Deadhallows

The Festival of the Dead

Deadhallows, also known as the Festival of the Dead, marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the cold, winter months. It coincides with the Holy Festivals of many of the Gods of Death, including Sychar (Feast of Remembrance), the Raven Queen (Oidhche Shamhna) and Arawn Farchognos (Ysbrydnos). These are the times of year when the veils between the worlds of the living and the dead are at their thinnest, making it easier for spirits to walk the Material Realm freely.
Deadhallows is celebrated as a Secular Event and does not require the worship of any particular Gods to take part in. It is a celebration of the lives of the departed, as well as a means to protect the living from the attentions of the malicious deceased.
On these nights, it is said to be possible to witness the last remnant of the Wild Hunt, the Shade Host, travelling across A'arde. The Shade Host, led by Arawn, is gathered by the Elven Death God to chase down dangerous, fugitive spirits on behalf of the other Gods of Death. It is rumoured that the Reaper, Ankou, often joins the Shade Host during Deadhallows to assist Arawn as part of their role as a psychopomp.

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History

Deadhallows is known to have existed in some format throughout the second half of the Age of Dragons and the whole of the Age of Arcana, but after the Fall of the Floating Cities and the rise of the Age of Chaos, it was not celebrated again until midway through the Age of Darkness. Little is known of the early celebrations of Deadhallows, especially those that took place upon the Floating Cities, as much of the information was lost or destroyed during the Age of Chaos. Since it was unfeasible to continue to celebrate festivals with Fiends and Elemental Lords clashing across the globe, the surviving Mortals saw little point in passing on the traditions of festival that could no longer be celebrated. The only tradition that survived throughout is the tradition of dressing as spirits. Disguises of this nature were commonly used throughout the Ages of Chaos and Darkness as a means of avoiding the attention of Fiends and Elementals, as well as Spirits and Undead, thus having everyone utilising them specifically on Deadhallows was a given.
During the Age of Darkness, many of the Champions and Mortal servants of the Gods of Death, particularly Arawn, were fighting a losing battle to keep wayward, malicious spirits under control. The disbanding of the Wild Hunt some 7000 years prior, and the subsequent limitations placed on Divine Servants acting within the Material Plane, meant that the malevolent spirit populations had been allowed to flourish, and the Age of Darkness was being prolonged because of them. Even the Reaper was struggling to keep up with wave after wave of spirits being released due to the horrors of the Age of Chaos.
Clergy and Champions of Sychar, the Raven Queen, Arawn, Helle Darksong and Clíodhna, in particular, pushed heavily for a more standardised means of protecting Mortals from the unwanted attentions of the wayward spirits, though followers of other Pantheons also pushed for answers. Followers of war and battle Gods frequently saw the spirits as a means to test their prowess, but such endeavours were generally frowned upon as they tended to merely delay the problems, not solve them completely, and angered the spirits further.
Ultimately, with the Reaper overrun and violent Mortal solutions doing nothing but exacerbating the issue, Corentin the Pathwalker summoned his followers to a quiet location in the Black Forest, where he gifted them the first Spirit Lantern made from a blessed turnip, dedicated as part of the first harvest and preserved within Corentin's temple. Likewise, the Raven Queen encouraged her followers to return to battlefields and places of violent ends to offer prayers to the memory of those who had died there in the hopes of placating them. Sychar similarly encouraged his followers to engage in rememberance by hosting a feast for the departed, and Arawn gifted his temple in Cnuic Ghlainne a Holy Flame, which was used to light bonfires in the surrounding villages to protect them.
As time went on, these actions continued year on year and eventually became consolidated into a single event that we now know as the Deadhallows Festival. The combined celebrations proved more powerful together than individually, and the Festival continued throughout the Age of Darkness. It is believed that the first Shade Host was established late in the Age of Darkness, actively working to cull the threat of spirits to the living. However, the festival continued into the 6th Age, settling into its current format within the first decade, as a means of remembrance of the dead and a way of honouring the sacrifices made during the Age of Darkness.

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Execution

Deadhallows is celebrated by remembering and honouring ancestors and deceased loved ones through acts of prayer, meditation, contemplation and post-humous gifting.
In the morning, Deadhallows Altars are set up in homes and decorated with portraits, trinkets and keepsakes of departed ones, as well as with candles, dried scented leaves, dried flowers , and freshly collected pine cones (usually collected up to three days before Deadhallows). The altars are left undisturbed throughout the day, and anyone passing the Deadhallows Altar acknowledges it by inclination of the head. It is considered bad manners not to acknowledge a Deadhallows Altar.
In the afternoon, family prayers and meditations are made in front of the Altars before lanterns are carved out of pumpkins and turnips and blessed with prayers. These are then displayed on the Altars and doorsteps, and the table is set for a Deadhallows Feast, where the food is presented in serving dishes or bowls and family members stand to eat. This is so that spirits of the beloved deceased can join their family for a meal without worrying about table placements.
During the evening, revellers will dress in clothing that resembles various spirits and gather around bonfires to dance.

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Components and tools

Deadhallows Altar

The Deadhallows Altar is traditionally a long table laid with a black cloth. Some Altars feature a hutch or overshelf to display portraits.

Candles

Candles are generally white or black.

Flowers

Chrysanthemum, Carnation and Marigold are popular flowers due to their symbolisms of death, remembrance, love and communication.

Spirit Lanterns

Hand carved and blessed lanterns act as a guide for good spirits and a foil for evil ones. They are carved from turnips and pumpkins, and the insides of the vegetables used are then cooked as part of the Feast.

Deadhallows Feast

Feasts most often include roasted meats, root vegetables, pumpkin pie, pears, apples and dark wines.

Spirit Costumes

Costumes that resemble spirits are designed to confuse evil spirits and prevent them from kidnapping the living. The costumes are often stitched with warding symbols that only allow the spirits of loved ones to recognise the wearer.

Bonfire

The bonfire burns wood blessed by the Clergy as a way to deter evil spirits. The light of the bonfire is a symbol of purification and guidance.

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Participants

Deadhallows is generally considered a family affair, with familial units often gathering together to celebrate when able. The gathering around the bonfire is considered a communal affair, with groups of friends and neighbours tending to gather together in a large garden or attending a bonfire set up by the village, town or city leadership.
Clergy of the Death Gods offer prayers throughout the day at Temples. They also bless the wood used to light the Deadhallows bonfires and offer beautiful, carved candles as gifts to visitors.

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Observance

Deadhallows takes place on the 30th of Ryelay on a yearly basis in both Hemispheres. Due to the offset seasonal nature of the calendars of A'arde, it is possible to attend both observances by travelling from Northern Hemisphere to Southern, or vice versa.

Contents

Observance

30th Ryelay

Observance Frequency

Twice a Year

Seasonal Offset?

Yes

Observation Type

Secular

Observation Demographic

Worldwide

Observance Day of the Year

Northern Hemisphere: 303
Southern Hemisphere: 123

Observance Month Number

Northern Hemisphere: 10
Southern Hemisphere: 4