New Year Celebrations
Time: Annual, first day of Ascending Air. For most people on the Blessed Isle, Calibration is a dark and somber time, filled with much reason for fear. The first day of Ascending Air marks the end of this time and the beginning of a new year, and the people take to the streets to celebrate the event.
Location: Realm-wide
Host: Immaculate Order
Invitations: Public
Theme and Activity: The end of Calibration and the beginning of the new year sends throngs of people spilling out of homes and into the streets, eager for fresh air and good company after five days of fearful darkness. Their celebrations are not only for this, however, as the first day of the New Year is also a key time in the Immaculate calendar, when worship is directed towards two key Celestial Incarnae.
The day begins with the dawn, Calibration’s darkness being driven away by the light of the Unconquered and Obeisant Sun. A stick of gold-painted incense is burnt in each household to give thanks to this deity. The first meal of the day consists of ‘golden pork’, fried in a special manner with sugarcanes to produce a yellow hue and banned from the Realm’s tables save upon this day. The rich serve whole pigs upon their tables, but the poor do not miss out: small chunks of this delight are sold by street vendors so all might have access. At Immaculate Temples across the Realm, prayers are guided in proper reverence to Sol.
The midday meal sees a plethora of fresh foods, difficult to come by in previous days due to closure of the markets. A red-painted incense stick is burned in each household and thanks are given to the Scarlet Empress, for her dedication and generosity in ruling the Realm. No prayers accompany such thanks, however… it is not the place of any mortal, even the Empress, to receive prayer. Friends often assemble to enjoy copious amounts of drink and associated games.
At sunset, the streets are filled with the scent of special pastries: moon cakes, buns filled with sweet bean paste and (for the wealthy) fresh yolks from duck eggs. These cakes, like ‘golden pork’, are banned from the diet of Realm save upon this special day, for they accompany the burning of a silver-painted incense stick in each household and the offer of a prayer to Luna, Incarna of the Moon, to encourage her return to brighten the night sky after an absence of five long evenings.
No matter what time of day, the streets are filled with noise: shouting, singing, the banging of gongs and ringing of bells, and the explosion of long strings of firecrackers hanging from poles or even across streets. Though not entirely sanctioned by the Immaculate faith, such exuberance is accepted as a consequence of Calibration. The noise is said by some to frighten ghosts and spirits from their hiding places, sending them scurrying back to their proper roles in the Perfected Hierarchy.
