Holaresh

The Faeler Lands (Falkaar, Haradel, Thormenal, and the Urdaggar lands)

Holaresh is a Faelish word meaning “sun-rebirth.” The Faeler people, who are the common race of the Urdaggar Tribes, the Kingdom of Falkaar, the Kingdom of Haradel and the League of Thormenal, associate the solstice with the birth of the Gaal known to them as Hol, who is the Sun, the Lamp who lights the world.
The Faelonian week is ten days long and so for the ten days leading up to the solstice, Faelers celebrate with dances, rituals, processions, exchanges of gifts, bonfires, and end of harvest feasts. On the eve itself, they stay up all night, with fires, torches and lanterns blazing, to welcome the morning sun and the rebirth of Hol.
Among the Urdaggar Tribes, the sun is most associated with the Lion and the Eagle. The shortening of the sun is represented in a ritual as a battle between the Lion and the Jackal. The lone Lion is harassed by a Jackal and defeats it, only to see another Jackal appear on the trail. After several such attacks, the Lion has become weakened to the point where one more Jackal will defeat him, but the Eagle arrives to drive off the last Jackal and watch over the Lion as he regains his strength.
The Kingdom of Haradel celebrates in a similar way, but there is an actual joust between a “Lion-knight” and a series of “Jackal-knights.” In the end, an Eagle-knight drives off the last Jackal-knight. The Lion-knight and Eagle-knight are honors bestowed on the most venerated jousters of the day and the role of the Jackal-knights is played by several new Apprentices.
The Kingdom of Falkaar is less tied to its animist past and while the ritual is similar, the battle of Sun and Shroud is played out in dance and song by bards.
While the majority of those living in the League of Thormenal are Faelers, it is a slim majority. The League is tolerant of all religions and rituals and seeks only to make sure the revelry does not turn into clashes in its teeming streets. Of particular importance is separating the Chaler observers of the holiday so that groups following alternately the ways of Koronna or the Empire do not turn from celebration to combat.

Trilias

The people of the Realm of Trilias see the solstice not as a time of reduced sunshine, but as the best day to view their beloved stars. In the Deepwood, viewing parties are held on platforms in the highest branches. In the Reach, with its wide-open spaces, no special preparation is needed and viewing parties become all night revels, although without the bonfires and torches used by their western neighbors. Children play a game of Count the Stars, with the winner not the child who actually counts them all, but the one most determined to stick it out as their friends each give in and return to the festivities.

Kuzaarl

The Kuzaarik celebrate Grhymp, the eyes, during the Winter Solstice. The Kuzaarik call this celebration Visokogrhozh, and it is an important celebration at the height of the mountain winter.
Grhymp is not one of the more important Gosk to the Kuzaarik. As a people who spend much of their life underground or in the shadows of the mountains, the sunlight is not entirely trusted by the Kuzaarik people. Mining communities especially place Grhymp far down the list of recognized Gosk for devotion. Sun gleaming off the snow or shining after a shift in the mines hurts the eyes and blinds to the surroundings. The Kuzaarik are far more in tune with times of dwindling light: the morning, evening, and nighttime.
Nonetheless, Kuzaarik recognize the place of Grhymp in the spring thaws and the limited summer growing season that dictates the amount and variety of foodstuffs the Kuzaarik are capable of growing.
In villages, towns, and cities all over the limited influence the Kuzaarik still have, mirrors are set up to reflect the sun during Visokogrozh. The Kuzaarik shine the light back at Grhymp as a way of showing that they recognize the blessing of light and the warmth that it provides.
Large community festivals are held, especially in smaller agrarian communities in the valleys and lower elevations where animal husbandry and farming dominate life. During these festivals the community comes together and shares of their winter stores in a community wide banquet that celebrates a time of renewal and the anticipation of the growing season to come.

The Shakrim Isles

The celebration of Holaresh is of little consequence to the denizens of the Shakrim Isles. The ruling elite, especially the magic users among them, celebrate the solstice as a time of omen, discernment, and renewal according to their ways. Most of the Shakrim however, follow the natural patterns of the moon and sun without any of the mysticism attached.
The waning days of the approaching “winter” are but a nuisance to the Shakrim who live in a tropical climate and are generally unaffected by the colder climates to the north.

Grular

Many people of the west see the Grular as one people, but in truth the Grular are a deeply divided people who give allegiance to their family groups and tribes long before they give their allegiance to some idea of “The Grular.”
Because of this there are many different ways that the Grular celebrate the Winter Solstice, referred to amongst most of them as Pabraruhl, or “low sun.”
Depending on where a particular Grular lives the Winter is a time when most of the Grular will become stationary. The horse warriors of the plains erect winter shelters and devote their time to roaming a broad territory around these camps hunting winter game.
Many Grular see Pabraruhl as the very last day before the winter camp must be pitched and the rhythms of the winter must be obeyed. For the Grular tribes that roam the far northern permafrost as a matter of daily course, Pabraruhl is the day by which they must have emigrated south to their winter camps along the Southern headwaters of the Opralaxekh Khuungrang.
Many Grular spend Pabraruhl in celebration of the bounty of the last year. Depending on the tribe and their focus, thankfulness for the year’s hunts and raids against other tribes are recounted. Stories of the glorious moments of the year are often retold around the camp’s grang agesh’giss, or greatfire.
In many winter encampments, each member of the tribe is asked to recount a glorious event from the past year. Informal competitions are held between tribespeople as to who had the most glorious event of the past hunting and raiding season. These boasts also lead to fights, establishing dominance among the tribe.
Amongst other Grular, particularly those who practice Shadow magic, the solstice is a time where it is believed the borders between this world and Karelon are thinned. Many who conjure demons to Faelon do so during Pabraruhl. Many more use the thinned walls of reality to contact demons in Karelon and make pacts with them. In many tribes, Pabraruhl is still referred to as Xegnadur’lash, “vownight.”

Mershael

The people of Mershael are a maritime culture. The sea calls to them, and beckons them.
For the Mershael, the Winter Solstice marks the end of the stormy season in the Shining Sea, a time when those that ply their trade on Mershaeli merchant ships or the greatships can rest easy. Many Mershaeli captains keep to port during the stormy season. The solstice marks the time they no longer have to live in fear of being blown off course or sunk to the bottom of the ocean by the terrifying cyclones that find their way into the Shining Sea.
Sochant Sumeda, or Calmsea, is the Mershaeli celebration that takes place during the Winter Solstice. During this time the Mershael thank their ancestors for bringing them through another stormy season, and look forward to the safe opening of the sea lanes.
Large feasts are thrown during this time, but it is also a time of very hard work. Merchants who kept their goods from the trade lanes during the stormy months are suddenly busy loading their ships with trade goods. Sailors that had celebrated furloughs with family once again say goodbye to loved ones and board their ships preparing to head to sea.
Harbors at this time are generally full of Mershaeli ships that are riding out the stormy months and are now ready to get underway and commence trade with the rest of the world. Colorful flags are often arrayed from the lines of the many ships in celebration of the resumption of trade. These flags are carried to sea on their first voyage after Sochant Sumeda as a supplication to the ancestors to ward off the disaster of a late storm.

Kandor

The celebration of the Winter Solstice is celebrated differently depending on one’s role in Kandor.
Kandor has two very different cultures: The ruling elite have a life in the saddle, living the nomadic horse-life common to the Grular and the Kandoran’s nomadic ancestors. In the cities, however, the story is very different.
City life in Kandor is not that of the nomad. Life goes on in the cities of Kandor much as it does in other cities, but with a strange twist: Much of the menial work in a Kandoran city is done either by slaves or by those raised from the dead. The living and free of Kandor City are often merchants, priests, and slavers who keep those who are there against their will in line.
For the ruling elite, Pabraruhl is a time of celebration as the horse warriors recount the victories of the past year. Great feasts are held in the nomadic camps of Kandor’s rulers, and stories of victories won during the past year are told before the grang agesh’giss, the camp’s greatfire.
For the inhabitants of Kandor’s urban centers, the Winter Solstice means very little. Life goes on day-to-day as it does every other day, a continuous cycle of selling, buying, and watching the work of those who no longer have a choice in their lives or unlives.

The Traazorite Empire

The Winter Solstice is one of two major days celebrated throughout the empire that revolve around the sun. Being Runah worshippers, much of life in the empire is governed by the sun. The reliance on the sun as a religious symbol has also led to many superstitions amongst the Traazorite people.
The Winter Solstice is called Taknoz in the Chaler means “long night.” It is a time of great fear and trepidation amongst the people of Traazor, as their god leaves them for the longest period of time during the year.
Taknoz is a time the philosophers and priests of the Empire believe Traazor to be at its weakest and most vulnerable. Because of this the military of Traazor is on high alert, forced into active service on Taknoz no matter where they are stationed or what legion they belong to. They have done this as a reaction to many years of attack during the Taknoz. Patrols march through the streets and likely avenues of attack against the Empire are watched carefully. In the past the enemies of Traazor have used Taknoz to attack at a time they see Traazor at its weakest.
The people of Traazor are also asked to remain vigilant during Taknoz. They attend an all night service of prayer at their local temple, sometimes spilling out into the streets. During the hours of sunset the people beg Runah to protect them during his long absence. They bolster each other’s faith and take vows to Runah. The Runaic priests keep a close eye on their spiritual charges during Taknoz, believing the power of the moons are at their strongest and therefore most tempting to followers of Runah during the long absence of their god.
In the morning, as the light of day is finally seen after the long vigil, a great feast is held in celebration. Adherents are known to commonly cry as the eastern sky begins to light up, promising Runah’s return to the world. A special Sunrise is held as Runah peaks above the horizon, much longer and more involved than the daily Sunrise services practiced daily throughout the Empire.

Koronna

Taknoz is the most special day on the Koronnan calendar of celebrations. The Koronnans, who worship the moons, take the opportunity of the winter solstice to celebrate their independence from Traazor.
Koronna is the only Chaler kingdom on the northern continent. They rose up against the Traazorites and threw off their religious oppression, allowing them to worship the moons instead of Runah, the sun.
The night of Taknoz takes a very different tone in Koronna than it does in Traazor. Where in Traazor the day takes an almost mournful tone, in Koronna the long night is welcomed and Koronnan power is celebrated.
Military parades are held in all major cities. Mock battles are held where the military defeats of the Traazorites are reenacted to the rapture of the onlooking locals. Citizens turn out by the thousands to watch the parades, watch the “battles,” and eat lavish banquets to celebrate the defeat of the Traazorites.
Another favorite event of the day takes place in the arenas of Koronna. Traazorite prisoners are given their uniforms and weapons and sent into the arena to battle a Koronnan Champion. The Traazorite prisoners are almost always incapacitated in some way to ensure a “Koronnan” victory, but the spectacle is hailed far and wide as the fight of the year by the arena organizers.
At sunset, in almost every village, town, and city, a “Legionnaire” is ran out of town to the indignant cries of its citizenry. The “Legionnaire” is a citizen that has dressed up in a ceremonial uniform and has volunteered to represent the expulsion of the Empire from Koronna. Starting in the town center the “legionnaire” begins to leave the town down the main route. Citizens flock to the streets to jeer, yell abuses, and even throw objects at the retreating “Traazorite.” When the volunteer finally reaches the main gate of town they put up a protest, pulling a mock sword and acting brave, decrying the moon and the people of Koronna. The citizens mock the “soldier” and yell at him angrily until he departs the gate, at which time a great shout of triumph is taken up by the citizens and “Hail the Moons” can be heard resounding throughout the town.