This is the highest holiday of the year and takes place on Zeroth
Day, the beginning of the year. Trees are the most revered life
in the universe because they are the providers of all good
things. Trees supply our food, shelter, clothing, and other
requirements for life, as well as most things we use to make life
more comfortable.
The Celebration Day should be preceded by several days of
preparation. The days of preparation should be spent planting
trees (most importantly) as well as cleaning the house and
discarding old things. Because this is the beginning of the year,
it is a symbolic new beginning of life. As the trees are putting
on new leaves, so we should be putting on new and improved
characteristics in our lives.
On Celebration Day everyone shall wear a new dress which has never
been worn before. Instead of a dress, people can instead wear a
new top, or jumpsuit, or other new outfit that agrees with their
fashion. There are no particular requirements for the dress, but
those with floral or leaf patterns are preferred. Natural fibers
such as wool and cotton are also preferred, but it's understood
that these are hard to get, especially cute ones with floral
patterns.
Before noon on Celebration Day there shall be a feast. During the
feast, each person (starting with the oldest) will recount all
their accomplishments for the year. Since this is the beginning
of the new year, any talk of regrets or failings is discouraged.
At noon the ritual Thanking of Sun will take place, led by the
highest ranking Medicine Mother. After the ritual Thanking of
Sun, another feast will take place. During this feast each person
will announce their plans for the year and make their vows for an
improved life. Celebration Day will end with the Great Fire. The
Great Fire is lit just before sundown. Each person will throw
into the Great Fire every piece of clothing they were wearing on
the previous day as a symbol of leaving last year behind.
This is the second most important celebration and is held on the
autumnal equinox. On this day it is forbidden to kill or eat any
pigs or pork. This is also the preferred day for turning the
pigs out on the fields and gardens to eat what hasn't been
harvested.
Before noon on Celebration Day there will be a feast. During the
feast each person shall remember the vows and plans made at the
beginning of the year and consider how well they have done to
fulfill those. Since this is halfway through the year, a person
still has the rest of the year to fulfill their vows and plans. At
noon the ritual Thanking of Sun will be held. After Thanking of
Sun will be the Freedom For Pigs ritual when they are put in to
their fall pasture. Celebration Day will end with the Great Fire,
which is lit just before sundown.
This is the third most important celebration and is held on the
summer solstice. As much of the day as possible should be spent
swimming, boating, or otherwise playing in the water. At noon
will be held the ritual Thanking of Sun. A bonfire may be done in
the afternoon, but it is not a Great Fire.
This is held on the winter solstice. It is customary to drink
spiced tea or cider, although mulled wine or hot chocolate is also
done. The yule season begins 6 days before and ends 6 days after
LDTS, and is therefore 13 days long. All the Celtic yule
traditions are recognized and followed. It is recommended to
decorate everything in a festive way (because the season is
otherwise drab and depressing). This often involves wreaths,
greenery of all sorts, and the traditional Yule Tree (either
correctly hung upside down from the ceiling, or in the wrong,
christian way). Colorful lights and other ornaments may be
deployed. Decorating should be completed before the yule season
begins, and decorations should remain up until after it is over.
On the morning of Celebration Day a Root Girl will finish her
training and be anointed in the Dawning Ritual to become a
Medicine Mother. At noon on LDTS will be the ritual Thanking of
Sun led by the new Medicine Mother. After all the rituals have
been completed the Warming Dance will start, and will continue
until sunrise the next day.
Magic leaves in the autumn with the first killing frost. There
is no celebration associated with this event, though some people
choose to have a day of mourning. Usually the day of mourning is
spent alone in ones room reading a book, drinking hot chocolate
and eating popcorn.
On the first new moon after the LDTS magic is brought back by The
Unicorn (who's name is Magdelena). The Unicorn gets the magic out
of the ice on the north pole (where it is frozen in) and loads it
on the moon while it is dark. Over the next 14 days while the moon
is waxing, the magic sublimates from the moon and lands on the
earth.
The Coming of The Unicorn is celebrated by spreading corn on the
ground at sunrise. This is to feed The Unicorn, who is hungry and
tired after all the work of bringing back magic. Then everyone
has a big breakfast which includes corn meal, or corn bread,
covered with butter and plum jam (The Unicorn's favorite food).
this is held every 4 years, in leap year, and the only time there
is a 46th day in Sodden ALABASTER. This is celebrated by the
exchanging of gifts, and is representative of having an extra
day. Gift Day refers to being given an extra day in the year.
Since Gift Day is the day before Zeroth and Celebration of Trees
it is an especially festive event. And the greatest gift a person
can give someone is a new dress to wear for Celebration of Trees.
this is approximately 2 weeks before Celebration of Trees and is
the best time to go shopping for your new dress.
the internationally recognized day for raising awareness of
women's issues.
a day to celebrate being a woman and to exercise the power of your beauty.
this is the day to get your legs waxed in preparation for wearing all those short sun dresses and showing off your fabulous legs!
we are not ashamed of our bodies, and we don't let gawkers have decision making authority about our beauty.
should be pretty self explanatory
she is an inspiration and we honor her achievements
it;s a fun opportunity to try a wild new color! Or just go stock up on your old favorites.
too many of the worlds cultures have the damaging belief that women should not enjoy sexual pleasure and this day is a specific effort to counter that attitude. An important part of this day is to raise awareness of and to end the practice of female genital mutilation. On this day, all women are encouraged to demand sexual gratification from their partners, and all men are required to be obedient to the instructions of their Mistress. Also, women can demand sexual gratification from any man and he is required to be obedient to her; so women that are not in a committed relationship may still enjoy this celebration. It wouldn't be polite for a woman to demand sexual gratification from another woman, she should ask politely and all women are encouraged to be accommodating, though it's not required.
other religions are not like us, and usually discriminate against women. On this day we work towards the equality and freedom for all women.
our religion has an especially high regard for doctors, physicians and healers so on this day we celebrate the women who are physicians and encourage our daughters to study medicine.
our religion is science based and we have great respect for scientists, so we honor all the women who have increased our knowledge of the universe and encourage our daughters to study science.
engineers make our lives more comfortable and pleasant, so we
teach our daughters the importance of engineering and encourage
them to be engineers.
At noon the ritual Thanking of Sun will be held. Then the
Freedom for Cows ritual will follow. There will be no meat from
cows or other ruminants (deer, moose, etc.) eaten on this day.
However milk and cheese is consumed in large quantities in
thankfulness for all the gifts cows give us. If the weather is
good, a bonfire is recommended. The more traditional Celtic
observers will have sex as much as possible with anyone and
everyone. This celebration also includes rituals for the worship
of the Mayan diety Xochiquetzal.
The morning (and perhaps the day before) will be spent with
pre-winter cleaning to rid oneself of the past year's clutter.
Donating unnecessary and unused items to a charity is highly
encouraged. At noon the ritual Thanking of Sun will be held.
Celebration Day will end with the Great Fire, which is lit just
before sundown. This is the biggest of the Great Fires, and
should be the largest bonfire possible. Each person will throw
into the Great Fire something which they believe is holding them
back from achieving their vows and plans, as well as anything else
in their life that they want to get rid of. This is symbolic of
the trees which are dropping their leaves that are not needed
anymore for this year. This should help us all to remember that
trees keep growing bigger every year, and not to become too
attached to physical objects. And because this occurs on the
central day of the CLARET Quarter, much wine is consumed.
This day is also celebrated by reciting poetry that was learned
throughout the year, and eating cheese. Usually white cheeses are
preferred since this is the central day of the Alabaster Quarter,
and it is also symbolic of snow and the gradually warming weather
that will "eat" the snow.
on Rachels anniversary is give a book day. buy a book for people
who like them.
based on the native american tradition of celebrating the corn
harvest.
a game played to pass time and challenge each other's learning
and knowledge. Rules of the game are described HERE.
Since learning and continuous improvement are central to the
religion, this game is demonstrative of a person's dedication.
This is a popular past time to play in the winter, and the
international championship is held on the day after Return of
Magic.
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