Holystone - Calendar and Holidays

Calendar

There are 12 months per year, with each month having 30 days. The month is divided into 5 six-day weeks. An example of what one would call a certain day is 'third Solsday of Melting'.

Days

Godsday, Gaiasday, Forgeday, Tradeday, Lunasday, Solsday

Months

Snowfall, Coldwind, Melting, Planting, Mending, Trademoon, Highsun, Reaping, Storms, Baretrees, Frost, Icemoon

Holidays of the High Church

Rite of Spring - Melting 1st Godsday.

The people pray to Sol, asking for the sun to be revealed. They also pray to Luna, asking her to calm the seas. They thank Gaia for providing for them through the winter. People celebrate with great feasts, followed by music and dancing. Alcohol features prominently. The bonds of marriage do not hold on this day, and there is much promiscuity. The poor are given food as part of the services to the gods.

Ritual of Growing - Planting 1st Gaiasday.

The farmers come together to pray to Gaia for good crops. This day marks the coming of age for people just reaching adulthood. Elders take all the young adults and relate the city's customs and laws, as well as telling stories about their own youth.

Ritual of the Sea - Planting 3rd Lunasday.

Sailors and merchants pray to Luna, asking for her blessing as they cross the seas. A great parade is held in the Docks district, with donations being given to Luna’s temples.

Rite of the Hearth - Mending 3rd Godsday.

People pray to Gaia to bless all the lovers and married couples so that they may stay together. A parade is held in each District with all the couples wed that year. Following them are the older married couples. After them come the children and the unwed. There is a festival held, with much dancing and music. Many marriages are held this night.

Dance of Rain - Highsun 1st Godsday.

The farmers pray to Sol, asking for rain for the crops. The elders come together in the center of each farming village and weave through the fields, dancing as they go. The affair lasts all morning, and is a somber occasion.

Fires of War - Reaping 1st Forgeday.

Soldiers pray to Sol and Luna, asking for their aid in battle. Sol’s temples have large bonfires stoked so that they stand tens of feet into the air. Much warlike drumming and chanting occurs. Old soldiers tell tales of battle to the youths of the city. The priests then lead these veterans into a nearby temple where they are blessed and thanked for their services.

Ritual of the Hunt - Storms 1st Forgeday.

Hunters pray to Gaia, asking her to grant them good hunting throughout the year. Hunting parties leave the city and the local farming villages early in the morning, and do not return until late at night. Hunters favored by Gaia will catch a large deer or boar, which is shared by everyone. It is a sign of Gaia’s displeasure if nothing is caught.

Rite of Remembrance – Baretrees 4th Lunasday

This holiday is a mix of the somber and the macabre. Quiet services are held at Luna’s temples in the morning, where the lists of the dead are read aloud to the assembled worshippers. In the evening, everyone dresses up in costumes and attends parties. Children are given many treats as they go door to door. Everyone stays behind locked doors once it is truly dark. The undead become especially active late at night until the dawn.

Rite of Winter - Icemoon 1st Godsday.

The city prays to Sol to spare them the worst of the winter storms. Large donations are given to Sol’s temples this day. Sol's priests hand out cold weather gear to the needy. Houses are decorated with candles and wreathes, and the children receive gifts from Saint Aerick.