December Event - Candlelight Revelry

[pumpkinhollow]

Candlelight Revelry

The Longest Nights

{ CONTENT WARNINGS: grief, especially in a winter/December context, exclusive to Mourner's Night. All others should be mostly cw free! }

It is always interesting to consider that across many cultures, and indeed across many universes, there is something that is shared across numerous groups of people from many, many different backgrounds, and that is the concept of winter holidays. Not every culture has them, of course, and they vary in importance, involvement, reason, and length pretty wildly. But it's fun to think about the fact that all kinds of humanoids all across time and space looked at that bleak stretch of time between the end of November to the beginning of March and thought to themselves, "we should put some kind of party in there so we don't all lose our minds." The people of the Emerald Isles, of which Marrow Isle is one, are much the same in this regard.

Since its inception, Pumpkin Hollow has celebrated the two main winter holidays common among the various nations across Northern Leviathan, which are Mourner's Night and Givingstide. Additionally, it's become a bit of a new tradition in Pumpkin Hollow to join in offworlder celebrations, such as Hanukkah, Solstice, and Christmas--- often with more being added each year as newcomers arrive with their own traditions! And somehow, each year, it seems as though for a few weeks all of the evils take a rest as well. Is it because this time of year is simply too sacred for them to create trouble and pain? Or is it because the weavers of this world are too busy booking family dinners, plane flights, and road trips to subject their little toys to more horrors? It is one of the great mysteries of the universe, isn't it?

Anyway, here's wishing you a cozy, restful, blissful holiday season, regardless of your traditions. May this next year be just as full of adventure and fun, with far less trials and tribulations. (For the players. The characters should continue to endure the torment nexus, of course.)

Local Customs

MOURNER'S NIGHT | December 10th

Nightfall comes early this time of year, so it isn't too long of a wait for the sky to grow fully dark. Dressed in mourning clothes and warm coats, the people of the town gather in little clusters in the streets, in near silence. Lanternbearers dressed like undertakers carry tall posts with blazing lanterns hanging from them, faces painted like skulls. There hasn't been a true and final death in Pumpkin Hollow for years now, but that doesn't stop the people here from holding their annual vigil for those that were lost before the barrier.

The lanternbearers guide the groups through town, converging on Main Street, where they are awaited by a long-bodied black carriage drawn by black horses with white skeleton-markings painted on them. A hearse. In the driver's seat, a woman in a tight black dress and a mistletoe-patterned black veil, which gives only the smallest glimpses of her pale hair. It's Fever, acting in the role of Mortanne.

Very few words are exchanged as this procession makes its way through the cold to Fall's Promise Cemetery, where by the light of candles and lanterns alone, Reverend Clayton retells the story of Mortanne's final kindness. Those who pass away are met where they find their end by a horse-drawn hearse, where they ride with Death and recount their life until they reach their destination--- the afterlife they've earned. A mournful hymn is sung that seems to make the sky itself ache, and then…

Silence.

Stay at the candle light vigil for as long as you want. Remember those who you lost back home, honor those who passed away before you arrived but whose influence you still feel every day, or simply pay respects to yourself. You died to be here, after all. And then, when the cold starts biting too much to bear, part ways, and find your way home with a candle in hand. You will surely be left with much to think about.

Those who gravitate towards the outskirts, however, or linger after most have gone, may spy another woman in a black dress and veil. For a moment, it would be easy to mistake her as Fever--- the resemblance is striking. But then you see much longer, stark white hair spilling out of the bottom of the veil, and feel a gaze meet yours that feels like it's calling you home.

GIVINGSTIDE | December 22nd

Ah, Givingstide! After the somber observance of Mourner's Night, you only have to wait eleven days to have some proper winter-themed fun!

Held on the day after the longest night of the year, this holiday is a "thank goodness, we made it" tradition that celebrates the beginning of the sun's return and the first step in the journey towards spring. All across numerous countries in Concorde's Northern Hemisphere, communities gather in large communal spaces to eat, drink, and be warm together while exchanging gifts. And for Pumpkin Hollow, that takes place in the Oak & Iron, the beloved tavern where most spend their first nights on the island.

A massive feast is held, where the tavern itself, local restaurants, and amateur chefs collaborate to create a menu of warming, hearty dishes. Soups and stews, pasta, roasted meat, bread, root vegetable dishes, and sweets galore are served alongside hot cider, cocoa, coffee, tea, mulled wine, and mead. Paper horses and snowflakes line the walls, and boughs of pine and holly create beds for skulls on tables and above the fireplace. A miniature sleigh is set up in the center of the room, piled high with gifts that everyone placed in it upon their arrival. Once everyone has gotten their food, the mayor and Dahlia take turns plucking parcels from the pile and reading off who they are for so as to hand them out. Although some do prefer to give the gifts directly. (The mayor, for once, looks relaxed.)

With all the gifts passed out, songs are sung and instruments played in groups while others dance or sit by the fire. Some will go out to play in the snow, and by the end of the night, more than a dozen snowmen will have popped up outside the tavern. Others still will remain inside, basking in the warmth of being among their community. Children play with toys, adults laugh, desserts are overindulged in, and all is well.

OFFWORLD TRADITIONS

Winter Holidays from Around the Universe

The interfaith space within the Temple of Sacred Roots stays busy this time of year! Since most local traditions are celebrated outside the temple, many of the main areas are offered to the pursuit of offworld religious observances for much of December.

Hanukkah is up first among the larger celebrations, running from December 14th through the 22nd this year. The island's Jewish population consists primarily of Anzu, Lev/Lyubov, and Zivia, though they'll warmly invite friends and family to join in on the festivities.

Christmas, of course, is on December 25th, though the preceding evening is also a busy time. Despite being a Pumpkin Hollow native, Dahlia Leeds has partners who observe the holiday, as well as a gaggle of young housemates and a television who are all very enthusiastic about Christmas. As such, she's made the decision to host a fairly well-appointed and cozy Christmas Eve party in her home (though she largely allows Radar and the teenagers to select the guest list). Dress in your Christmas best and have dinner at Leeds Estate before proceeding to the Temple for midnight mass! Non-partygoers are invited to attend the ceremony by candlelight as well, as usual. Christmas Day celebrations vary by household!

But for those who don't have anything in particular to do on the afternoon of the 25th, a recent town addition is also hosting a celebration for the Feast of the Winter Star from her own home world. Those who signed up can participate in the "secret gift exchange" organized by Haley. But you don't need to be in the exchange to come and have fun! Light and decorate a holiday tree in the snow, enjoy a potluck with friends new and old, and enjoy some stargazing afterwards--- it's a perfect way to cap off the day, whether you're incorporating it into your own holiday or just there to have a nice time.

Other holidays celebrated throughout the month are:

• Saturnalia on the 17th, celebrated by Gaeta
• Winter's Crest on the 20th, celebrated by Cassandra
• Dongzhi on the 21st, celebrated by Shen Qingqiu alongside his found family
• Mittvinter on the 21st, celebrated by Hector, Capochin, Godpoke, Patty, and their found family and close friends
• The Birth of Hathor on the 23rd, celebrated by Marik
• The Winter Solstice celebration on the 25th, celebrated by Sorceress and Wizard
• and Gyftmas on the 25th, celebrated by Mettaton and Papyrus

And of course there's New Years Eve on the 31st, celebrated by both locals and a majority of offworlders! Share some holiday cheer with your friends from all across the multiverse and take some time to get to know how your neighbor spends the season this year, and cap this year off with a wonderful, festive bang!

Happy Holidays!

Comments

[cyansoldier]

Carolina knows nothing. Less than nothing. Imagine the barest minimum, then the bones that make up the inside of the barest minimum— and the amount Carolina knows is the equivalent to one grainy speck of marrow inside those bones. She knows Hanukkah involves lighting candles. She knows a menorah is where the candles go. She knows the word kosher, but not what makes something kosher. (How it's made? Where it comes from?) The little hats are called...something, and Torah seems pretty important. This is the knowledge she comes with, and she prefaces to Anzu that it's an utterly shit amount of knowledge.

Her father was Jewish (sort of), and an asshole (understatement). The two are obviously unrelated, but not untwined. Things that remind her of him go down like bitter medicine, and usually she avoids them. She remembers plenty from age six and before, but not eating kosher, and not going to... (not church, is there another word for it?)... and not lighting the candles on the menorah or saying prayers in Hebrew. Her father talked about his faith much like a man in his 40's tells stories from his college days. 'And then I forgot my prayer and got so fucking embarrassed I almost pissed myself in front of the podium, and—' and she'd laugh and laugh until he had to clamp his hand over her mouth to continue. Holidays were simple. Usually just the two of them. Collaboratively lonely in Mom's absence. (She was always getting deployed at the worst times.) But she loved her father. She loved the sound of him; the way he moved through a room.

Things that remind her of Leonard Church are typically crushed and replaced by things that remind her Leonard Church is going to die— hopefully very soon, and hopefully because of her. But patricide isn't very fun for the holidays, and so she relents. Takes a chance.

She arrives early and awkwardly empty-handed ("I wasn't sure what to cook"), and spends a large portion of the afternoon asking Anzu questions or pouring over the sheet of paper Lyubov wrote for her. You might spot her sitting afar, reading her transliterations quietly to herself and looking wildly concentrated. You might spot her in the living room, running her fingertips thoughtfully along the white tablecloths, then drawing her hand away incase she isn't supposed to be doing that.

She feels a little like an interloper. Nervous to stumble through what is an important ceremony. Grateful to Anzu and Lyubov for welcoming her into their home, but abysmal at expressing it. And thinking of her father, which she's been doggedly trying not to do.

But it's nice. This is all really, really nice.

For Carolina and/or Anzu

[skeletonkeay]

Just before the words "I wasn't sure what to cook" leave Carolina's mouth to Anzu, Gerry slides in out of breath and shaking off snow, holding a little basket of sufganiyot--- something he learned to make with Cecil, filled with jam made from strawberries picked on Carolina's patch. "I'm here! Sorry, she beat me getting here. I brought our sweets."

[xiaoxiuya]

For all that Carolina arrived earlier, Shen Qingqiu is already there when she arrives, by simple virtue of the fact that he's got here yesterday morning to help with the cooking. He takes no particular pride in this; if anything, he seems even more anxious than Lev and Anzu that their party should go well.

So as you might imagine, it worries him a little to find one of their particular guests sitting by herself and muttering over a piece of paper. Even if it is an important matter, that's hardly the right mood for a party! Shen Qingqiu quickly fills two glasses with wine and approaches Carolina, clearing his throat gently to catch her attention before sitting beside her.

"You know," he points out to her as he offers her a glass, "They're not going to throw you out into the snow if you don't get everything right on the first try. A-xiong and Lev-er are just happy to have you here, I'm sure."

[cyansoldier]

Looking determinedly down at her paper, she catches Shen Qingqiu as blur through her curtain of eyelashes and bangs. For a second she thinks he'll pass her by, bring what looks like a wine glass to someone else, but then he clears his throat beseechingly. And he's caught her red-handed, being unsociable. Shit.

How do you tell a (very pretty) stranger you have to get everything right on the first try, no matter what it is, or else you're going to explode on the spot or something equally as drastic and irrational?

"I feel better when I practice things before I do them." Carolina takes the wineglass and makes a bit of extra room for him. "Are those nicknames?"

[xiaoxiuya]

"Of a sort," Shen Qingqiu says agreeably, taking a decorous sip from his wine glass. If talking about his own cultural background will distract Carolina from her own anxieties, he's quite happy to take one of the team. "In my culture it's very unusual for even close family members to call each other by just their name, without even an honorific or a kinship label or some term of affection, and..." He glances away, blushing slightly. "I do care about Anzu and Lev as though they were my family, so..."

"Actually," he adds, brightening slightly as the opportunity for some light bragging begins to clear the horizon. "The name I use for Anzu is a bit of a pun. 'Ah,' is, of course, the first phoneme in his name, but when used as a prefix it's also a term of endearment, like calling someone your dear or your darling in English. And 'xiong' has the literal meaning of older brother, but you can apply it to nearly any older man you hold in high esteem."