Holidays and Festivals

A list of festivals, holidays, and annual happenings in Lithrydel and Hollow! For a much more in-depth and witchy list, check the The Witches' Almanac!

Months

Mourningfrost

Winter Solstice/Yule: The first day of Yule also marks the Winter Solstice, which lasts from the 21st through the 31st of Mourningfrost. Typically celebrated with balls or feasts during the second to last week of the year, there is also gift-giving (usually warm clothing to help with the coming harshness of winter, but other gifts are given as well, especially in hotter climates or in Frostmaw where that type of weather is all year round), tree-lighting (where magical fairy lights and small trinkets on hooks are used to light the way home through the snow), and leaving offerings for the God of Death. While most will leave offerings in the form of food or gold, the more unsavory types will offer up fresh souls instead, holding mass ritual sacrifices throughout the entire week of Yule in hopes of gaining the God of Death’s attention and being bestowed with his power.

New Year’s Eve/Day: Occurs on the 32nd/33rd days of Mourningfrost. These two days are used to celebrate the end of one year and the beginning of another by giving thanks to the gods for their continued guidance and to pray for good things to come in the new year. Beyond the usual offerings and whatnot, it’s also usually celebrated with parties, drinking, and fireworks.

Rosales

Passionbloom: This holiday takes place on the 14th day of Rosales. Some versions of the story say Delisha left the heavens for a new beginning of her own free will. Some say she fled in secret and Hind sheltered her. It is this latter version that supposedly holds the beginnings of the holiday known as Delishalia.

It began not as a holiday, but as a secret congregation for Delisha's favoritest and most clandestine worshipers. They'd meet in isolated locations to perform their rituals (many of which involved red roses, among other more sordid offerings), and reenact the stories of the goddess. From her battles, to her fall, and her fated meeting with Hind in the field of red flowers turned white. Eventually, the mystery religions meetings grew into celebrations and festivals and eventually parties that none would miss by choice. Then the most palatable aspects made their way into holiday.

Much of the holiday's intended purpose was lost to all but the most devout worshipers, but the day will always be remembered as a day of love, when you might present your love with a red rose and hope they decide to keep it.

Fellsol

The Culling: Local to Vhys, this four day festival during the first weekend of the month marks the first settlement of forsaken elves in Vhys, long before Ryeanna’s reign, when the elves were forced to eradicate arachnids from their new homeland. The task took three days, over the whole of what is now considered Elimdor and it is usually celebrated with a massive feast on the fourth day, after three full days of spider-related pranks, wherein the food is shaped like spiders and the elves make it a point to rip them apart limb from limb. This is meant as an affront to the Spider Goddess, who the Forsaken Elves deemed had had far too many children without an ounce of control over them.

Yannage

Egg Festival: A curious holiday where eggs are broken, that takes place on the 31st of Yannage, symbolizing the breaking of storms that wreck their communities. If Cire is appeased, folklore tells, they will bless the Spider in the Web and endow her with a sac of magical eggs. Arachne then climbs down from her web in the sky and hides the eggs on Hollow, each a gift intended for the one clever enough to find it. The true origin of these eggs remain unknown, but none can deny that every year around the same time these strange eggs reappear once more. In honor of the legend it is tradition in some cultures to hide their own ‘magical’ eggs, painted and decorated in the bright colors of the spring flowers.

Zayvann

The Celebration of Zaytor: Held during the first week of Zayvann, which commemorates the lowest point of Vaalane’s rotation and the corresponding lowest ocean tides of the year. When the ocean’s tides are at their lowest, the corresponding rainfall is said to be imbued with Zaytor’s magic to replenish areas that have been stricken with drought, so that the ensuing spring and summer harvests are plentiful. This is celebrated by constructing a large wooden pole and decorating it in flowers and ribbons so that Zaytor will be able to see where to send the rain from his residence in the Realm of the Gods.

Mithrise

Litha (Summer Solstice): The longest day of the year, the 24th of Mithrise, marking the time where the sun is at its fullest strength. This is a time of warmth and the celebration of life. Traditions often center around bathing in the sun’s light, charging crystals and lighting fires and candles to honor the god of light.

Rituals celebrating the light that sustains all life are completed as the sun reaches its highest point in the sky. It is a time of gratitude and a time to honor the energies of Arkhen as the days to follow will begin to shorten and the power of the light will wane as we enter the harvesting seasons. Merchants often open shops to discounted fine goods and this is a popular holiday for market events.

Karzarkh

Summer Solstice: Occurs during the first week of the month, which is the day that the sun shines throughout nearly the entire day. To the befuddlement of those who only believe in the empirical, there is not a single summer solstice in recorded history that has been plagued by rain or clouds. According to the mythology of the Pantheon, it is believed this is because Arkhen uses his power to banish the clouds from the sky for his beloved Selene. In the lands of the opposite hemisphere, this is not the summer solstice, but the winter solstice, said to be the day that Arkhen awakens from rest to begin showering the lands with sunlight from Kafzhash should he be pleased with the solstice festivities.

Whether the solstice is celebrated in the north or the south, the method of celebration is universal; dwarven blasting powder is mixed with various effects, magical and traditional, to create brilliant firework displays so that Arkhen may see the lights from his chariot. Legend tells that once a year when the Chariot constellation aligns over Kazfash, it allows Arkhen to gather the nurturing light needed to sustain Hollow for another year. When this happens people across the world celebrate long into the night, setting off fireworks so that they might aid in showing Arkhen the way back home.

Equaius

Tomexal: A celebration of knowledge and arcane power, that takes place on the first day of Equaius. What started in Larket as a holiday of studying for school aged children, this holiday has since spread across Lithrydel and become a time of sharing and learning for peoples of all walks of life. Book fairs are often hosted, as well as cultural festivals where people gather to share traditions, games and foods as they share stories around fires.

Veilora

Halloween/Samhain: A holiday at the very end of the month of Veilora that celebrates the near-removal of the space-time separation of the Mortal and Shadow planes. This is usually celebrated via fancy balls or mass rituals by all walks of life, but especially including witches and followers of Q’na, as well as tangentially Vakmatharas.

Selevann

Selene’s Harvest: Held during the last week of the month, which begins at midday and extends well into night with no lamp light to celebrate and appreciate the last glimmer of green light cast by Valaane before it cycles into it’s dark months. Vaalane’s perigee pulls the tides into the highest tide of the year, which prevents most travel by ship and accordingly brings those who sail the seas home so that they may enjoy the land’s final harvest of the season.

Other Annual Happenings

Titans of Winter Tournament

Typically sponsored by Frostmaw and held at the beginning of the year, the Titans of Winter Tournament is THE place to be if you're a fighter that wants to show off your moves and win fabulous prizes.

Rynvale Beach Bash

A two day, two night all out party on Port Rynvale's beach, that takes place during Kazarkh!

May Day

Also known as Beltane by Lithrydel's witch population. The heart of spring, the celebration of the harmony between feminine and masculine energies and everything in between. Commonly celebrated with maypole dances that symbolize the union of energies, grand fairs with deep fried foods and magical rides and games.

Bonfires are also common around this time, symbolizing the purifying of the rain season and the ushering of the sun into the summer. The most powerful fertility rites are often practiced on this holiday.

It is sometimes also utilized as a day for guilds to recruit new members.