Dec Q&A--Winter Celebrations!

I can't recall which patron ion the discord asked for this, but here ya go, and considerably smaller than another DLC lol

***note this was actually posed by 2-angelwings from the discord. thanks for letting me know, guys ^_^

Way Walker Winter Celebrations

Most of the nations observe the Winter Solstice, when the northern hemisphere of the globe and the majority of the Continent are tilted away from the sun and its life-giving warmth. This astronomical moment is considered to be the new year for all the Continent. How or whether it is celebrated as a holiday changes greatly depending on if you live near the equator or under the northern lights, under weather foul or fair.

Equatorial Nations of the Continent

The nations on the southern tip of the continent-- Zo’den, Lubreean, and Tazu Nation --do not have cold, snowy winters. Instead, these three nations experience a rainy season, which includes prolonged, severe storms for Lubreean and the southeastern coast of Tazu Nation. Zo’den, protected by the central mountain chains, receives very little rain in the northern desert, but their coastline experiences severe, unpredictable storms with high winds and coastal flooding. The Equator passes through the very southernmost tip of the Lubreean mainland and slices through the bottom third of the Tazu Nation. Zo’den is on the upper western shoulder of Tazu Nation, ranging from about 5 degrees north to about 20 degrees north. So when the rest of the continent is experiencing the shortest day of the year, the seasonal tilting of the sun for these countries is somewhere between non-existent and mostly imperceptible.

Lubreean: Welcoming the Rainbow; celebrated on the day after the Winter Solstice

Despite its extreme southerly location, Lubreean doesn’t enjoy the extra daylight hours that the northern nations are losing. As the empty southern oceans warm up, huge storms whip around the entire globe before slamming into the unprotected southeastern coast of the Continent. Winter is the start of the Lubreean rainy season, and by the Winter Solstice it is in full swing. Roads and rivers become impassable in places, rains flood the fields and paddies, and long-distance fishing trips from the off-islands are impossible. As a practical matter, it is the administrative new year when job promotions and big new endeavors are traditionally announced by the noble courts and the city-states of Lubreean. It is also widely believed that the energy of the day immediately after the Winter Solstice is favorable to the announcement of plans and beginnings of commitments. This can mean anything from the signing of a treaty, to the launch of a new ship, to gloating news about the grandchildren. Due to the rains, this is mostly accomplished by written letter (and the unofficial competition for best calligraphy and most expensive envelope is fierce whether the letter is about investors in a new warehouse or gossip about a really advantageous marriage contract). 

In average people’s homes, the day is a small, humble celebration compared to some of the other countries. It's regarded as a time of promise that the rains will end, the floods will cease, and the sun will return. While the dumpling soup for that evening’s dinner simmers slowly,  children eat small rainbow colored hard candies that were made in the summer and stored away for these hard times. Young and old blow soap bubbles to admire the way they shine with an inner rainbow light in a glum, gray world. People hang up tiny crystal prism charms in their windows to ward off the worst of the storms, and if enough sunlight breaks through the rain so that your prism charm casts a rainbow into the room, it is believed that you are headed into a particularly lucky or blessed year. Basically, everyone is looking forward to the rainbow, the gift of Spirit after the storm.

Zo'den: The Great Coming-In;  celebrated on the week leading up to and culminating in the Winter Solstice

The Msāfryan build their moving, impermanent capital city of Antqāl Mdynh in the same two spots each year:  in the summer they move to the southern fork of the Nyr river, and in winter they stay in  the northern desert at the source of the Nyr river. Protected by distant mountain ranges, the winter desert location for Antqāl Mdynh provides gentle shelter for their city of xeyme, their collapsible wool and wooden-lattice habitats. The Winter Solstice is the traditional date by which most Zo’den families hope to have arrived back to this northern location for Antqāl Mdynh. After a fall spent scattered across the land in small traveling groups of extended families, completing trade contacts or taking a performance troupe on the road, the great “Coming-In” is a time of rest and reunion for these nomadic bands. As the encampment reaches its full extent, the week before the Winter Solstice is marked with massive musical and dancing displays, with different dances from each family group all showcasing their skills. 

On the Winter Solstice itself, families exchange gifts and celebrate with a day-long feast, encouraging their little ones to run freely about. Both young and old craft small sandcastles in front of the xeyme of their friends and loved ones, hiding small gifts under the sand which can only be found by smashing the sand castle. This is in reverence to the anniversary of when Bree and Bron freed the Nyr river to flow through the Zo'den desert, and when Bree's tears fell throughout the same desert, to be found amid the sand.

Tazu Nation: New Year's Day; celebrated on the first day after the Winter Solstice.

The Tazu New Year's Celebration is the most important day in the Nation for artisans, craftspeople, traders, and designers, as what started out as a celebration of the new projects for the year, quickly became a competition to secure patrons for new endeavors. From the largest of cities to the smallest of towns, great parades are held in which  all the craft guilds will either march or perform or create a parade float showcasing their work and ideas planned for the New Year in the hope of winning over new business. Young and old, rich and poor come to see the parade, marvel in its beauty and ingenuity, listen to the music of the performers, and receive miniature examples of possible artwork or crafted items-- from candies to baked goods, to a few lines of poetry, to miniature glass sculptures-- anything that someone wishes to promote, they do so, and usually for free to the populace. 

After the parade tours the city or town, individual party invitations are sent out to favored artisans from potential investors and patrons. More than simple socializing, an invitation to a New Year's Banquet can make or break an individual artist or business's year, or even career. Montage help anyone who snubs the wrong backer-- or worse, receives no invitations whatsoever. For those attending these exclusive New Years Day Banquets, it's also a time to 'show off' how many artisans you can pledge to, and how sumptuous of a hosted affair a family can afford. Indeed, this is also seen as the unofficial kick-off of the Tazu Mating season, when the first inquiries into potential partners are made. While the invited few try to dazzle at their chosen parties, for most other folk the rest of the day is far less stressful. Neighborhood associations and charitable organizations throw huge community dinners, at which New Year's Day can be spent celebrating, drinking, singing and eating.

Central Nations of the Continent

The nations in the center of the continent are generally temperate, though the seasonal changes they experience depends on their climate. On opposite sides of the continent, Lu’shun Republic and Casfeild match their warm, mild summers with colder, sometimes snowy, but never really brutal winters. Both of these countries have celebrations relating to the shortening hours of daylight during the Winter Solstice. The nations of Aralim and Furōrin-Iki-- which are mostly desert and rainforest, respectively --have celebrations that are more closely related to their local climates. This is a particularly calm period of weather for Furōrin-Iki, when snow collects slowly and inexorably in the glaciers of the high northern mountains. In the rainforest-filled southern river basins, the water levels in the rivers are at their lowest throughout the year. Winter is a bit different for Aralim, which is a rain-shadow desert. So even though it has the same shorter nights as its neighboring countries, there is no snow. Wind, not precipitation, is the biggest change in this season.

Lu'shun Republic: The Long Kiss Goodnight; celebrated directly on the Winter Solstice

The Republic celebrates the new year and Winter Solstice typically by celebrating the end of all old relationships that have ended in the previous year. There are traditionally a LOT of break-ups in the final week of fall because of this. ”The Long Kiss Goodnight” is seen as being a time for new beginnings and throwing off the old and disingenuous and walking forward into the new and hopeful. There's a lot of balls thrown and private parties. Divinations and star chart readings for the new year are also done, with most people focusing heavily on how they wish to grow as a person in the coming year. Many Republic citizens keep 'gratitude jars' wherein they spend all year writing on pieces of paper things they are grateful for, then opening them and reading through them all during the “The Long Kiss Goodnight”. There is also a tradition to fill one of the evening’s many empty bottles of wine with a list of goals they wish to accomplish in the new year, to be read at the next year's celebration. Those who accomplish most or all of their lists are heralded, and those who do not are traditionally bought drinks by those that had.

Casfeild:  Scriptors' Survey or The Tabulation; the three days before and during the Winter Solstice

The three days before the Winter Solstice is known as the Scriptors' Survey or The Tabulation, when legend has it that Feator’s Scriptors make their rounds, auditing everyone’s spiritual bookshelves, and enumerating the deeds of the year. The Scriptors are the souls of chosen Walkers of Feator's Way, who are tasked with the honor of helping keep the karmic books on mortal souls. When in physical form, they appear as they did in life, human or Avenea, notable only for what look like tattoos of written script on their skin. However, on closer inspection, you'll see that the words move and scroll across the Scriptor's body; for each person they audit, the words and deeds are written upon the Scriptor's body. When they are completely covered, and no still, unmoving skin can be seen under the swirl of ink, they return across the Veil to report to Feator. There is a legend of a thief who tried to steal the secrets of their enemies during the Tabulation. The thief succeeded by stealing the skin of a Scriptor, revealing the true form of Feator’s assistants: a skeleton of a fox with the teeth of a crocodile inside the beak of a bird, with the webbed claws of otter, the bright eyes of a racoon, and the tail of beaver. While accounts differ as to what happened to the skin and its secrets, all sources agree on what happened after: the thief, having described this horror just once, was then cursed to have their eyes melt and his tongue shrivel up. 

During the three days of the Tabulation, despite the increasingly snowy and wet weather, many in Casfeild will travel great distances to visit friends and family. It is tradition for both the host and visitor to gift or lend each other a book before sharing a cup of tea, mulled wine or hot chocolate. This shuffling about of both paper and people is said to be for the purposes of confusing the Scriptors’ Survey, though this effort is taken perhaps most seriously only by the very young. Many kids busily trade self-made “books” (cartoons and pamphlets that are either hand-made or poorly printed with their friends), hoping to evade justice for whatever mischief they caused for the year. Most adults, both human and Aveana, simply enjoy the time visiting loved ones (while perhaps boasting about a new published author in the family or sharing an irresistible new novel). Feator’s Walkers, however, caution all souls not to take The Tabulation lightly. Few who have seen a Scriptor in person can speak of what they have seen, and none have dared to write again the words they saw etched upon their Scriptor's skin.

Aralim:  The Silent Night; celebration starts at sunset, the day before the Winter Solstice. Informal parties and private celebrations last for days

The Winter Solstice is the very heart of the very calmest period of wind for Aralim’s people. The howling seasonal winds that batter the desert most of the year subside, and free at last from the perils of sandstorms and tornados that rock the warmer months. It is also typically a slower time for Middle Lands raids, as the snow covering the mountains in the northern borders make for near-impossible passage down into the valleys. Inspired by this seasonal triumph over their difficulties, Anganities use this time of year to recognize and celebrate Angani's sacrifice to the survivors of the Great Fall. (Though the details vary, history and legend record that Angani sacrificed herself to hold open the doorway to the First City as long as possible, so as many survivors as possible could gain entry and shelter from the coming disaster. In the end, Angani died silently, falling into a sleep from which she never woke when finally she let the door fall closed. Afterwards, many survivors living in the underground city saw the twelve year old's spirit moving through the crowds of the sick and injured. She brought peace to all who saw her, and many people injured and sickened by the poisonous weapons of the Great Fall were then miraculously healed after being touched by this silent, glowing specter of the lost Child. (Many historians also believe that “Child” as a term of reference to the Avatars of Spirit has origins in Angani's child-like appearances) Though it is generally understood that the new year is not the actual date of the incident of legend,  on The Silent Night, the people of Aralim light up the dark with candles and lights of magical nature, as a symbol of triumph of light over darkness. 

Starting at sundown the night before the Winter Solstice, most communities and homes in Aralim descend into near-complete silence, in which only the most urgent messages are spoken, and even then never above a whisper. In this way Angani’s desperate, silent sacrifice is honored by the stillness of the desert winds and in the hearts of her people. As the sun touches the horizon, all lights and fires are doused and people gather outside. As the sun disappears below the horizon, and the blue of night is just able to first touch the entire rim of the sky, the silence is broken at long last. The first songs of mourning are sung, followed by songs of praise and joy and love. As the first star is spotted in the dusky sky, revelers interrupt their own songs with cries of joy and the ringing of bells. Flames are passed from candle to candle, and from home to home until the night is as bright as the pure heart of Angani. Just as Angani held open the door and invited all inside to safety, so too is it common in the days following The Silent Night for Angani’s people to throw open their own homes and host big parties where there are gifts for all, and invitation is barred to none.

Furōrin-Iki: When Night Water Turns to Light; details unknown to outsiders, believed to be celebrated on the night of the Winter Solstice

Iki ceremonies on a whole tend to be super secretive, but what we know about their Solstice celebration is they have very sacred rituals about honoring the snow falling in the faraway mountains of the north. This time of year is when all of the storms battering Kinawa, The Solkies and northern Lu'shun Republic coastlines are building up the snow banks in the west-central continental mountain chains. Those same mountains are the northern border of the rainforest basin Furōrin-Iki is best known for. These high altitude snows will melt in the spring, and will give life to their temperate and tropical rainforest in the south. It is known that the Nijū-Iki celebrate this far-away blizzard, honoring the true dangers and even death that happens where you can not see, yet which are necessary for your own health and happiness in the future. 

The specific details of that ritual to honor that water are not  widely shared, however, and even humans living within pockets of the Furōrin-Iki do not share it-- though whether out of respect or a lack of being able to communicate the concepts is unknown, as the full Iki language can only be spoken by Iki on account of their duel set of vocal chords. And though this is the time of year it is safest to cross the rainforest on Pilgrim's Road and despite the fact that is when most outsiders are actually travelling through the country, next to none are invited to this water honoring ceremony. It is not their water to honor as the travelers will not be there in the spring to welcome the water home.

Clan Lands: The Longest Night; celebrated directly on the Winter Solstice

This holiday is a big deal in the Clan Lands, because, well, the Winter Solstice is the longest night they have to enjoy the evening. In general, Clan actually keep a more duel napping schedule, where they sleep in the early hours until just after dawn, wake and work in the cooler morning hours, then nap from noon to typically four or five, before awakening again for the rest of the night. The actual amount of darkness on The Longest Night, however, does allow for the Clan to have a longer time of it. Anyway, this holiday night is spent literally from dusk to dawn, drinking, dancing, and celebrating. Traditionally, dumplings are the food of choice, with different varieties from different clans and provinces being shared, eaten, and often different recipes competing against each other with great prizes and bragging rights to the winners. 

It is also the night typically used for the more elaborate and official blood-bonding ceremonies where Clan will 'adopt' human (or another race, but typically human) members into their families as actual relatives with rights in the clan itself. This is symbolic of the ending of one's old life and the beginning of the new amid the Born Clan. Changelings are also more often made during the Longest Night for these same reasons. (Granted, both these rituals can and do take place at other times of the year, but the Longest Night is considered particularly auspicious to do so.)

Northern Nations of the Continent

The northern nations of the Continent all experience long, deep winters characterized by a lot of snow. Shipping lanes get choked by ice fields and the mountains rebuild their deep glaciers. The Solkies and Kinawa in particular get whipped by ocean winds. The mountains protecting the west borders of Nor’wah makes their great northeastern pine forests a little more sheltered, if no less buried under snow. All of these countries lie in far northern latitudes, where the winter shortening of the daylight hours makes the spectacle of the northern lights all the more apparent. Inmost parts of Nor’wah and Kinawa, the sun never quite rises high into the sky, but rather appears to roll strangely across the horizon on Winter Solstice. Farther north in these countries and across all of the Solkies, Winter Solstice is a day almost entirely bereft of sunlight. Some places, the sun never rises at all.

Nor'wah: Wolfswalk; starts on Winter Solstice and lasts for twelve days

Nor'wah celebrates the Winter Solstice night itself with a great feast and gift-exchanges where all gather in the main lodge decorated with pine threshings, wreaths, candles and woven tapestries and blankets. Ki'ra tell tales of Kubesh in wolf-form prowling the Longest Night, leaving gifts to those who are strong and kind, and large piles of…. something else* if you are not. The next twelve days vary from lodge to lodge and pack to pack,  but most involve competing in winter sports like sledding, snowball fights, ice skating and more, with great prizes of mead barrels or dried fruits and other preserved foods or candies for those who win. Decoration of pine trees and climbing contests to see who can place a decoration the highest is also common. (Ki'ra and Ki'ra-kin will turn just about anything into a friendly competition) This is also the traditional time in most family groups where the formal oral histories are passed on and recited, a time where all are cozy and warm inside beside the fires and can remember their ancestors.

*yes, Ki'ra believe Kubesh will lay a gigantic wolf-sized poop on your stoop if you're a cruel or mean person-- with some packs specifically mentioning if you are cruel to dogs. Whether or not *Kubesh* actually does this is certainly debated, but there've been quite a few unpopular members of Nor'wah society that have received such 'packages' during the season.

Solki Islands: The Great Unburdening; celebrated in the week leading up to the Winter Solstice, a large party on the day of the Solstice and then for another week after

By the time of the Winter Solstice, The Solkies have been steadily losing sunlight for a long time. The only nation to be made up completely of off-islands separated from the mainland, the Solki Islands experience near-arctic and arctic conditions due to the northern latitude. The effects of this darkness and solitude are well known to affect the human population by increasing  insomnia, stress, and depression. However, this darkness does not negatively impact the Solki, the chosen race of Turin. These undying, but not immortal beings can feed on suffering and pain, converting the unwanted emotional energy of other mortals into sustenance.  Just as lichens survive the blistering cold of the far north by symbiosis, so too do the Solki and the humans living on the Solki Islands. 

In the week leading up to Winter Solstice, anyone who is feeling particularly sad or ill is freed from any usual social or work obligations, so that they may seek to be unburdened and walk for however long it takes to get from their place to the location of the closest Solki. A ram’s skull is the traditional headwear for this journey, though a simple bit of horn worn on one’s coat or hat will do. Those seeking Unburdening sit with the Solki to give over their pain, fear, and begin to heal from the isolation and lack of sunlight. By the shortest day of the year, which for some places passes in complete darkness, those who were struggling are rejuvenated and the Solki are full and nourished. To celebrate, most communities that are home to a Solki throw a big party with lots of bonfires and candlelight on the Solstice and then everyone goes home in the week after, singing and feeling less depressed.

Kinawa: Cenon’s Time; celebrated from sunset on the day before Winter Solstice to the dawn of the day after the Solstice

The Winter Solstice is a dark day for most of Kinawa, and for some on the northern coast, the sun never rises. Instead of marking this day with bright lights and bonfires, most Kinawans -- both Okten and human --pass the day in purposeful darkness, with no artificial light allowed to be brighter than a glowing bed of coals. Farmers and fisherfolk stain the glass sides of their lanterns with ochre-colored grease and navigate their homes with only these and the light of the cookfires. The flying cities douse the lights on their buildings and dim the streetlamps until the whole byen is blanketed in an ember-like glow. This is not a celebration of the Red. This mass repudiation of bright white lights is simply an embrace of the darkness, the Void of life without light. (The dim light also allows stargazers to preserve the clarity of their vision). This day is known most widely as Cenon’s Time, dedicated to the Aspect of Truth, Ulic’s soulmate and twin flame, also known as the Void. 

Exactly what Kinawans do on this strange dark day varies: some make pilgrimages to sacred shrines to pray, others to observe the stars and formally mark the astronomical start of the new year, others simply gift their young ones with a few sweets and go about the business of the day. There as many other names and customs for the Winter Solstice as there are monasteries, miner’s guilds, isolated research labs, rural farms, fishing villages, exploratory religi-philosophical contemplative communities and astronomy clubs for the elderly in Kinawa -- which is to say, far too many to all list here. The nation of Truth has tried to discover the deeper truth behind the Winter Solstice by many paths. The only truth that all agree on is that this longest night and darkest day, when the sun can not muster the strength to push back the horizon of Darkness, is perhaps the closest that the mortals living on this plane of existence can come to understanding Cenon, the Void. So Kinawans snuff their lights and embrace the dark, for just one day. This is also precisely why no one can agree on what Cenon’s Time really means, for what one ritual alone can encompass an encounter with the Void?