Forsaking Moons

Every year, in the weeks leading up to Longest Night on the day when neither moon is visible in the night sky, Forsaking Moons is celebrated. Since the seasonal cycle and the lunar cycles are not aligned, Forsaking Moon is celebrated on a different day each year. The only time Forsaking Moons is not celebrated on the day when both moons are in their new phase, is when the festival coincides with Longest Night. In that case Forsaking Moons is celebrated the day prior. However, this only happens ones every few decades.

In contrast to such festivals as Spring's Bloom and Longest Light, and even to Longest Night, Forsaking Moons is a rather grim festival. It is the darkest day of the year, for daylight is still decreasing and both moons are gone.

Maen and the Moons

On the day of Forsaking Moons, Kysan adherents remember the disappearance of Maen, and the abandonment by the moon spirits Meloda and Joao.
Maen was a lovely young woman with warm amber skin and wide dark eyes. She had a natural elegance about her, as if she glided through the air instead of walking step by step. Her father was the orb lighter of the town she lived in, but when he became too old to climb up the sky ladder, Maen took over his task of lighting the moon orb.
Her beauty caught the eye of the warrior Livra, who was famous for slaying night beasts. He made advances on her, which she politely declined. This only encouraged Livra and solidified his desire to own her. But like all of nature, Maen was not a thing to be owned. One night, Livra came for her, and Maen ran. She grabbed the moon orb and disappeared. But Livra was famous for fighting night beasts and was not afraid of following her into the dark woods.
When Maen could no longer run, she knelt down next to a lake and held up the moon orb high. She prayed to Meloda and Joao to save her. And they did. When Livra arrived at the lake, Maen was gone and so was the moon orb.
That next night both moon spirits slept, and without the moon orb to light the night sky, everything was dark. And night beasts roamed.

Celebration

The day prior to Forsaking Moons, Kysan adherents bring offerings to the shrines of Meloda, Joao and Maen. On the day itself, the household shrine is decorated with symbols signifying the three nelin, many candles and clear precious stones. The rest of the house is also decorated with many candles.

All windows are shuttered except for one, usually one on the highest level or a roof window, which purpose is to shine a light on the cold dark night. Nowadays, people also often light a fire outside their home, and nomadic culture usually settle near a lake for the night where they light a large fire.
Forsaking Moons is one of few personal festivities, and thus is not celebrated with any other people except for the people present in the household. It is a time for personal reflection and making resolutions. During the evening, games are played and stories told and songs sung.
One of the few things which cannot be absent during Forsaking Moons is moon cake, a small round pastry made from a honey rich dough and a soft custard filling spiced with seeds. Regional variations shows in the type of seeds used. The most common are fennel seeds, sesame seeds and almond. Moon cakes are traditionally made during sunrise of Forsaking Moons, but bakeries often already sell them during MONTH13 and MONTH14.
Even though Forsaking Moons is as a Kysan tradition by origin, it is nowadays also celebrated by many non-Kysan adherents in Garyiala. It is a national holiday, and people are often free the whole day or allowed to leave work at noon.