Creating Holidays #5: Costumes!

[Minibit]

Your task this round is to create a holiday with people dressing or spellbinding themselves in costumes!

At mardi gras, people wear masks to enjoy the no-consequence world of anonymity

At Halloween, people disguise themselves from rampant spirits

A culture may dress as animals to commemorate a god of nature, or for a celebrate-your- pet day

Wearing wizard cloaks and hats may be fashionable on a magic-related holiday

It could be part of a coming-of-age ceremony

Disguise carries all sorts of cultural connotations; one might dress up as a historical or mythical figure to honour them, or even just for fun! It could also be a protective method, as the origins of Halloween are.

Invent a holiday where costumes are mandatory!

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)?
Any particular style of costume encouraged?
Are masks typically worn as well?
Is it important to not be recognized?
Any performances take advantage of the disguised populace?

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!

 

[Elflady]

Holiday Name: Day of Illusions

Any particular style of costume encouraged?
No, as long as you made it yourself, with or without the help of magic (or a parent) anything is fine.

Do children AND adults take part?
Yes, games are arranged for the children but adults takes part as well, dancing and relaxing.

Why costumes?
It was originally started as a combination between honoring the genderless god of Illusion Aenrei and the uniqueness that makes everyone different, now a days however it is mostly just a festive day with games, dances, tables with free food and sweets and magic performances.

What time of day or night does the event typically start?
Dusk, the time of day where things is hard to distinguish from each other.

Is it important to not be recognized?
No, the point is to be unique, not to hide who you are.

What else is done to celebrate?
Treasure hunts, quiz walks and various games are arranged for the children, centered on fun and not as a competition, everyone wins. Dancing, performances, food and music are other things available for the adults and children alike.

Any performances take advantage of the disguised populace?
Not exactly, but performances of magic and illusions depicting stories, gods and historical events are popular and a main draw of the day.

Is this an upper-class holiday, or a common one?
The Yuine don't have social classes but it's still a holiday for everyone, young or old.

What time of year is it celebrated?
Summer, typically in the month of Wryfelo.

Are any foods or drinks associated with this holiday?
Just as one of the reason for the holiday state, everyone is unique, nothing is put in a better light than anything else and so all kinds of food, sweets and drinks are available.

 

[redblood]

Holiday Name:
Hal kainen ichbak (Rough translation: Animal Earth Night. English name: Hunting celebration)

Any particular style of costume encouraged?
Animal masks are worn by pretty much everyone. Animal skin is worn by priests and monks.

Do children AND adults take part?
Both adults and children takes part in the celebration

Why costumes?
To show their appreciation towards the Gods that lets them hunt their creations.

What time of day or night does the event typically start?
When the sun have started to go down in the sky and started to color the sky in red. (If the sky cannot be seen because of clouds then the celebrations will be postponed until a cloudfree night. If a cloudfree night doesn't come within a week, then they suppose that the Gods is angered and they make a human sacrifice before going through with the celebration whether the sky can be seen or not.)

Is it important to not be recognized?
For the higher priests and the monks it is very important not to be recognized before after a certain ritual. Only the priests and monk knows who is who while everyone else is kept in the dark. Everyone else should have a mask, but it doesn't matter if they are recognized or not.

What else is done to celebrate?
When the sun goes down and the sky is colored red, a fire is lit in the middle of the village. They then offer one animal per family (1 animal per married couple and their unmarried children.) After the offering some of the high priests will listen to the Gods and if they say that the Gods are happy with the offering then they will celebrate with singing, dancing, food and drinking. If they say that the Gods are unhappy then they will have to offer a human to please the Gods before the celebrations can begin. One human has already been chosen weeks before the celebrations in case the Gods wouldn't be happy, and at command that person will step up to the altar and let their life be taken away from them. Only the high priests can decide who shall become a sacrifice.

Later during the night, after the children has fallen asleep, all the teenagers that has become adults during the last year shall go through the adulthood test. Both women and men need to do the same test because they believe that both females and males should be able to hunt their own food if the tribe gets into times of needs. The test goes like this:

The teens gets sent out in the middle of the night to hunt down an animal that has been chosen by the high priest. Everyone gets different animals and they are not allowed to help each other. They have until sunrise to hunt down the animals. For those who succeeds a feast will await them when they get back, because then they have become adults and hunters. But for those who fails they will not be seen as adults and won't get the honor to go with the tribe on hunting during the coming year.

Any performances take advantage of the disguised populace?
No
Is this an upper-class holiday, or a common one?
There is no classes in their culture, so everyone can and must take part

What time of year is it celebrated?
In the last week of May every year.

Are any foods or drinks associated with this holiday?
They have a special delicacy they make during that celebration. It is made of herbs, monkey brain and snake meat. The herbs represents mother earth and shall connect them to nature, the monkey brain is supposed to give them knowledge since they believe that animals has a far superior mind, and the snake meat is supposed to give them strength in hunting.