Osha's Renewal

History

The primary purpose of the ritual began as a pure debt forgiveness holiday, providing a way of financially ‘cleaning the slate’ in small elven villages and towns so that everyone could begin the next year on a more even footing and preventing crime by ensuring that poorer people are not trapped in debt for multiple years. In some places this also involved destroying the debt records of private citizens in a fire in the central gathering space of the town, such as a marketplace, but mostly if a bonfire in modern celebrations is lit it is for the practical purposes of providing heat and light at a night time festival.
Common themes/practices that have waxed and waned in popularity over the years include:

• Public displays of charity
• Public forgiveness of grudges, which can include forgiving enemies, giving those who have reneged on pacts during the course of the year a second chance, and welcoming (or at least attempting to welcome) back friends or family members that have become estranged over a dispute.
• Debt forgiveness
• Plays and performances of songs about the moons and their cycles
• Performances centred around the myth of Osha’s Renewal and the deity’s annual trip to Theya and Thion to ensure mortals who have cleaned their slates get their alloted luck for the coming year.

Execution

Alongside the moon viewings and space for either partying or quiet contemplation, depending on the individual’s desires for the festival, moon cakes (usually simple circular bread-cakes patterned with cinnamon sugar icing) and honeyed/spiced wine are shared with friends and family. If a personal grievance has been forgiven, the renewed bond (or at least neutral ending of the disagreement) is usually also celebrated with a shared moon cake, the two parties exchanging half of their cake each.

Participants

Osha’s clergy usually offer ritual cleansings and blessings intended to ward off bad luck for the coming year, and break any ongoing streaks of misfortune or magical curses that were placed on an individual to attract misfortune to them. They organise a night of moon viewing (usually also an excuse for drinking, gambling and general party-going, for those not as inclined to be pious) and public displays of charity and forgiveness. The clergy also have the final say in who qualifies for debt forgiveness and will usually favour the poor, if that element of the festival is practiced - overwhelming amounts of private debt to banks are usually considered for forgiveness, but any unpaid tax requirements of rich nobles to their communities or 'reasonable' monetary fines incurred as part of sentencing on criminal activity are not, for example.

Observance

The two moons, Theya (the larger, white moon also called the ‘Winter’ Moon) which orbits Asperyon, and Thion (the smaller, gold/green moon also called the ‘Jade’ or ‘Leaf’ Moon) which orbits Theya, have been an unchanging presence in Asperyon’s night sky for as long as any living being remembers. It takes two weeks for Thion to orbit Theya, and four weeks for a full moon cycle of the Winter Moon. At a certain point in this cycle, the smaller moon appears perfectly in the centre of the larger. These double full moons are seen as an auspicious time for marriage and for any financial decisions in the works turning out to be prosperous, but it naturally also has an inverse.
The last double new moons of the year is known as ‘Osha’s Renewal’ - based on a myth of the deity of luck ascending to the heavens to replenish their luck for the next year, usually in a game of chance with the two moons which Osha wins every year through varying displays of skill and/or trickery. The festival is usually held on this day, so it can vary from year to year but is roughly always held at about the same time.