch with the same strength.  Wren at least gave her child several chances.

“Sparrow!”

Sparrow blinked and looked up, startled at the sharpness in her mother’s voice.  “Yes, mama?”

“Could you bring the banana leaves over please?”

“Uh huh.”  Sparrow dropped her quill point down, adding another dot to her collection, and slid off her stool.  Wren waited, watching as Sparrow scooped up the stack of cut and washed leaves, and wove her way around kitchenhands to Wren’s station.  In her village they would have used reeds, but the reeds were long gone from Kirkwall’s harbor and the water was filthy besides.  The Iron Bull had suggested banana leaves from Par Vollen.  How he managed to get such a large quantity of them was a mystery to her.

“Is that gonna be enough for everyone, mama?”  Sparrow eyeballed the huge pot of soaked sticky rice sitting at the other end of the station.

“Should be,” Wren replied, setting down the last section of filling, wiping her hands on the rag dangling from the pocket of her apron.  She should wash her hands, but the sink was on the other side of the kitchen, and she was already tired from making the filling.  There was yet enough work ahead of her that she didn’t feel like walking over either.  Perhaps, she thought, she should have set up closer.  No matter how many times she’d been in Sanctuary’s kitchen, she still hadn’t acclimated to its size.

Keep reading

[tsyele]

“Mamae, mamae!”

“Careful, Neris! I just finished that one, we don’t want to smudge it right away,” Vallera said, pushing the freshly painted mask to the side as she shifted to accommodate her daughter on her lap.

“Mamae, hahren said that I could be at the dance!”

“Did he, now? Then you need a mask, da’len.” She planted a quick kiss on the top of Neris’s head. “Do you remember hahren’s lessons about the gods?”

“Why?” Neris asked tentatively.

“Well, because for the wolf dance in the new year, the children wear masks of vallaslin. Which of the gods do you favor, hmm?” Vallera waited as Neris pouted and looked away from her eyes for a moment. “I’ll give you a hint. Do you favor like me, the flames of S…?”

“Sylaise!”

“Yes! Good girl,” she said with a smile, “Or maybe the wings of D…?”

“Daa…”

“Dirth—”

“—amen!”

“Dirthamen, yes, like your…” Vallera looked over to the edge of the camp, where Neris’s father conversed with one of the lead hunters. “Your papae?”

“No.” Neris shook her head to the sides and Vallera laughed.

“So… what do we do?”

“I want to be a hunter!”

“A hunter?”

“Yes, I want to track down the Dread Wolf and defeat him like Sulanin!”

“Oh, to find Fen’Harel you’ll need the guidance of Ghilan’nain, but to defeat him you’ll need the blessing of Andruil,” Vallera paused, “So whose will it be, da’len?”

“Both.”

“Both?”

“Yes.” Neris smiled.

Vallera laughed at her child. “Alright, my love. Do you want to paint yourself?”

Neris nodded, amber eyes fixed on her own.

“Very well, let’s see what you come up with,” Vallera said, kissing her daughter’s cheek three times in quick succession, and handed Neris her painting brush.

My piece for @thedosianlny, featuring toddler Neris and her mamae, Vallera, Lavellan’s clan artisan, painting masks for the Dance of Fen’Harel, where the children don vallaslin masks and help the dream warrior Sulanin defeat the Dread Wolf.

[gaymeric-deactivated20200428]

it’s not much but it’s a little doodle of my boy hawk surana wearing a changpao…happy rooster everyone

[yukaryote]

@thedosianlny!

For Lunar New Year, the Trevelyan clan journeys from far flung corners of Thedas back to Ostwick to feast, celebrate, and light up the sky with fire to scare away demons and usher in prosperity and happiness.

Xīn Nián Kuài Lè, everyone! Happy New Year!  新年快乐!

[vir-ghilani]

He had never liked din’felenas. 

Thelrion rolls the shallow cup between the pads of his fingers, pale golden wine barely visible as it slides down the blood red lacquer. The liquid halts at the cup’s rim, trembling. Near to half-full, and this cup is only the first, the smallest. The hardest to swallow. His hands itch to tilt the cup just a hair farther, to let its contents drip slowly onto the newly beaten carpets. Or maybe he’d fling it sidehand like a discus, and watch wine splatter across silk. It might be worth it, just too see the look on his grandfather’s face. Just to see any expression at all from Papae, even if it took anger to crack the stone of his countenance. 

Just to see Mamae look at him again.  

Selan is already handing the second cup to his wife, grimacing. It will pass from Hapae to Hamae, from Hamae to Mamae, from Mamae to Papae and Papae to Thelrion himself, still slouched against the tasseled cushions with the first cup going cold against his palms. A year ago, someone had taken the cup before him with a small, secret smile, and left barely a mouthful of the herbal brew behind. But Varien is gone, and this year he had left behind something altogether more bitter. 

No amount of din’felenas can wash that away. 

A hand clamps down on Thelrion’s before the wine can spill, banding his wrist in iron. “Drink,” his father murmurs, voice low and stern, the word punctuated with a tightening of his grip that borders on pain. The smooth surface of the din’felenas ripples with Thelrion’s flinch. “He who drinks spares his family from illness all year. The family who drinks spares the clan from illness.” Andras’ eyes flicker from Thelrion to Selan, quick as a whisper. “Drink. And remember who you are.”

The din’felenas burns going down. It always does, thick with spices and medicinal herbs. Thelrion manages to stifle his choking cough in the long sleeves of his robes, but his eyes water and his mouth is tacky with the cloying sweetness of rice wine. Varien would have laughed and ruffled his hair, and slipped him another slice of tangerine beneath the table. Lasene had scolded her firstborn when she discovered the little curls of citrus peel in Varien’s pocket, but she had done it with a smile for both of her sons. Thel can almost hear his brother’s voice in the empty space beside him, teasing.

Take your bitter with your sweet, da’len.

Andras hands him the second cup without a word, and Thelrion can’t tell if there truly is less wine in it than the first, or if the larger cup merely tricks his mind into believing so. He swallows it down anyway, and the third cup as well. 

And when the last drop is gone he lets the lacquer cup thud softly to the piled carpets and bolts out into the starlight, the moon too bright overhead. 

A little something for @thedosianlny​ while I finish up the bigger metas. Din’felenas is based on o-toso, a spiced sake only drunk during Japanese New Years celebrations in order to cleanse the body of the ills of the past year and ensure good health for the year to come. The elven word is my attempt to adapt the kanji into english, and then english into DA elven, which is limited. It means, roughly, “the death of emerging evil”.

Banner art by @destinyapostasy, ty so much hun <3

[machiavelien]

Happy Thedosian Lunar New Year! 

Tabris helping Alistair get acquainted with his other heritage, which involves eating - A LOT. Like, stacks on stacks of bánh tét and bánh chưng (glutinous rice, mung bean, and pork wrapped in lá dong or banana leaves), candied fruit, and sweet sticky rice…

[cherrypikkins]

Thedosian Lunar New Year Event - Happy Year of the Rooster 2017!!

[PLEASE VIEW FULL SIZE VERSION HERE]

Been working on this for a while, but here is my contribution to @thedosianlny! I did my best to include all of the main DAI characters, as well as my Inquisitor Pixerys Lavellan.  As per the theme ‘Community Effort’, everyone is helping out getting Skyhold ready for the Vietnamese version of the Lunar New Year Festival, namely ‘Tết Nguyên Đán‘  Or simply known as Tết.

They’re all working hard! Though, each person is showing their effort in different ways… or not at all. 

I do hope you like it! My knowledge/experience of Tết since I was a child is that it is a really huge, colorful, fun and busy festival where you can get easily overwhelmed by the activity, the decorations, and the people. I sure hope I conveyed it here!   XD

Thank you to the people who helped organized this event! Lunar New Year is actually on January 28th.  I’ve also included explanations below the cut on some of the special customs that are being shown in the illustration.  Feel free to have a read!

Keep reading

[eorzean-cabbage]

Is it a desperate plea or a wish…?

Morihiro Surana (or Mordred as his darn western kidnappers called him after snatching him for their Circles) and Kira Cousland – courtesy of yours truly and @polarcapsicles, respectively. Happy Lunar New Year, y’all!

(I originally intended for something cooler and much more…solemn…but then I remember the sheer saltiness of virtually every Grey Warden after the shitshow at Adamant Fortress so…this felt more appropriate.)

[thedosianlny]

It’s time everyone! @thedosianlny​ is accepting submissions for 2017 starting today, January 28th, to Friday, February 3rd.

A Reminder of the Event Guidelines:

For Asian creators only;

Lunar New Year themed only;

Art, writing, edits, moodboards, and meta (e.g.: LNY recipe with a DA twist, details about the LNY in-universe, etc…) are accepted.

SUBMISSIONS: Make sure to tag your post as #thedosian lunar new year or #thedosianlny in the first 5 tags or @ this blog so we don’t miss it! We also accept submissions (if you submit a link to your post, we’ll reblog it directly from you.) 

Happy Year of the Rooster!

— from the Mod Team (more individual messages under the cut~)

Hey there everyone! This mod from Singapore says have a blessed New Year and eat lots of cornflake cookies okay? Have fun!

Malaysian mod here to say happy lunar new year, gong hei fatt choy!! 🎉🎉🎉 i hope it’s a great time for you however you’re celebrating it! 

Hiya, Macanese mod here! Kung hei fat choi!! 🎆🎆 Have a blessed Year of the Rooster full of fortune and lai see :D

Hey all~ Your Taiwanese-American mod here wishing you and your family a very happy Year of the Rooster! :D May you have good fortune and good health in the coming year! 新年快樂!

[thefluffynug]

May your love be sweet

Pairing: Thalon Lavellan ( @ourinquisitorialness ) & Nindarhmen Lavellan ( @vishantekafas ), Thalon/Halahn 

Set in: Before the events of DA:I 

A short piece of fluff based on “Chinese Valentine’s Day”, a celebration on the last night of the Lunar New Year, celebrated by Malaysians. 

Keep reading

[lalafoxtrotart]

Happy Chinese New Year, Inquisition!!!

[karininini-deactivated20170114]

I wanted to do a doodle sketch thing for the Theodsian Lunar New Year going around :) Here’s my Ava with @tsyele‘s Neris enjoying Dalish laterns strung up in the woods~

Happy Lunar New Years everyone!!