Hibernalia
Hibernalia is a week-long holiday created by human settlers on Mars to celebrate the winter solstice. Like many midwinter holidays, Hibernalia is meant to promote human connection in all its forms: family, friendship, community, and overall togetherness in the face of dark times, figuratively and literally. Hibernalia is one of the Big Four holidays on Mars alongside Vernalia, Estivalia, and Autumnalia.
History
Hibernalia first began in the early 22nd century after humans established the first permanent colonies on Mars. Because a Martian year lasts about twice as long as an Earth year, this made it difficult for settlers to keep up with Earth holidays. To remedy this, the settlers took to creating their own holidays to suit their own calendar. These new holidays incorporated aspects of similar holidays they celebrated back on Earth.
Execution
Hibernalia is a federal holiday on Mars, and businesses are typically closed for the entire week of its observance. The first few days of Hibernalia are designated as the "famliy" half of the holiday. People gather for private dinners and gift exchanges with family and acquaintances. The remaining days of Hibernalia are designated as the "partying" half of the holiday. Huge parties are hosted with music, singing, dancing, and plenty of eating and drinking. Different parts of the planet have their own traditions as well. Some places host community soccer or hockey games. Others host parades or illuminated processions with candles, torches, and paper lanterns. Cities on the canal system host winter swimming and rivers of light, where people release floating lamps and lanterns down the canals out to the reservoir seas. The height of the Hibernalia celebration is usually marked with bonfires and the release of hundreds of sky lanterns on the night of the solstice.
Components and tools
Decorations
People decorate for Hibernalia with bright light displays. This can range from simple candles or oil lamps in the windows to hugely elaborate outdoor lighting sets. In addition, while they aren't as plentiful on Mars as they are on Earth, many people put up decorated evergreen trees and wreaths to celebrate Hibernalia.
Food
It's customary for people to have large dinners during Hibernalia. Pork and chicken dishes are heavily associated with the Hibernalia season, as are dumplings and hearty stews. Dinners are capped of with gingerbread, pudding, and other desserts. One of the most popular desserts is coronets - decorated sponge cakes topped with paper crowns. Coronets may have a small plastic or porcelain star baked in, and whoever gets the star is crowned king. This means they either have to provide the cake for or host next year's dinner. In addition to the food, hot drinks like cocoa, cider (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic), and spiced wine are also popular during Hibernalia.
Observance
Since winter solstice falls on the first day of Virgo, Hibernalia celebrations start three days before and end three days after.
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