New Year

The most important holiday of Creationism all over the world, the first day of the aignaoi year celebrates the birth of the first shapeshifter, Saint Naomh.

Myth

According to Saint Ogma's records (see Gift of the Serpents and the First Shapeshifter), approximately 2500 years ago, the aignaoithe were on the brink of death in the wake of the War of the Night. Desperately, huddled in the Cavern at the Top of the World, they prayed for a miracle. For years they waited (either 14 or 140 years, according to tradition).
Finally in answer, the Creator molded a dragon out of clay and crafted her veins to run with heavenly fire from His own forge, which gave her the ability to manipulate the work of His hands with her own.
The Creator then declared that a portion of all aignaoithe born in the future would be of this great blood. Thus Saint Ogma set the first day of the calander to the shortest day of each year to remember the great darkness that was before the gift of shapeshifters.

History in Crathlia

This holiday was brought to Crathlia first by the the Eight and then by the colonizing shapeshifters, being firmly established by the rather devout High Lord Seanán. He and his fellow colonizers borrowed and repurposed traditions from the pre-colonial Crathlian winter solstice celebrations.
Highly emphasized was that the part-dragons had this blessed blood running through their veins too (and that the great challenger of the serpents was given the gift of a human body!), and it was partially for this reason that the holiday and the religion it was attached to (Aignaoi Creationism, which would later evolve into Crathlian Creationism) remained even after the shapeshifters' fall. It is one of Crathlia's most beloved holidays, after Harvest.

Written by Cordelia Colbreak Evenbrook

Waiting Period Begins

Duvgal 16th

New Year's Eve

Duvgal 30th

New Year's Day

Neagal 1st

Traditions

Consistent across socioeconomic status and region, the most important traditions of the New Year are the log, the candle-lightings, the feast, and the gifts.

Waiting Period Traditions

The Candle-Lightings

For each of the fourteen nights leading up to New Year's Day, families eat dinner by candlelight. The traditional candelabra has fourteen small white candles: one for each night (or year) of waiting. After the meal is finished, devout families read liturgy and sing hymns of waiting and expectancy.
Some of this liturgy (based upon certain translations of the Sacred Writings of the Cavern, particularly Saint Lugh and Saint Bríd's prophesies) implies the coming of another miracle: the fulfillment of the two miracles celebrated at the New Year. What this means is a subject of great debate among religious scholars. Aignaoi Creationism says that this miracle will only be seen after the naered are destroyed. Many humans, however, believe that the Creator has another gift--a gift directly to humankind, the only sapient species that was not directly blessed in the story. But then the nature of the gift is hotly debated. The official word of the Crathlian Church is that convergence is the expected miracle, which has already come. Overseas, it is generally believed that humanity's gift is yet to come.
In any case, the candle-lighting often calls to mind smaller, more personal things for which we wait, such as reunions with our family members. Those who lived through the Great War often tell me that the candle-lightings are particularly poignant during a war, as they recall the War of the Night.

The Log

In all houses with fireplaces, a large log is burnt for fourteen days leading up to the New Year and is then kept to start next year's log. This log is a reminder of the coals of the Creator's forge, and the fourteen days recall the legendary fourteen years of waiting for a miracle.

Fireplace by Ashim D'Silva

New Year's Eve and New Year's Day Traditions

The Feast

A New Year's Eve feast is held with as many different types of food as possible in celebration of the Creator's array of unique and creative blessings. At minimum, this feast includes at least one type of bird, one type of grazing animal, one type of fish, and as many plant-based complements to the meat as desired/affordable.

Feast by Jed Owen

The Gifts

To remember that they have been given the gift of creativity, each member of a family makes something with their own hands and gives it as a gift to the rest of the family (or every particular member of the family, depending on the particular family's traditions) to become a decoration or something useful. Many families also accept the gift of music when a family member is talented in such things, especially when the musician writes their own song or performs a new one that they have been learning in secret.
In recent years, department stores have begun selling customizable craft packages (e.g. needlepoint, pre-cut birdhouse pieces, dollmaking sets, paint-by-numbers, cake decoration kits) that include most of the important materials in order to make the creation of a gift easier. Magazines and now social media feature how-tos on popular gift ideas. However, many traditionalists believe that it is most in the spirit of the holiday to create one's gift from scratch, using only one's own Creator-given imagination as basis.

Beyond these major traditions, houses both inwardly and outwardly are decorated with evergreens, holly, and ivy (all plants that stay green in the winter to symbolize hope) as well as candles and lights to symbolize the fire of the Creator's forge. Additionally, chocolate candies and hot cocoa are generally associated with the holiday. There are a great many carols and hymns specific to the New Year, as well as classic films (with more films always being made yearly) usually focusing on themes of family.
Some traditions are specific to particular cultural and socioeconomic groups. These are vaguely outlined below; however, it's important to note that every family celebrates the New Year differently. As New Year's is a holiday focused on home and hearth, that is very much in line with the purpose of the holiday.

Paragon Traditions

• Historically, on New Year's Day, gates were thrown open, and local commoners were provided with a meal and sweets courtesy of their liege lords/ladies. This tradition has died out in recent years due to the prominence of anti-monarchist sentiment.
• The facades and gardens of houses are impressively lit.
• A ball that traditionally goes to dawn (on one of the longest nights of the year) is held.

Urban Traditions

• During the 14-day waiting period, it is traditional to leave a gift of bread and/or sweets on the doorstep for travelers.
• Especially in suburbs, lighting contests (usually featuring flashing, rainbow-colored lights and sometimes holograms) are commonplace.
• Parties or dances can be held until midnight or dawn.

Rural Traditions

• During the 14-day waiting period, it is traditional to leave the door unlocked, a fire still going in the hearth, and a gift of bread and/or sweets for travelers.
• Families often stay up until midnight or dawn, or rise early to watch the sunrise. Sunrise services may be held at churches.