Holidays

There are many holidays and festivals celebrated in Esringne. While each culture of course has its own holidays and history, there are many world-wide celebrations that are held.

Worldwide Holidays

1st, Oxdea: The Day of Rebirth.


 * The Day of Rebirth is a celebration held at the beginning of the year. It is a day where people all over will wake up before the dawn, and sing and dance for the gods, asking for winter to end and spring to be in full bloom. This celebration typically will last all day, with merriment, food, and games aplenty. It is said that if the next day green shoots appear in the earth, the year will be full of fortune, abundance, and happiness.

17th, Oxdea: The Day of Light Worship.


 * The Day of Light Worship is also referred to as Family Day, as this day is reserved for the worship of Amya, the Mother-God, Repses, the Father-God, and their daughter, Ninye, the Goddess of Light. This day is typically a small celebration held at home, where children and parents will craft Light Lanterns together and hang them around the house. This is to ward off any darkness (including dark spirits or gods), and to thank Amya and Ninye for their gifts of light and sunshine, and to thank Repses for protecting the earth at night (although this part of the celebration is often bypassed or forgotten).

First Full Moon of Kiione: The Moon-Blossom Festival.


 * The Moon-Blossom Festival occurs on the first full moon in the month of Kiione. This is a night celebration, in which song, dance, revelry, and joy is in its height. Moon-Blossoms are a type of flower that only blooms at night, and on full moons (particularly in Kiione, as the month of Oxdea is too soon for these buds to mature,) turns from a periwinkle blue to a dark black. Moon-Blossoms are harvested on this night, and used to create Moonbrew, which is a dark blue mead that causes hallucinations and dreams. (The alcohol is prepped and fermented ahead of time.) Many gods are worshipped on this day, particularly Kiione, Ruuno, Qybitia, and Vocktuur.

End of the Year, Once Every Three Years: The Week of Rejoicing.


 * The Week of Rejoicing is a week-long celebration in which the gods are praised and festivals spread across the land. This week is a time for anything from gentle reverence within churches or shrines, to city-wide parties full of drinking, pastries, meats, and magic. (The true reason why a week is added on every year is to get the time "caught up" or "realigned", as their calendar is not perfectly accurate with how the actual celestial bodies are aligned.)