Free Day

Possibly the most celebrated in the galaxy, Free Day is an IPA-instituted holiday that memorializes the day the IPA ended slavery on all of its member planets. It is one of the biggest celebrations on many planets.

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History

Instituted after the IPA forbade the existence of slavery on any of its member planets, Free Day began the year after the decree. At first, Free Day was a somewhat small event celebrated on Zenricho and the planets most affected by the decree, but as time went on, the holiday spread to every IPA planet, with the celebrations becoming bigger and better every year. To this day, the biggest celebrations are held on Zenricho and CKG  Geranium, with parades, parties, and fireworks shows put on by many different companies.

Components and tools

"Just plans for Free Day. Today kind of spiraled, so I'm thinking we should remove the usual candy gifts. What day does it fall on this year?"
"Saturday."
"Okay, we should be able to get everything we need without extra days missing. Odin's been hard at work with his fireworks."

— From a short story

Free Day is celebrated in various ways depending on the available resources and local traditions of each planet. One of the most popular traditions is shooting off fireworks once night falls, lighting the sky with impressive displays of brilliant color. For food, most planets serve sandwiches and hamburgers as a meal and give out ice cream, snow cones, and small frosted cakes for dessert. In smaller gatherings, people toast marshmallows and make graham cracker sandwiches with them, often with chocolate and other candies.

Participants

Mostly only IPA members celebrate Free Day, but several other planets do as well. These are usually planets that supported the anti-slavery decree but remained out of the IPA. However, some are planets that were in the IPA but left for different reasons. Currently, the most avid participants in this holiday are Zenricho, CKG Geranium, Jaque, Maynrel, and Haspanic. In the years following the Commander War, Eküiliber, the residence of the Nine Guardians, rose in standing with its celebrations, particularly with the fireworks display that is planned and executed by a trained explosives expert.

Observance

Free Day is celebrated on July 12th, the day that the decision to outlaw slavery was announced. Because of different planet times, Free Day celebrations do not always happen at the same time as those of other planets.

by Lilliana Casper

Related Organizations

• The Interplanetary Peace Alliance

Date
July 12th

Freedom For All

When the IPA first made its decree, eight planets left the alliance in protest. Every single one owned slaves and refused to give them up. Within the next hundred years, however, four of the eight ended slavery. Three of those four eventually joined the IPA. The planets with slavery that remained in the IPA were fourteen in number. After the announcement, all fourteen abolished their practices, several of which they had previously excused as "punishments" or "consensual". As for the planets that joined the IPA within a year after the anti-slavery decree, they numbered almost thirty.

Today, we are free. Today, we are safe. Today, we are accepted. Today, is the end of despair. Today is the start of new life.

— From a short story