Festivals and Holy Days of Praedia Teneris

Spring

1. Imbolc - Galacia and Sienova. Blessing of candles, of animals, of expecting mothers and girls who've begun menstruating. Blessing of smithies and plows in Gallic countries. Cleaning of homes, making of rush-cradles and poppets. Feast of St. Bridget in Mithraic countries, of the Goddess Brigid in Gallic/pantheistic countries. In Mithraea the blessing of plows is done slightly later on Rogation day, and smithies are blessed in the spring at the feast of St. Volund/Preparation for battle as part of the Equinox festivities.
2. May Day - Galacia: religious, fertility festival, meeting of the God and Goddess, Sienova, Mithraea, and the Marches:  general summer party festival, games and contests.  Mock and real courtships begin, ritual sex among the religious orders of the polyhteistic lands, and more spontaneous joinings among the lay people. Celebration of the success of the fields in all countries, Blessing of the first spring Ale in many countries.  Also:  St. Voluntines Day/Love Birds Day - mostly Mithraea and the Marches (the day the birds choose their mates). 
3. Plough day (feb) /Rogation Day (march) - Mithraea and the Marches - marking of the boundaries of each parish's fields, blessing of the fields and ploughs. Relighting of the rush-light which will be kept burning on a plow in the church until the last harvest is brought in. St. Hammish's day. In Mithraic countries, Miracle plays reinacting the deeds of Lugh start in Feb. and lead up to the plays of the Great Battle and Lugh's death in March. 
4. Spring Equinox -  In Mithraea and the Marches, this is the anniversary of the Great Battle. This is a time of solemn celebration in Mithraea (where Lugh is seen as a completely divine incarnation of the Sol Invictus that couldn't therefore really die) and of mourning in the Marches (where Lugh is perceived as both human and divine in nature and his death a True Death). It is also New Years in Galacia, Sienova, and Achaea. Ritual cleansings, offerings of things from past life-stages to the gods, sacrifices of precious metals and "sacrificed" weapons to lakes. Another celebration of girls and boys who've reached adulthood in the past year -- rite of passage. Ritual offering of the first sprouted seedlings back to the mother. 
5. Blessing of Boats (N. Gallacia, Fisher coast) - placation of Lir, blessings of boats. In the north, ornately decorated boats with grain "people" and other foods and goods in them are given to the ocean in the hopes that this will placate Lir and he will not take real people. In the past, living human sacrifices were used.
   

Summer

1. Summer Solstice: "birth" of Lugh in Mithraea, courtship of the God and Goddess in Galacia/Sienova.   Summer games are held, with the election of a Summer King to lead the festivities. In Gallacia he will take place in a ritual mock-sacrifice at the Equinox. At one point in time this was probably a real sacrifice. Parishes and Clans hold "Ale Games" - summer games where Ale and other foods are sold to maintain churches and temples, and trade is conducted. Plays are also a part of this season, but considerably more baudy, even in Mithraea. Sports are played and some competitions between villages or teams within the Achaean cities can be quite rough, resulting in broken bones and riots. Traveling minstrels find this one of their best seasons. Throughout the countryside peasants build large wheels of wood and straw and light them on fire in the evening, rolling them down the hills. The farther the wheel makes it down the hill, the better the harvest will be. Bonfires are also lit on the hills. In the cities, nobles and kings may commission displays of the newest luxury: fireworks.
2. Lughnasa: Accession Day and New Years Day in Mithraea and (to some extent) the Marches. In Mithraea this is the formal celebration of the crown. While a new king may be allowed to rule and given an unofficial regency before this time, this is always the time of the year of his formal installation as king of Mithraea and Regent of the Divine Mithras/Head of the Church. The Marches don't acnkowledge this much but do celebrate the beginning of Lugh's earthly kingship and especially of the visions that showed Lugh his destiny. In Gallic religions, this is the Wedding of the God and Goddess symbolically recreated by local leaders. In both Mithraic and Gallic countries, the summer king may "mock-marry" his queen at this time. Many other weddings will take place. They are generally considered temporary and can be ended or made permanent by both parties coming together the next Lughnasa and either ritually parting or completing the marriage ritual. More games (both team games like hurling and individual contests and animal contests as at modern Highland games), more plays, more music and fun... 
3. Feast of Mannannan/Tethys (Achaea and Galacia) - boat racing, public games, placation of the sea...  Mock sacrifices (boats laden with flowers and grain and other offerings are sunk in the harbors.
   
4. Wide-Spread Market Festivals (all regions).
   

Autumn

1. Autumn Equinox/Harvest: The harvesting of the grain, the cutting of the corn, the death of the corn king. This is the time when the Corn king/god ritually dies. There are minimal rituals in Mithraic countries, where this is more purely a harvest ritual. It is the end of the series of visions that Mithraic tradition holds that Lugh received showing him his destiny and death. Plays reenacting his doubt and fear are held in the Marches, but not in Mithraea proper, due to their different understandings of Lugh's nature. In Gallic countries, the Corn King undergoes a more complex ritual mock-murder. He "dies," usually in a ritual sword dance (where the dancers circle around the king, eventually forming a sun-shape form their dulled inter-woven swords, and then lowering this over the king's head and simultaneously pulling the dull swords away) but sometimes by being tied to a tree ("hung") over night or by being "beaten" with switches representing real weapons. His "body" is then ritually carried around town and into the temple. There he gets off the bier and is replaced by a body of grain. The "king" stays in the temple and is ritually cleansed for re-entry into society. The new body goes back out and makes the rounds. Children may go around the town and ask for money or other valuables to pay to "bury the king" tho they of course keep these coins and treats. The mock-king is torn apart by the villagers and priests/esses each taking a handful of the grain and spreading it on the earth. Sometimes an animal is sacrificed as well, especially in the north and the Fisher Coast. Within the "body" of the mock-king, a prize is hidden - a small carving or fruit. The person who grabs this will be the lord or lady of the subsequent harvest festival and will choose the next year's Corn King the next spring.
2. Samhain - a time to acknowledge the Otherworld and the spirits of the dead in all these countries. It is even celebrated in the Empire in a way - Fathers' Day (all fathers, not just yours).  In many places in Galacia and Achaea, the Elven tradition of Spirit Lights is continued.  Small boats will be made and paper lanterns placed upon them.  They are then sent out into a lake or harbor or down a stream to represent the travel of spirits to the afterlife.  In Mithraea and the Marches, gourds are carved with scary faces to frighten away spirits, and placed with lighted candles within on the front stoop.  In all places is is custom to leave out a bit of bread and milk for the "good neighbors.
3. St. Michael's day/Slaughtering day - This is the day when all excess animals are killed so that they don't have to be fed over winter. As much of the meat as possible is salted or dried, but blood puddings and such are also made from the remains and much of this is perishable. It will be eaten between now and Yule.  This is the last period of plenty before the hard winter. 
   

Winter

1. Yuletide: the rebirth of the God in Gallacia and Sienova, the Birth of Lugh in the Marches.  This is not much celebrated in Mithraea or the Highlands - instead this is a time of solemn meditation, fasting among the particularly religious, and caution while traveling - a time of dark influences and bad luck.  To the south, Particularly in Achaea and Sienova, this is a time of costume parties (masques), dancing, feasting, exchanging presents, lighting of fires and candles, miracle plays and more.  Even in the Marches there are festivities. In Mithraea proper, any celebrations are small and held inside. Here it is a time to spend with family playing quiet games like Chess and Whist, reflecting thankfully on one's health and prosperity, warding the house against the influence of the darkness then and throughout the year. Going outside after sunset is considered very bad luck.

Birthdays in Praedia

The Imperium and the Covenant states:

In the Imperium, a child's birthday is an occasion to give him or her a small gift. The gifts are usually practical. It might be something educational like a book, or a tool that the child is learning how to use (embroidery frame, practice sword) or clothing. The gift will be larger (or there may be 2-3 gifts) when the child reaches 7, 14, and 21. These are all imperial milestones. At seven you are no longer an "infant" but a child ready to being schooling. At 14, you have reached adolescence and can begin to apply your schooling by taking on responsibilities for the family. At 21 you have reached your majority.

Adults generally do not celebrate their birthdays , although they often use the occasion to invite friends over for a quiet dinner. Gifts are not usually given to the celebrant unless a milestone has been reached in his or her life that year (marriage, birth of first child, granted an award or honor, etc.)

Even more important in the Imperium is the day of conception. This is thought to influence the child's fortune more than birth date. The birth date is simply a derivative of the conception date. The conception date when analyzed in the larger scope of important family member's conceptions, death dates, and so on will reveal if the child is a reincarnated ancestor, where his or her talents lie, and how fortunate he or she will be. In the Covenant States, the original signing of the Covenant is one of the constellation of events connected to the person's conception date as well. The anniversary of conception is a date for casting horoscopes. It is the date chosen for initial implantation of the power sign, and the preferred date for granting of lands and titles (at least within the family). That is usually the date chosen in the Covenant States for accepting citizenship and swearing to the Covenant.

Mithraea and the Marches:

In Mithraic countries, conception date isn't seen as very important. A person's destiny has to do with who they were in their past life. What they did then pre-determines what sort of situation they will be reborn into, not the specific events at the time of conception. This is particularly true in the Kingdom, where the traditional church believes that Mithras was born fully formed from a crystal. Therefore he had no conception date in the traditional sense. Birth dates are important in both the Marches and Mithraea because they determine what Saint will look after the individual. Being born on a particular Saint's day is considered to indicate a tie of some sort to that holy individual. It may even be used to determine life path, especially in a child who has a number of choices. A child of a craftsman might be fostered to another craftsman, but rather than being of his father's trade, the foster father might have the trade of the birth saint, for example.

As in the Covenant States and the Imperium, birthdays are used to mark milestones in a child's development. The 7/14/21 rule still holds in many cases. A child will generally foster at age 7 and be made a journeyman at about 14. Because the peoples of Mithraea and the Marches don't as often have enough of the Old Blood to have extended life spans and slower aging, 18 is often used as the age of majority rather than 21. Also as in the Covenant States and the Imperium, small and generally practical gifts are given to children on birthdays.

Galacia:

Galacians see the world as a cyclical place. They are less concerned in general with exactly how old someone is, because all aspects of life repeat on a regular basis. Instead, what is important is what general phase of life the individual is in. Childhood is defined as those years before an awareness of sex and sexuality. From puberty to the birth of the individual's first child is youth. From the time you become a parent to the time that your children become parents is adulthood, and beyond that you are considered a revered elder. This reflects the age-stages of the Goddess and her consort (child, maiden or youth, mother or father, crone or wise man). The exact number of years you have lived is irrelevant. Therefore, it is the milestones that are celebrated rather than the number of years.

Also important to the Gaels, however, is the season in which you were born. Were you born near the dark of the year? Then you will be inclined towards the deep mysteries. At Samhain? Then the past and the dead are accessible to you. At Mid-summer's? Then you will live a life of bounty and fruitfulness. So children in a village or clan are treated sort of like a cohort. All pre-pubescent children born between Imbolc and Beltain will be seen as a group, and their lives and accomplishments celebrated at the Spring equinox. They will play key roles in Equinox festivities, and be honored in village celebrations of the season. This helps create a bond among young villagers of different ages (but the same general life stage) that supplement the bonds between children born in the same year. The phase of the moon is also considered significant to a child's fate.  The Fisher Coast and the various peoples of the north tend to share similar beliefs.

Achaea:

Achaeans have birthday celebrations that are the most like those we are familiar with. They give presents to the child and throw a party for him or her, at least if they can afford it. Achaeans are more likely to see their progress in life as due to their own achievements rather than the will of God/the gods, patrons, or ancestors. The individual's birthday is when their individuality and achievement is celebrated because the Achaeans believe the fetus somehow decides for itself when it is ready to be born. Thus Achaeans don't really stop having birthday parties and such as they grow up. They continue to celebrate themselves. If nothing else, it's a good excuse to throw a big party, eat a lot, and get a bit drunk. Wives and husbands generally give each other gifts, as do parents to children.

Day of conception, interestingly, shares some of the importance that it does in the Imperium and Covenant states. It is less important than the birthday, but the positions of the stars and the time of year of birth are thought to influence a child's prospects some. The time of your conception will probably not either make or keep you from being successful, but knowing when you were conceived will let you know what strategies to use to be successful. Someone conceived on the day of the year's highest tides will have a good chance of success at sea, while someone conceived during the worst winter storm in reckoning might want to stick to dry land, for example. The position of the planets is also considered indicative of the paths you will find easiest. So, like Imperials and Covenanters, the Achaeans tend to do horoscopes. However, they look mostly at the position of important things and events in the natural world, seeing the individual as part of it's complex clockwork rather than the product of that plus the influence of ancestors or the Powers.