Shadoweve

Shadowe'en, more commonly known as Shadoweve or the Night of Spirits, is a holiday celebrated predominantly in the Bridge of Worlds region on October 31st. It is a festival of the transition from the harvest period to the beginning of winter, during which the boundaries between the Material Plane, the Otherworld, and the Ethereal Plane are said to become their thinnest, allowing faeries and ghosts to freely mingle with the mortal world.

History

The beginning of Shadowe'en is typically attributed to Sauriel, the Lucine god of autumn and the harvest, though some traditions alternatively tie it to the archfey Gwyn the Harvestlord.
In the mainstream story, Sauriel and the other seasonal gods receive instruction from Suriyel, god of dreams, and Azrael, god of death, on how to prepare mortalkind for the deathly period of winter and the natural world's rebirth in spring. In an act of thanks to the two gods, Sauriel creates the Shadoweve as a time when the borders between the mortal world, the Ethereal Plane, the Otherworld, and the Plane of Dreams would be thinned, and places it on October 31st, the midpoint between the autumn equinox and winter solstice.
As a result, festivities on and around the Shadoweve jointly honor the three gods Sauriel, Suriyel, and Azrael.

Execution

While numerous traditions and festivities are held on Shadoweve depending on location and culture, the most common of these are the wearing of costumes, the giving out of candy, the carving of the Three Gods.

Costumes

Shadoweve celebrants typically dress in elaborate costumes intended to emulate and blend in with the ghosts, spirits, and different Fey creatures that are said to roam the world during this magical night.

Candy

As a precaution during the Shadoweve, celebrants are encouraged to carry candy and other sweets on them to appease any Fey creatures they may encounter. In the mythology of Shadoweve, those who spurn the requests of faeries or spirits on this night will become targets of their ire, and become cursed with misfortune for the rest of the year.
Therefore, it is generally good practice to give out treats to any strange-looking beings encountered on the Shadoweve (though they could just as easily be costumed mortals).

Carving the Three Gods

On Shadoweve, most traditions instruct celebrants to carve or create idols of the gods most associated with the holiday: Sauriel, Suriyel, and Azrael.
Oftentimes, these idols are carved from pumpkins, gourds, wood, and/or goats' horns - the typical Carving is of a central pumpkin with a mischievous, crescent-shaped smile (Suriyel), with a full cornucopia to its right (Sauriel) and an empty one to its left (Azrael). Other variations use pumpkins, gourds, or wood to represent the faces of all three, depicting Sauriel with a mouth full of food, Suriyel with a great grin and a crescent moon on his head, and Azrael as a skull or ghost. Regardless of the details, the idols are then burned to seal the offering to the three gods.

Primary Related Location

Bridge of Worlds