christmas-ihs holiday

[valiant12]

How do you make fun holidays for the people in your worlds?
I think I should flesh out the religion in my fantasy project and the way religion affect the lives
of ordinary people. In my finished manuscript the divine creature which are worshiped by the majority of people don't have a major role in the plot, but I plan to give them a bigger role in the sequels. Maybe I should introduce the lore of one of the main deity as the god who is celebrated in the big winter festival. What do you think ?

 

[pmmg]

I have not had a holiday in the current story, but I have come to think that maybe some should be included. The world building part is always going on in my head, and holidays have not really made it to the front yet, so I still don't have any. But, if you asking, yes, I think they would be a worthwhile thing to have in your story. It would help flesh out the world better.

 

[skip.knox]

Holidays are one thing. Those are Holy Days. But there's plenty of room for secular holidays--festivals, carnivals, processionals. Don't neglect to throw in a few of those as well.

 

[ThinkerX]

In my principle world, the major holidays correspond with the equinoxes/solstice's. Those days are so important, they stand outside the normal week/month cycle.

The winter solstice begins with a so called 'vigil' - the menfolk stay up all night, waiting for the sun to rise. (or, more accurately, drinking themselves insensate.) Come dawn there is an (often skipped) ritual, in which the grievance's of the previous year are set aside. Afterwards, the men take a nap while the women visit and gossip and the kids run amok. The day concludes with a feast and an exchange of gifts.

 

[Michael K. Eidson]

In my WIP, there are "Focus Days," days with positive or negative symbolic influences on the nature of the world. Focus Days play an important part in the WIP. As part of my world building, I've come up with other types of holidays and special days, though they don't come into play in this particular book. Each deity has a "Day of Favor," which is a day dedicated to that deity. Communities have their local celebrations. Perhaps in sequels they will play some role.

 

[Tom]

One of my cultures has a Christmas-esque holiday. They're a northern people who worship the sun, so it centers around the winter solstice and the concept of rebirth. They fast during the day for the week leading up to the solstice. Then a vigil is held through the longest night of the year, during which they remember and honor those who perished during the last winter. At dawn a huge celebration begins, and bonfires and feasting carry on for four days. This is also the time for predicting the future, which is done by roasting hazelnuts (the food of knowledge) and reading the way the shells crack when they're broken open.

There's also a desert culture which celebrates a holy week during the time when the two moons align, which they believe to be the time that their goddess revealed her wisdom to the first prophet. It's a little like Christmas, I guess--everyone bakes honey cakes shaped like moons to give to loved ones.

I haven't really given holidays a lot of thought, outside of those two and a few others. Hm.