Holidays and Customs

I am working on developing cultural aspects for the Dwarves in my campaign. I have decided their culture is based on German and Dutch culture so they have a holiday similar to Walpurgisnacht. During the carnival like event there will be rituals and traditions that actually have mechanical effects in the game. Has anyone developed similar things for a campaign? What kind of customs have you developed for the cultures in your games?

I designed an alien people once, for a Star Wars game. And, basically they were natural golems, they were made from the earth and plants and all that, but they grew biologically. Also, they were unisex.

Well, once a year, one of the most accomplished, and most esteemed members of said race prepares themselves, and the entire community encourages and celebrates them, and they party and they dance and they drink and they cook all their best meals, all that crap. This goes on until a certain time, at which point the person goes into the center of town, they strip naked, and they slit their own throat and fall to the ground, dead.

The body is kept there and preserved, and not moved in any way(birds can still come along and other scavengers can do their thing, because that's a part of nature.). The blood seeps into the ground, along with the body and the nutrients and all that, and eventually that is combined with the earth to create a baby, that claws from the ground. The entire community then has a hand in raising this child.

Man, they were awesome.

(Ooops!)

In ancient times in Europe a king would be sacrificed after a term in office during which he was treated like a god. Very similar idea...

In my published Kaidan setting of Japanese horror (PFRPG), due to its affinity with undead, the real world Japanese Obon Festival held in August is a part of the setting. Essentially, Obon is the Festival of the Dead, when the spirits of our ancestors visit the land of the living to be honored by members of their living family, then the spirits are returned to the land of the Dead via tiny folded paper boats with lit candles and placed in streams and rivers to float out to sea. Also the playing of Taika drums and dancing is a part of the festival activities as well. This is a week long celebration.

New Year celebrations are the only other national holiday celebrated by all members of society and cleave to Japanese traditional practices of the same holiday. Use of fireworks, parades, temple pilgrimages, and special feasts are a part of the New Year celebration - a week long event.

Most other festivals held in Kaidan vary as regional festivals only with different celebratory practices and are unique to each region or village - there are few other "national" holidays beyond the Obon festival and New Year, however. Also almost all these holidays are religious, many having parades marched through town with a heavy temple float carried by yakuza members through the streets - yakuza are expected to perform this public service as part of their positive participation in the community.

New Years' festivals that involve divination or things you're supposed to do or avoid to ensure good luck for the coming year are fun to play with. Give the players a hint about what's ahead, and/or some temporary bonuses or penalties based on what they do during the festival.

A lot of cultures have festivals during which the normal rules of behavior are reversed, which makes for role-playing opportunities which in turn can have long-term consequences for how the community views a PC. Or a Lord of Misrule or Saturnalia King could reveal things about a community that are normally hidden.

I have read that in some parts of Europe they have a bonfire for the eve of Mayday. If you jump over the fire it ensures good health for the year and the ashes from this fire are good for crops, ensuring a bountiful harvest. in game this could mean the flames are part of a clerical or druidical spell. The fire and ash could bestow a long duration Bless-type effect. I think seemingly mundane things like that having magical effects make the whole experience more exciting...

@Samloyal23 - that holiday is Beltane, a Celtic holiday for when the cattle are sent to the hills for summer feeding, and not only do the locals jump the fire, but so do the cattle - as a cleansing ritual. Beltane is one of four major Celtic holidays, the others being Imbolc (February, when ewes begin to lactate), Lughnasadh (late summer harvest festival), and Samhain (when the cattle and sheep return from the hills for winter foddar). Naturally Celtic holidays are pastorally based.

Are there any good spells already that would fit the mold of being part of a holiday ritual? I am thinking along the lines of blessing the land, protecting the area from bad weather, increasing crop and livestock yields, shielding a whole village from disease, et cetera...

Hiya, Samloyal23! Are your Dwarves not primarily underground dwellers?