The Great Day

This is the first great feast day of solar year, and the most important feast in the True Confession calendar. It always falls on Nedelia, but otherwise, it may fall at almost any time in the months of Berezozol or Tsveten’. The timing of the holiday changes in order to align it with the ancient Kivite sacrificial feast of Azaz, but also to deemphasize the significance of the Spring Equinox and the New Year. To determine the precise time of the Great Day, roll 1d8 and add one to the result. Number each Nedelia from the start of the year from one to nine. The Great Day will occur on that Nedelia indicated by the die roll.
For believers espousing the True Confession, the Great Day constitutes the anniversary of Gaal’s bodily resurrection after the crucifixion. It marks the pivotal event in history, the demonstration of the truth of the faith, and the proof of the prophecies made by the Old Covenant Seers. In fact, the entire week leading up to the Great Day is celebrated as the Great Week, beginning with Gaal’s entry into the Chantry with the Devotees, their meals there in celebration of Azaz, Gaal’s betrayal, trial, execution, and rising. Worshipers prepare for the big day by dyeing eggs to symbolize rebirth and new life, and baking a special sweet and rich bread called kulich. On the day itself, worshipers carrying green boughs, led by the priest stream out of the dark church at midnight bearing icons, candles, and the Sacred Writ. They march around the building, until the priest stops at the front door, bangs on it with his hands, and then intones the scriputral demand that a mysterious interlocutor (usually played by a member of the priestly family) fling open the gates of Heaven. The congregation then enters the lit church, adorned with flowers. The priest then celebrates the Eucharist, at the end of which the worshipers greet one another with the words “Truly, He is Risen”. Then, they bring baskets with kulich, cheese, meat, eggs, and other foods they had abstained from throughout the 40-day long Great Fast, and ask the priest to bless them. Then, the congregants retire to their houses for a holiday meal, where family members throw the dyed eggs at one another. Whosever egg does not break is said to have good luck. Meanwhile the priest, assisted by deacons, makes the rounds through the parish. At every household, he or she is offered a celebratory drink which cannot be refused. By the end of the day, the deacons must literally drag the poor inebriated priest around.
Many of the older traditions of the Great Day, including the egg dying, the bread, the decoration of holy places with flowers, and the ritual drink at the end have been passed down from the Old Faith holiday of the New Year, celebrated on the Spring Equinox. In olden days, this feast was dedicated to the god Yarilo, who, like Gaal, was a dying God who came back to life. In places where the old ways remain strong, the role of the priest is taken by a straw effigy of the god, who is carried in an open coffin by unmarried men and women, and then buried in the field, to be reborn in the crops. Then, an old man is dressed in the effigy’s clothes, while his young companions make the rounds from household to household, hanging garlands of flowers on doors in exchange for an invitation inside to share in the bounty of the season. One youth is elected to represent the reborn Yarilo. He is dressed in white, with a wreath on his head, but remains unshod. He is then put atop a white horse, and led around the village, while young women lead a circle dance around him. Frequently, however, Yarilo is represented by a young woman dressed as a man. The young people then retire to the outskirts of the settlement, and engage in merrymaking, drinking, rolling around naked on the young grass, and erotic games. young man (who represents the god). He makes rounds in the village accompanied by young, unmarried men and women, who hang garlands of flowers on all the houses they pass in exchange for an invitation inside to share in the bounty. This sort of celebration is discouraged by the church, but it is very deep-routed and difficult to stop entirely.