*This is by no means meant to be an exhaustive list of the celebrations during the season. We understand that there are many celebrations throughout the season in various regions and religions of the world. There is no way to cover every celebration in this game, as much as we would love to.
Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2021 6:45 pm
Each Day’s raffle will start at 12:01am EST and end at 10PM EST that day
This counts as your event freebie. Each day a new Angeni will be raffled off. To enter, post the code on the day you want to enter. The current day’s pet will be displayed in post 4. If we are late putting up the next day’s pet, the game still starts on time. Please refer to the schedule and links above for what is being offered each day. No proxies. Be polite and respectful. Show good sportsmanship. You may not win what you want, but be happy for those that do! Let's spread some good vibes! Questions can be directed to spelldancer, Cheri, or Phail! Please be aware that those running the game might have to make a call on something they didn't go over in the rules. Please respect the host's ruling. Please do not use post styles when submitting contest entries. Please be mindful that mistakes do happen when lists are being compiled. If you see your name missed, please notify the host prior to prize rolling in order to be included in the list. If a mistake is made during rolling or during announcements of winners, please do not expect compensation to be given for the error, outside of remedying it for future rolls. It is entirely up to the colorist/staff if they choose to compensate for a goof, and compensation is an exception, not the rule. A user may not back out of a contest, prize, or sale once they've entered or added the pet to their preference list. However, we would appreciate it if you let hosts know when you are no longer eligible for a prize (e.g. when you've hit your cap from a separate contest).
Entrant Form
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spelldancer
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Posted: Mon Nov 15, 2021 6:48 pm
Current Day List
Day 9 Page 22 Snowbelle Thundara Teigra Toshihiko Two ~Kiana_Nala~ Page 23 Baneful TheWishling Kaya Wolf Moon Malikztiah Ankhwave MiddyGlow Rein_Carnation Sawaki Draconian_Peacock Avid_RPer18 Caitlyn Hellstorm Lethrossen dawns_aura Nikkichomp SylverStar Page 24 Fatal Irony Mameha Otome Chi Honda irishgirl1017
Prior Day’s Lists
Day 1 Page 1 Niyaru Delacroix Malikztiah Ankhwave Aria Starstone Celeanor stormflower Kaya Wolf Moon Rein_Carnation Natelie Regal Renegade `raze
The Anglo-Saxon tradition called Wassailing dates back centuries ago, before the Christmas season that it is now associated with. Wassail is both a greeting and a custom, a greeting more akin to a salute and a custom of historic origin. It is also the name of a spiced beverage enjoyed during the holiday season, a drink which was once used in the toast of the same name. One would toast the health of a local lord: “was hail” and the traditional response is “drinc hail”, given by the receiver of the toast and associated drink. Some trace the origin of the Wassail back to ancient Rome, where a similar drink appeared in the form of hypocras, and can be traced down through the Middle Ages as a spiced wine enjoyed by the wealthy.
Although the Wassail is by tradition given to local lords, in England orchards are also customary recipients of this blessing. Even today there is a practice of visiting cider producing orchards singing the songs of Wassail. There were old incantations once spoken over those apple trees, such as the one below:
“Here's to thee, old apple tree, That blooms well, bears well. Hats full, caps full, Three bushel bags full, An' all under one tree. Hurrah! Hurrah!”
This is traditionally led by the King and Queen of Wassal or done in a procession. The queen would then be lifted up into the boughs of an old apple tree, where she would recite the incantation to the apple tree spirits, and pour the wassail mixture from a cup called a Clayen cup onto the tree to encourage it to keep producing its cider apples. It is done yearly in January, often on the 17th of January or on Twelfth Night, which occurs on January the 5th.
During the 19th century, wassailers would sing the following song after drinking the cider:
“Apple tree, apple tree, we all come to wassail thee, Bear this year and next year to bloom and to blow, Hat fulls, cap fulls, three cornered sack fills, Hip, Hip, Hip, hurrah, Holler biys, holler hurrah.”
Day 1
The Atumnal Equinox
The Autumnal equinox is the moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator—an imaginary line in the sky above Earth’s equator—from north to south. This happens on September 22, 23, or 24 in most years.
On the days of the equinoxes, the Earth’s axis is perpendicular to the Sun’s rays, meaning that all regions on Earth receive about the same number of hours of sunlight. In other words, night and day are, in principle, the same length all over the world. This is the reason it’s called an “equinox,” derived from Latin, meaning “equal night.” Though the day and night are not actually the same length.
For those in the Northern Hemisphere, the days get shorter and temperatures begin to drop as autumn begins. It often seems natural to start spending more time indoors at home and time with loved ones. The Autumnal Equinox represents a time of harvest that inaugurates the preparation for wintertime and the colder months. People are entering an introspective and reflective phase encouraging the cultivativation of gratitude, to appreciate the progress we have done, and shifting focus to within to integrate the experiences we made.
In the Southern Hemisphere, it is the arrival of spring with the vernal equinox. Animals start to wake up and flowers begin to bloom. Days begin to lengthen and warm up. As the light begins to increase people often spend more time outside and feel more energetic, enthusiastic, and lively. The Spring Equinox symbolizes a fresh start, the beginning of a phase of exploration and curiosity. It is traditionally associated with purification and rebirth, and it represents the perfect time for energetically cleansing your body and your home in a spring clean.
Many places and people around the world celebrate the equinox in various ways, from official national holidays to religious holidays. France even changed their calendar from late 1793 to 1805 starting on the September equinox using the French Republican Calendar.
Day 2
Diwali
Diwali begins just before the arrival of a new moon between the Hindu months of Asvina and Kartika—which typically falls in October or November of the Gregorian calendar.
Diwali, also known as Deepawali, is often considered a festival of lights. Deep means “light” and awali means “a row.” Indians put light outside their homes to symbolize the inner light that protects from spiritual darkness. The five days of Diwali are marked by prayer, feasts, fireworks, family gatherings, and charitable giving.
Diwali is celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, and Newar Buddhists, although for each faith it marks different historical events and stories, the festival represents the same symbolic victory light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, and good over evil. In Hinduism, the Diwali story varies among geographical regions. They are tales of victory by incarnations of Vishnu, whose role is to restore the balance of good and evil in times of trouble.
Western India’s celebration is for Vishnu’s banishment of King Bali to the underworld who had become a threat to the gods due to his immense power. In South India, Diwali is in honor of Lord Krishna’s victory over the demon king Narakasura. The king had imprisoned 16,000 women in his palace and would mete out harsh punishments to anyone who opposed him. Northern India celebrates Prince Rama’s triumphant return to the city of Ayodha after his 14 year exile due to the plotting of his evil stepmother. This is after his heroic rescue of his wife Sita, an incarnation of Lakshmi, who was kidnapped by rival king Ravana.
Minority religions of India, Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists, also have their own Diwali tales. For Sikhs, Diwali commemorates the release of the 17th-century guru Hargobind after 12 years of imprisonment by Mughal emperor Jahangir. Jains observe Diwali as the day that Lord Mahavira, the last of the great Jain teachers, reached nirvana. And Buddhists celebrate it as the day the Hindu Emperor Ashoka, who ruled in the third century B.C., converted to Buddhism.
In addition to these stories, Diwali also is in celebration of the Hindu goddess of wealth and good fortune, Lakshmi. In India’s early agrarian society, Diwali coincided with the last harvest before winter—a time to pray for Lakshmi for good fortune. Today, Indian businesses still consider Diwali the first day of the financial new year.
Just as the legends of Diwali differ from region to region so, too, do the holiday’s rituals. Generally, each of the five days of Diwali has its own significance. On the first day of Diwali, people pray to the goddess Lakshmi, bake sweets, and clean their homes—which they decorate the next day with lamps and rangolis, designs made on the floor out of colored sand, powder, rice or flower petals.
Diwali’s third day is often considered the most important: On this day, people may go to temple to honor Lakshmi or gather with friends and family for feasts and fireworks. Devotees also set ablaze the lamps they had displayed the day before.
For many celebrants, the fourth day of Diwali marks the new year and a time to exchange gifts and well wishes. Finally, the fifth day is typically a day to honor one’s siblings.
Day 3
Yule
Yule, or the celebration of the Winter Solstice, commemorates the return of light. The twelve day festivities begin on December 21st or 22nd, and proceed until January 1st. The Winter Solstice falls on the shortest day of the year and the longest night. To many adherents, both past and present, it is a time of rebirth and the return of the Sun. Many of the symbols of Christmas as they are known today originated in the Yuletide festivities and their symbolism. Among these, the use of evergreen trees, juniper, frankincense, mistletoe, and holly are perhaps the most iconic. However, there are other important herbs used during the Yuletide, including thistle, hawthorn, cinnamon, cedar, clove, and orange peel, to name a few.
The Celtic druids once burned entire evergreen trees, seeing within them a form of magic that could withstand the bitter cold of winter and the changing of the seasons. This is the origin of the yule log, which may adorn many fireplaces at Christmas time. Similarly, the Christmas tree owes its origins to the yule tree, which was once simply decorated with candles. The modern trees wear the colors of yule: silver, gold, red, green, and white, each of which represent something different in the pagan celebration.
Nowadays, Yule is often celebrated by the observance of an all-night vigil, along with the burning of the yule log. It is traditional to stay awake throughout the Darkest Night, starting at twilight and commencing until dawn. In the pre-Christian Germanic tradition, the Yuletide is a series of twelve nights starting from the Solstice. It is also known as the Wild Hunt, during which Odin leads a host of the dead throughout the land seeking sacrifices and offerings. Typical gifts include food, hay for their horses, or oats. Many celebrants leave an offering of mead or wine, as well, for Odin and his riders.
Hanukkah
Hanukkah begins on the 25th of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which can fall any time from late November to late December.
Also known as the Festival of Lights, Hanukkah derives from the Hebrew verb for “to dedicate.” The festival commemorates the rededication of the altar in the Second Temple of Jerusalem, and the miracle of the oil. Rededication of the altar required pure olive oil, and after a bloody revolt, there was only enough for one day. Ritual purity laws forbade those who had partaken in the revolt from pressing more olive oil until seven days had passed. Miraculously, one day’s worth of oil lasted for eight, allowing them to undergo the ritual purification needed to press more olive oil.
A chanukiah is the centerpiece of Hanukkah, and it may be a candelabra or an oil lamp, provided there are eight wicks in oil or candles, with a ninth one to represent the shammash above or below the rest of the wicks. The chanukiah is made to resemble the ancient menorah, which were used in the first temple, and although they are visually similar, the menorah has seven branches or wicks in oil, in contrast to the chanukiah’s eight branches and nine candles or wicks. Incandescent battery-powered versions are used where it’s unsafe to use fire. Each night, an additional light is lit using the shammash. Some communities light the shammash first and use it to light the others; other communities light the shammash last, and use a match to light the rest of the lights for that night. The purpose of the shammash is to adhere to a prohibition against using the lights of Hanukkah for any purpose other than for meditating upon the miracle of the oil. Towards this purpose, menorahs and chanukiahs are usually placed in windows, less to light the home, more to remind passersby of the miracle of the oil. During the lighting, prayers are spoken over the lights.
After the lighting of the lights have grown a number of traditions. Food fried or baked in oil is very popular at this time, as a nod to the miracle of the oil. Latkes (potato fritters or pancakes) and sufganiyot (round jam-filled doughnuts) are popular examples. Songs and hymns, such as “Ma’oz Tzur” and “Ocho Kandelikas,” many of which were composed for Hanukkah, are sung. After the lights are lit, dreidels (four-sided tops with specific Hebrew characters on the sides) may be spun as part of a game that dates to at least the Roman Empire; prizes include pennies, gelt (chocolate coins or real ones), and raisins. Gelt originated as real coins, gifted to teachers around Hanukkah, or by families to the children, suggested by some to be a nod to the minting of new currency in the wake of the miracle of the oil. In the 20th century, candy makers started making chocolate coins wrapped in gold or silver foil as a supplement to or replacement for the real currency. Some families also give their children gifts, though this is a much more recent development.
Simbang Gabi
The Philippines is known to have the longest Christmas celebration around the world, starting on September 1st. However, the celebration of Simbang Gabi begins on Advent, December 16th, and is held by members of the local Catholic church. This practice was started during the Spanish occupation of the Philippines in 1669, allowing the farmers to work during the mornings and avoid the hot noonday sun by holding early morning masses. As the parishioners had nothing to offer during Mass other than the fruits of their labors, they would bring sacks of food, including rice, fruits and vegetables, and eggs to the church.
Following the service, the Church would share the bounty of food with the parishioners and people would purchase different types of breakfast foods. Common among those were bibingka (rice cakes) and puto bumbong (a type of pastry made of purple rice, butter, coconut, and brown sugar), which they would wash down with tsokolate (cocoa from local sources) or salabát (ginger tea). This tradition has continued into the modern era, with the edition of a number of other sweets and pastries, such as latík (a coconut based pastry) and yema (a custard confection), along with biscuits, lady fingers, and savory dishes such as arróz caldo.
Today, Simbang Gabi is practiced via a Mass beginning at 4:00 AM. During the Mass Filipinos sing the Gloria. A traditional symbol of Simbang Gabi is the parol, a star shaped lantern symbolic of the Star of Bethlehem. Celebrants hang the parol on their front doors, intended to guide church-goers to Church for the Mass. This purpose is similar to that of the Star of Bethlehem, which by Christian tradition guided the Magi to the infant Christ. It is a symbol of spirituality and hope.
One of the key components to the celebration of Simbang Gabi is meditation on the miracle of the Incarnation, or rather the immaculate conception of Mary with the infant Jesus. In Catholic tradition, the infant Jesus’s divine nature and human nature were united but not mixed, making him both a god and a man at the same time. Further, the roles of Mary and Joseph as loving mother and father, respectively, are also topics of meditative contemplation.
Winter Solstice
Often considered either the first day of winter or the midwinter day, the Winter Solstice is the point in time that the Earth’s pole is furthest away from the sun. While this is a single point in time, the Solstice is often used for the entire day as well. In the Northern hemisphere this happens in December and in the Southern Hemisphere it is in June. This astronomical event results in the shortest day and longest night of the year.
The Winter Solstice is a significant day for many religions throughout history, often marking times of feast and rituals related to rebirth and the return of the sun. Ancient monuments such as Stonehenge and Newgrange are often considered to be related to these rituals as they align with the sun’s position on the day. Celebrations range from Yalda Night in Iran, Saturnalia in ancient Rome, to the more commonly known Germanic Yule.
As the Winter Solstice is the reversal of the Sun’s ebbing presence, the day is also often associated with the birth and rebirth of sun deities. Some calendars begin on the Solstice and it is considered the day the year is reborn. Thus it is also associated with new beginnings and traditions such as Hogmanay’s redding, which is a New Year cleaning tradition.
Christmas
Around the world the birth of the Christ child is celebrated by Christians at various times of the year. However, December the 25th is the most commonly known day dedicated to this purpose. Christmas traditions include a variety of customs, incorporating many of the old rituals and symbols of Yule, alongside the imagery of the Star of Bethlehem. The star was purported to lead the wisemen to the infant child’s side, shining more brightly than any other star in the sky. Some people have theorized that the star was not a star but rather the conjunction of several planets at once, if indeed it did appear.
The traditional colors of Christmas are red, green, silver, gold, and white, much like those of Yule. Owing to the story of the gifts of the Magi (the wisemen), among the symbols of Christmas are gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Other symbols are carryovers of more ancient traditions, such as holly, mistletoe, ivy, oak, and juniper. The Christmas tree with its colorful lights and decorations is a custom handed down from the Yuletide, where an evergreen tree was often decorated with images of the Norse (and Germanic) gods, clothing, and food. In some Christian beliefs, the lights on the tree symbolize god’s spirit, familial love, or enlightenment.
Each traditional ornament on the Christmas tree has a different symbolic meaning. A house, for example, symbolizes family shelter and protection. An acorn symbolizes the gift of life in the form of Christ’s own birth, and birds are symbolic of joy and happiness. Other traditional ornaments may include a heart (symbolizing love), a rabbit (symbolizing peace with nature), a frog (symbolizing luck and moving forward in life), a teapot (symbolic of hospitality), a fruit basket (which symbolizes generosity), or an angel (a request for god’s guidance in the home).
Another tradition of Christmas is leaving stockings on the hearth so that they can be filled by St. Nicholas (Santa Claus). The story of the stockings is that once St. Nicholas saw a poor family in great need, but the man was unwilling to accept charity. Rather, he planned to sell his three daughters into prostitution to save them from starving to death. Wanting to help, and abhorring the thought of the family suffering in this way, St. Nicholas threw three bags of gold through his window and one bag landed in a stocking. Another telling says that all three bags of gold fell into stockings which had been hung above the hearth to dry. In the morning when the family awoke and discovered this bounty they were overjoyed.
Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa begins on the 26th of December, and lasts for a week.
One of the newest holidays, Kwanzaa began as an African American holiday in 1966 in Oakland, California, as an alternative to Christmas based on African holidays celebrated around the same time of year, and continues to be shaped by both African and African-American communities alike. Many families, however, celebrate both Kwanzaa and Christmas.
The name, “Kwanzaa”, derives from Swahili “matunda ya kwanza”, a phrase meaning “first fruits.” Similar holidays in the southern regions of Africa celebrate the first harvest of the year, around the Southern Hemisphere’s summer solstice, some of them likewise being named for the first fruits of the year, such as the Zulu holiday Umkhosi Wokweshwama, a holiday particularly noted in the original development of Kwanzaa. Symbols of Kwanzaa include fruits and vegetables, as well as the kinara, a specific candelabra with space for seven candles, as well as the colors black (for the African people and their descendants), red (for the blood and struggle for civil rights), and green (for the harvest and for hope for a better tomorrow).
Each night of Kwanzaa, a candle is lit, each candle representing a specific principle of the holiday, libations from a chalice are shared, and the day’s principle is treated as a focal point for word and deed that day. The middle candle is black, the three on the left are red, and the three on the right are green. The seven principles, or Nguzo Saba, are: - Umoja (unity) - Kujichagulia (self-determination, particularly in the sense of community or ethnic self-determination) - Ujima (collective work and responsibility) - Ujamaa (cooperative economics) - Nia (purpose) - Kuumba (creativity) - Imani (faith).
Gifts are often exchanged, particularly gifts celebrating African or African American identity.
