Something a little less…political.
What sort of traditions do you practice during the holiday season (if any)? What do you see this time of year as? Just another day? A time to reflect? A time for family and friends?
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I like having a good laugh, reading how a certain troll complains that her abusive “art” was removed from the contest thread.
Definitely not a hobby for whole holidays, but it made my day today, and today is one of the greatest Caldari holidays!
Exactly 201 year ago, in FC33, at this exact day, the Caldari State was founded with the Proclamation of Secession.
Glory to the State!
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Is there any reason for this? I mean, it’s completely off topic for the thread and you’ve admitted it yourself!
Diana Kim:
I like having a good laugh, reading how a certain troll complains that her abusive “art” was removed from the contest thread.
Definitely not a hobby for whole holidays, but it made my day today.
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Did you expect anything different from her?
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No, but I hope to get this thread back on-topic quickly.
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We all know the reason for this! 
And it’s not for you to tell others about off-topic, considering your replies in the contest thread.
Oh yes, I will contemplate about it for sure during holidays! I might even avoid connecting it to gallente, so it won’t be political, just about a terrible person.
See, this is on topic now.
I go out into the snow and meditate. I’ll dress fairly lightly and meditate until the cold breaks my concentration - then it’s time for a sauna until I’m thawed out. Once that’s done, we have breakfast and then we go out to the shrine and make an offering to those who came before us.
There’s also a traditional meal at year’s end, which is made by scavenging together all the good things we can find that are tucked away in the corners of the kitchen. The meal is supposed to be assembled from left-overs, scraps and stuff that’s gotten misplaced in storage. Traditionally, if there’s been a good year for the family, it should be a feast. If the year has been a bad one, then the meal will be small in size.
The meal is this way as a recognition that by year’s end, tribes on the Homeworld were largely reduced to eating only the food that had been gathered and stored. Several months were still ahead before fresh food of most sorts could be gathered.
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That sounds really nice!
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Cold really never bothered me, but reading that made me shiver!
We usually have it rather simple. Just a meal, just some drinks, yells for the STATE, and fireworks. And so comes new Year. Oh… and usually a CEO gives a speech, wishing everyone good profits in the new year and talking about different crap that happened. Whose CEO’s speech would you like to hear? think I’ll go for Ishanoya-haani, even if I wasn’t from Lai Dai. This was definitely Lai Dai’s year.
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I always listen to Oritsuu’s speech at the New Year. Is Ishanoya-haani particular good at making speeches? Should I make room for her this year?
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I hope you’ll come to the Yule Ball, Pieter 
I haven’t seen you in a good while.
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In a bad while, Lasa. I have neglected too many of my friends, this year. I’ll really try and make the ball - it’s also been too long since I dressed up.
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I will never turn down an occasion to see a man in a suit 
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I normally hunker down with my friends and loved ones and have a small gathering at my home. I cook dinner and we all just enjoy each other’s company and forget the struggles of the year.
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Honestly? I don’t know! It will be my first time!
And I never heard any Oritsuu’s speeches, and really… do not have a lot of desire to… for well known reasons.
In Amarr, just about every week there’s a different Saint’s or Prophet’s festival, or other religious day set aside for celebration. It would obviously be impossible to celebrate them all, which is why different congregations, sects and subcultures within the Empire pick and choose which they see prudent to observe. That said, many do concentrate important days during this season. I’ll run down a few of the ones my family and I observe.
The big one for this season for all followers of the Imperial Rite is a celebration relating to the First Prophet Gheinok, and the exodus of the Amarr people from Assimia to Amarr Island. We take a week to commemorate each part of their journey and celebrate on the final day with a feast and exchanging of gifts in signification of their arrival upon Amarr Island and the peace and bounty it offered.
Another day we observe relates to the first Ni-Kunni Saints, who aided our people to convert to the Rite in peace after the arrival of the Amarr. The celebrations begin with masses that tell the stories of the various individuals, and how they helped their nomadic tribe or city-state come to see the truth. Rites involve heavy usage of water, as is proper with our traditions. Then things culminate into big parties with drums, flutes, food and dancing. Starts of slow and ends with a big bang of thanksgiving. Pretty fun, overall.
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Wow, when do you guys work?..
Of State celebrations I can recall only four: New Year, 10th June, Workers Union Day and the State day, which is today!
(22 of November, Proclamation of Secession)
Glory to the State!
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Holidays? Well, I’m not sure what you’re referring to since I’m sure there’s a holiday season every week somewhere, but there’s one upcoming one among the Gripdjur, I guess. Midwinter. The midpoint in the long season of dark days and dark nights, where the nights start growing shorter every day that passes.
There’s a simple celebration of it, really. Extended families come together and feast, rejoicing in having weathered the worst of winter, and that every day now is going to be warmer and brighter. Life has prevailed, and will come forth anew as the spirits of the Shifting Snows weighs down upon it.
The Volur and Shamans of the clan hold gatherings to honor and praise the families who have contributed most to each other and the clan as a whole, and the power structures of the clan are rearranged accordingly. Someone’s star will rise, someone’s will fall and be caught in the embrace of the clan once more.
Of course, throughout that week there’s all kinds of activities in different places. I used to love swimming in the broken lakes or the river that flows too strongly to freeze, then snow-bathe with my kin before spending a few hours challenging each other to greater and greater heat in the sweat lodges. Some go trekking throughout the wilds in these darkest and coldest days of winter, to commune with what is quintessentially Gripdjur and Sebiestor. Some spend the whole week meditating and communing with the spirits of the land or the people.
… me… I’ll be making sure the Accorded Neutral Grounds on Deck23 are ready and fully stocked for those who can’t go home this season, and then keep on doing what we capsuleers do. Home and hearth is for those who don’t bring the darkness of New Eden on their backs.
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If you refer to the Yoiul festival, I don’t particlarly care for it. My clan already had an old winter holiday, Bayaghul (it means “Celebration gathering”). Bayaghul is mainly spent as a huge gathering of people where typically a whole clan comes together to share food, stories, warmth and generally have a good time - and to honor their ancestors.
Of course, in modern times a clan can be so large and spread apart that it is simply impossible to have a gathering of millions of people (or more), so today it is arranged locally rather than in one central location, as it was in the ancient times.
Some traditions include;
Orubüji (“Night dance”): Bachelors of the families gather and dance next to a large bonfire - style is free, though many make an effort to learn traditional courting dances - where they try to impress the women of their physical prowess and stamina and, of course, aspire to be selected by maidens of other families. It is loud, sweaty, and takes several hours. It is my favourite event of the night. After this comes
Genair (“Feast”): It’s exactly what it sounds like. We trade food, try other families special recipes, and generally have a good time.
Üligmos(“Storytelling”): Maybe you guessed it - this is where we tell each other stories; In the olden times this tradition served as an information exchange. In modern times this can be anything; Poems, fables, songs, chants, you name it.
These are but a few events of the first and second day, the whole celebration lasts a week. The third, fourth and fifth day are spent mostly with our own extended families, with the celebrations ending much in the same way it started - celebrating life and its many wonders, our brethren, and thanking those who came before us for what we have today.
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Winter Solstice Festival for my Clan. Everyone in Clan, from city centres of Skarkon to the off-world colonies will all pack up and go right on home to the Enclave to celebrate Winter Solstice Festival. Sometimes it’s my job to go give my fellow clanmates a lift. Perks of being a capsuleer and all that.
Due to our rather deprived circumstances there, and the fact that we live in pretty cramped space with only a singular plaza in the Residence Spheres (three of them), we only have the Feast. It’s the only time entire families get to gather around to take a bite out of whole goats cured in lactic acid. That’s the most extravagant we could get.
We do have some sort of game devised by the youths. We will compete to get our hands on whatever the adults haven’t gotten their hands on yet (usually that means choicest cuts. The adults like to leave those behind for the kids. Extra nutrition for the growing ones and all that). The loser is the one who is left with the goat testicles cured in lactic acid (because that’s always the last thing anyone will eat. And the adults will use the excuse of ‘the kids need more nutrition’ in order to avoid having to eat those).
The Residence Spheres stay in contact with each other using hologram-assisted alternate reality overlays. The resolution is shite but it allows us to have something close to face-time interaction with the other spheres. Holographic phantoms moving from table to table to talk with the flesh-and-blood. Almost like that dead festival that we haven’t gotten to re-celebrating yet. If the ‘spirits’ are really low-res that freeze in place and fizzle out every so often.
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