What holidays (celebrations) do you use?

[Dog Moon]

Holidays are never used in my group and in attempt to make the world seem a little more realistic, I've decided to make a calander, dating about which times the seasons change, etc. I want to create some good days for celebrations, but apparently good holidays is something I'm unable to think of. I've been thinking maybe days of celebration for each god, a day of thanks, a day to celebrate the birth of their nation, a day of love... Well, what do YOU use, or don't use but think are cool?

 

[Delemental]

Like you, I enjoy having those details in a campaign that make it seem like a real place, such as an established calendar. I get the feeling most of the rest of my group could care less, but I persist.

In our current campaign, I created a relatively simple calendar (12 months with 30 days in each month). So far I've only detailed holidays for the five major deities in the world, and they correspond to events that would have significance in the world anyway. So I have a holiday around the planting season, one for mid-summer, one for harvest time, and a mid-winter festival (the fifth, dedicated to the goddess of chaos, is between harvest and midwinter for no good reason other than there needed to be a festival there). I'm still working on holidays for the lesser gods.

In planning holidays, it's good to consider what are going to be global as opposed to regional celebrations. Global holidays are more likely to be those revolving around the gods, or universal concepts (birth, death, etc). Regional holidays are going to be associated with a particular event in a community (Founder's Day, the birthday of the king), or for a race, perhaps a day honoring a racial deity. Some holidays may be transitory (such as the aforementioned king's birthday; obviously when a new king takes over they have a new birthday, and if the kingdom is ever overthrown this holiday goes away).

As far as good staple events to use for holidays, I'd say that you can include:

* The solstices and equinoxes
* Planting and harvest
* Day of the dead
* A day dedicated to each deity in the setting (some, such as evil deities, may be excluded, or the observance confined to appopriate cultures)

There can be some overlap; the harvest festival can fall on the autumnal equinox, for example, or the Day of the Dead can also honor the god of the dead.

If you want some more off-the-wall type celebrations, how about:

* Fool's Day (dedicated to practical jokes, masquerade balls, etc)
* Week of Champions (dedicated to competitive events; eg the Olympics)
* Day of Shrouds (a day where homage to all the evil/unpopular deities is lumped together, more of the 'please don't do bad things to us' kind of homage rather than the 'we really like you' sort)
* Candlewatch (a day of honoring war veterans, military dead, and past battles of significance; named from practice of keeping a single candle lit in the home through the entire day and night signifying light kept on for soldiers that have not returned home)
* Last Dance (originally a day when courting couples whose courtship had ended before marriage could come together for one final dance together to signify that they parted on good terms; has come to include final meetings between former business partners, political allies, etc)

 

[Hand of Evil]

I use a few:
Founding Day - mostly city
Seasonal planting/harvest - Week long fairs
Big Days - major events campaign driven
Other holiday days around the changing of the seasons

 

[Wombat]

In the current campaign we have a whole host of holidays.

First there are the religious holidays, one for each of the servitors of the single god of the main culture. There is also a longer "Time of Atonement", lasting about a week towards the end of the year.

Then there are the civil holidays -- New Year's Day, Victory Day (the day the city fended off a huge invasion), birthdays for the Governor-General, the Viceroy, and the Emperor (some also celebrate the birthdays of the Empress and their children).

Then there are the local holidays -- Harvesttide (lasts three days), Fool Fest, Keg Days (in honour of the new ale and wine of the year)

Overall we have something like 2-3 festivals each calendar month, some fixed, some floating. So far the group really likes the feel and they get involved in getting the right presents for NPCs at the right time of year

 

[jerichothebard]

From my campaign primer:

Major religious holidays include:

• The Day of Harmony, which usually coincides with the spring equinox. Harmony between the races, one of the central tenets of Crescent religion, is celebrated this day. Music festivals, the largest and most well known of which is the Gloria, held in Luminaux, are the focus of most celebration.

• Maliceana, held annually on the summer solstice. This holiday celebrates the life of the Prophet, Malicean the Chaste. Generally celebrated by contests of the body and mind, and large community picnics and festivals. This tends to be a family holiday.

• Harvest Day, held annually on the autumnal equinox. This holiday celebrates the cycle of life - birth and death, together. This is the holiest day of the year for druids, although the Church tends to gloss that over.

• Night of the Moon, which coincides with the winter solstice. This holiday is one of repentance and justice. This is the night when major criminals are executed or forgiven, and when all people seek forgiveness from those they have wronged in the past year. With sunrise comes "Sun's Day", and a new year.

 

[Evilhalfling]

hmm - 9 months 42 days per month
9 gods get months named for them and most have holidays, and there are 3 human saints with thier own days as well. The importance of the holiday varies by region, and practice varies by the social constraints. Halflings have one holiday, a potach given by the richest halfling in the community.
elves and dwarven holidays were never developed (oops)
Month : season - domain of god- date holiday
Iutan : Summer – God of Trade- 21st Sale of Iutar (all goods 15% off)
Iuddy : Autumn – God of War - 21st Memorial Day - as RL
Bi-Annual Taxes Due
Oman : Autumn – Goddess of Illusions-21st All Fools Day (drunken revelry)
Galtan : Winter – God of Law - 33rd St Anne's Day (the prophetess, codified the common religion) - holy week between the two dates, very somber.
42nd Midwinter’s day
Mym : Winter – God of Hatred - 27th St Crispan’s Day (saint of martyrs, food, drink,captives) fast and feast after sundown.
Mystan: Spring – God of Magic -21st Return of the Gods – (masks and magical displays)
Bi-Annual Taxes Due
MiFran :Spring – God of Agriculture 8th St Orhro’s Day (saint of monster slaying) circuses, parades and beast fights
Gwtan :Summer – God of Ocean - 42nd Day of Love
Frenan :Summer – Goddess of Sky- 1st Day of Binding (mass weddings)
Tax dates and amounts are left from a previous empire, and are the same across several countries -

 

[diaglo]

i jot down something on a piece of paper.

go back to it when the players start to ask about things like holidays and calendars and such...

and make it up as i tell them.

 

[Deadguy]

You know, I can't help thinking there's material here for a nice little EN Publishing PDF here. Paging RangerWickett!

 

[Wombat]

Over at RPGNow there is a guy (Top Fashion Games) selling a whole bunch of mini-idea collections, including holidays:

http://www.rpgnow.com/default.php?manufacturers_id=597

Maybe this is what people are looking for?

 

[Remathilis]

I use four Holidays universally

Golden Happens in Midsummer, during the longest day of the year. Families come together to celebrate life, freedom, and the Sun. Many cook large amounts of food over an open flame and launch dazzling light displays into the sky after dark, all in homage of the sun/fire god.

Nocturne Happens during Autumn, when the path of the Dead opens wider and spirits are allowed to wander. Many celebrate this during the harvest, but it is not uncommon for them to gather in large places, wear costumes to hide themselves as spirits, and pray for the souls of the departed that they find the path of the dead and eternal rest.

Fear is the Shortest day of the year, when darkness overtakes the land and the cold drains the life out of the land. Many people stay in thier homes and attempt to stalve off the darkness by cooking large meals and giving gifts to one another as a sign of goodness. Many churches hold vigils against the darkness, and evil cults pray for greater strength on that night.

Choice is the vernal holiday, a day that signals good's triumph over evil. Many young dress in new clothes, seeking mates at large festivals. Children are often given treats to celebrate this new life, and the older folks pack the churches to give thanks for another year of darkness being conqurered by light.

Basically, if you take the 4th of July, Halloween, Christmas, and Easter/May Day and strip thier obvious political/religous significance leaving on the rituals, you have a pretty good idea of how these holidays work.

Course, I use the Orrery Cosmology, so these festivals are inspired by certain planes moving into alignment...