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FESTIVALS AND CELEBRATIONS
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 While the natives of Aefenglom have a number of celebrations and festivals that rotate throughout the year, they have four large fire festivals - Samuin, Faoilleach, Boaltinn, and Lùnasa - and four smaller festivals that fall on the turn of the seasons - Meán Fómhair, Modranicht, Eostre, and Litha. Information on these festivals and their traditions, meanings, and such are easy to find by simply asking around or consulting books, many of which are helpful "guides" to improving your crafts and decorations for the holidays. While the traditions all differ between seasons, there are a few rules that remain the same: • No magic is done on during a festival (major or minor), as they're rest days. Only in truly dire emergencies is the use of magic allowed. • Festivals go from dusk to dusk, meaning that unlike traditional festivals, they don't start in the morning. A festival beginning at dusk of the 1st of the month will have its first full "day" at the dusk of the 2nd of the month.
AUTUMN
Passed down from the years where the farms outside of the Bright Wall were safe and still in business, Mean Fomhair is a once-a-year event where growers of apples of all kinds celebrate the area's hardiest fruit. Boasting that only their apples have ever survived the Cwyld, they dare the bravest residents to test their luck outside of the city's walls by placing one as far into the maladied area as they can. The city also hosts a variety of events, ranging from apple-bobbing to cooking competitions involving the fruit, to hanging them from strings on cross-shaped wooden fixtures with burning candles - the intent being grabbing one down with one's mouth before hot wax begins to dribble down. A small contingency of doctors and entrepreneurs have taken this opportunity of possible accidental injuries to peddle and promote their wares around the city; they're largely cure-alls and patent medicines, with herbal remedies offered from some of the Witches of the Coven. Taking most of them is simply taking an overpriced placebo, but there are a few that often have unexpected side-effects, covered in the clause of "it will do something to you" to defend against any legal action. Samuin (Octeuril 31st - Noveuer 2nd) The time of year for getting rid of weaknesses; each participant in this event should bring a small piece of parchment on which they've written down weaknesses or bad habits they'd like to lose. Traditionally, like Boaltinn, this was viewed as a liminal time of year - that is, the boundary of this world and the other could be crossed more easily by spirits, faeries, and other beings. While the use of magic is still greatly discouraged during Samuin, as it is during all holidays, the well of it is much stronger, and the draw to use it is more potent. Those who fall to its temptation are pelted with balls of paint - easy to wash out, and coming in a variety of warm-toned colors. When festivities begin to come to a close, blankets and easy access to the rooftops of Aefenglom are offered for the fireworks show that brings in the new year officially. Those gathered together to watch speak of the year's highs and lows, remembering those they've lost, and appreciating the company of those who remain; it's a solemn event highlighted by bright colors and singing explosions.
Leading up to and on the day of Modranicht, houses are decorate with sprigs of greenery (such as holly, ivy, mistletoe, yew, and pine), and small feasts are held across the city. While all meals are traditionally taken with companions, Modranicht especially encourages all to join a massive one held by the city. After festivities are done and meals are taken, and everyone has recuperated, a hunting of the wren is held on the 26th. A holdover from pre-magic times, this involves the capture of a bird (traditionally a wren, but given the circumstances they'll take any small bird) and putting it in a cage; they parade around in costume, identities hidden, and play harmless tricks to "purge" bad behavior. Modranicht is also a time of gift-giving, and while all gifts are equal, there is special significance in crafting one of your own to give to someone else. Faoilleach (Feoveuer 1st - 3rd) A time of spring-cleaning and purification in preparation for the new solar year, of rebirth and youth. A lot of birthdays fall around this time, particularly those within the Coven. Originally celebrating the arrival of the sun; it was represented by a daughter of heaven whose name has been lost to ages. Still, the tradition of making merry and setting aside food for her as libation hasn't ceased. Other common activities during Faoilleach include making white wands out of birch, holding bonfires, and two concepts recently (read: within the past decade) introduced by the youth of the city: speed-dating and blind dates. Largely for fun, it encompasses the traits of good luck and fertility traditionally held by the holiday, and it encourages the forming of Bonds and getting to know new people. This is held over all days of Faoilleach. The second of Feoveuer brings with it another tradition, however. More minor, it involves the lighting of all candles in the city and the selling of a thin pancake topped with fruits, nuts, and cream. Sharing them by feeding them to one another is the usual tradition, and for those participating in the dating aspect of Faoilleach, these are provided free of charge at eateries around the city.
Eostre is characterized by parades, pies, and public drinking; it's essentially a time to celebrate the weather beginning to warm, and the fruits of a year's research into new specialties. Bells are hung on clothing to replicate fairies in folklore, a holdover from the old days where they'd use it to invite them in for Boaltinn later in the spring. Concert halls around the city are opened to all to celebrate with music, and many of the aristocracy open their doors in similar fashion, albeit to more exclusively invited guests. As snow remains in areas where magic is more concentrated, such as around the Wall, the Coven, and the Haven, the city holds sledding competitions; the team that wins is given that year's special brew, a slightly magical concoction sure to get anyone who sips at it drunk within minutes. Runner up receives that year's specialty pie, something generally made with the rare and luxurious meat the city has to import, and all others who participate are rewarded with egg-shaped wooden spheres colored with enchanted paint to look jewel-encrusted. Parades pass through the city for everything and anything under the sun, with much singing and dancing. Boaltinn (Maiuril 1st - Maiuril 3rd) A celebration of summer arriving, of feasts and fairs, of divorces; coincidentally, it's also the day new Witches are inducted into the Coven. Cowslip flowers are hung from doors in the early morning to ward off evil and ensure the rest of the day is as celebratory as possible. Thorn bushes around the city are decorated with bright yellow flowers and trinkets, and once the sky begins to darken, twin bonfires are lit on either side of the city to signify the beginning of Boaltinn. Smaller fires are lit as well, guiding people's steps in miniature pilgrimage to each bonfire, where wooden poles have been erected; long ribbons flutter around them, inviting those to take part and wrap up the poles in a multitude of colors. As with all festivals in the city, plenty of food is donated and shared among the populace, and invitations to sit down and eat together are a plenty. Witches, newly-inducted at the turn of the month, are given bright green satin bows to wear on their clothes, while older Witches wear red ones, and those unaffiliated with the Coven are invited to wear blue by the vendors hawking them in the city. Like Samuin, Boaltinn is a time of liminal boundaries, and the desire to use magic is strong - but only to push past one's limits, rather than simply soak in as much magic as possible.
A festival full of celebrating life and being or becoming close; brothels open their doors for free patronage, and drinks spiced with lovemaking potions are passed around the city with a wink and a smile. There are sober activities as well, for those who are either already taken (and not partial to having flings) or aren't a fan of physical intimacy, such as making flower crowns, traveling through garden mazes with a partner not dissimilar to the blind dates held during Faoilleach, and gathering around wells in the city to see if one can see their future spouse's reflection – though rumor has it, that works best if one is naked and has had a few arousing herbs. Florists in the city also sell individual flowers and bouquets for much cheaper, and each of the seven biggest shops have a special flower on sale. Collecting them all and placing them underneath one's pillow before sleeping is said to bring dreams of future partners. For sailors, Litha is a day of thankfulness for gentle summer breezes, and the start of many a voyage out to sea - though if the sky is red in the mornings of Litha, it's considered a bad omen for the coming months, and the harbor is slowly decorated with all colors of candles to fend off the bad luck of setting out during such times. Lùnasa (Aguril 1st - Aguril 3rd) Traditionally, Lunasa celebrates all kinds of traditional marriages sanctioned by Parliament, generally of the arranged kind, and handfastings, a ceremony based more on love and how long it lasts; the Coven's Bonds err on this side of things, though some Witches do have official spouses. Many of them are made during Lunasa, prompting the city to dress for the occasion just in case they find themselves in the middle of a ceremony, and just as many of them are formally renewed. Like during Litha, shops offer lovemaking potions, but only to those renewing vows or taking them; smaller fireworks, like sparklers and fountains, are also a common sight. Lunasa is also home to the city's largest fashion show, showcasing fun and upcoming trends in the city. No experience is required to sign up to show off designs or to model them, and hundreds of tailors and needlework experts come together to quickly make dreams into reality for the end of the festival, when the show happens in genuine. The clothing is often wild and sorted into three categories: children, where those 14 and younger can submit their designs and model them as well; popular, where those 15 and older can do the same to try and vie for the judges' vote on what's in and what's out; and bonding, where all ages aspire to modify and make personal the traditional garbs of marriage and handfasting. See THIS THREAD for a timeline and archive of past events and happenings within city and the setting in general, updated as things occur and information is uncovered ICly. |
TIMELINE & ARCHIVED EVENTS