Creating Holidays #14: Religion!

[Minibit]

Your task this week is simple; create a fictional holiday specific to a religion.

You can invent your own religion, or you can invent a new holiday for an existing one. It can celebrate any part of a religion, from sacrifice and charity to rituals for recieving blessings. It can be a day of prayer, a day of commune with nature, a day of studying holy books/histories, it could even be a day when the spirit/deity the religion is built around comes to visit!

Holiday Name:
When is it celebrated?
Who celebrates?
What is done to celebrate?
How old is this holiday?
Has this holiday changed much from its roots?
Where do the festivities take place?
Is there anything it is taboo to do on this holiday?
Do people dress differently for this holiday?
Is any kind of decoration traditional?
Are any colours, symbols, or icons associated with this holiday?
Are any spirits or deities associated with this holiday?
Is it an important/widespread celebration, or a smaller affair?
Are there any foods or drinks associated with this holiday?
Do any natural events coincide with this holiday (ie: an eclipse)?
Explain the religion this holiday is related to:
Are there any sacrifices such as fasting, blood sacrifice, or monetary donations?
Do the clergy do anything extra to celebrate?
Are those from other religions permitted to celebrate?
Are there any themes to this holiday such as colours or icons?
Is any entertainment traditional?
Do the deities/spirits this holiday is built around do anything on this holiday?

Other Creating Holidays Exercises:

Seasons!
Death!
Food!
Protection!
Costumes!
Travel!
Animals!
Time!
Parents!
Invention!
Gifts!
Inebriation!
Superstition!
Religion!
Miracles!
Birthdays!
Manliness!
Games!
The Future!
Purification!
Flowers!

 

[Thomas McTavish]

Holiday Name: Day of Sustenance
What is done to celebrate?: Massive communal feasts and sacrifices of prisoners from neighboring colonies, whish are also eaten. The blood is drained from their bodies and used to water the soil, as a sacrifice to The Mother, and the flesh is consumed.
When is it celebrated?: It is celebrated on the night of a blood moon.
Who celebrates?: Everyone in a Kysmrr colony
Where is it celebrated?: usually in the Grand Chamber of the colony, the massive room in which celebrations, festivals, and speeches are held.
Explain the religion this holiday is related to: The Kysmrr Way is that all comes from The Mother, the universe. They believe that all are equal, regardless of sentience, as all will eventually discard their bodies and become one with the universe once again. The Day of Sustenance is done in honor of all who have already rejoined with the universe through death, and those that join them on that night.
Are there any sacrifices such as fasting, blood sacrifice, or monetary donations?: As previously stated, feasts takes place all throughout the night, along with a sacrifice of the blood of prisoners taken from other colonies during raids or defense from raids.
Do the clergy do anything extra to celebrate?: The hunters of the colony are the closest thing to the clergy. They are the once who carry out the sacrifices and pour the blood into the sand.
Are those from other religions permitted to celebrate?: All are welcome to celebrate the Day of Sustenance, so long as they don't mind eating the empty meat-shell of a once sentient being.
Are there any themes to this holiday such as colours or icons?: Blood, night black, and the off-white color of bone are sacred color-themes.
Is any entertainment traditional?: No, aside from the feasts and sacrifices.

 

[Sheridan]

Holiday Name: Day Of The Snake

What is done to celebrate: Sadly, this is a violent religion, one of the very few ones in the mostly peaceful world. To 'celebrate', five members of the religion are chosen at random to be killed and thrown into the water surrounding the city for the giant sea serpent that swims around the underwater city and protects it from any ocean predators.

When is it celebrated: Once every four years when the snake passes by the city.

Who celebrates: The aquatic sentient race of humanoids that live in the underwater city. The species is goes by many names but most just call them mer people. (mentioned in the 'Populating Your World' thread)

Where is it celebrated: In the underwater city Branil.

Explain the religion this holiday is related to: This religion worships the giant sea snake that protects this city in the ocean and the surrounding area. They sadly think the snake is violent and people eating, though unknown to them, when the snake carries away the bodies that they think he takes away to eat he actually drops them into an ocean sinkhole since it is the closest to burying he can do. Many people know that the guardians are intelligent but this religion thinks that means since he is a snake that he is evil. That is not the case, he feels bad for the dead.

Do the clergy do anything extra to celebrate: No

Are those from other religions permitted to celebrate: Well, if there were any the answer would be yes but no one would and there are none others in the ocean city.

Are there any themes to this holiday such as colors or icons: Blues and blacks which are the colors of the snake itself are the colors of the holiday.

Is any entertainment traditional: No.