Christmas
Christmas was brought to Miyla by the Arthurians who are Humans descended from the refugees of Europe who were displaced by Uther's Law which outlawed the open practice of magic. Divorced from Coca-Cola and Disney and the other modern happenings that changed how the holiday is celebrated on Earth the Christians on Miyla celebrate the holiday very differently with traditions that were added by the other races.
History
Since the Christians that came to Miyla are from the Medieval Period of Earth's history, Christmas is celebrated as a twelve-day feast after Advent. Advent is the time of waiting for Christmas when Christians remember that the Savior Jesus Christ will come again just as He promised. The end of Advent is on Christmas Eve at midnight with a Mass to celebrate that God has come and is coming again singling the beginning of Christmas.
Early Years of Christmas
In the start, Christians would celebrate in a similar way they would in Europe with elaborate feasts, drinking, and dancing. One of the traditions that they had according to Dave Roos a writer for the History Channel traditions dressing up as animals and cross-dressing, these Murmurs or Carolers would go door to door singing festive songs in exchange for gifts and food. The Orcs took offense to the dressing up as animals when they noticed that a lot of the masks looked like their faces. The Orcs talked to the Humans about it and the two changed it to just dressing in furs while out caroling. The Humans then realized that they were given the great opportunity to share the Gospel with the Demon-looking people. Luckily the Orcs were willing to hear the good news because most Orcs were exiled because of failing to live up to the Warrior Code of Honor written by the gods. Since they didn't live up to the standard the story of God sacrificing Himself to save people from sin and death was appealing to the Orcs. The Orcs were the first of the Races to become Christians. In addition to dressing as animals, the Humans would also cross-dress which the Elves didn't like due to the high respect most of their cultures have for the genders and the vital roles they play. Such customs were pushed into the shadows because of how sexual they became. Seeing Christmas as a holiday that celebrates the breaking of God's Light into the world the Elves taught Humans how to create Fairy Lights to decorate the cold winter with light. The Humans liked the idea because it was a great reminder of God's Light and decorating became a thing to do during Advent. The Priest that fled to Miyla decided to not do the January 1st, Feast of Fools where members of the Church could behave like fools and dress as Demons and role change. This change was done early during the Refugee Crisis because the leaders of the Church believe that they need to keep the Church stable and not act like fools in this new world. After several years of doing this, the feast was left by the wayside and decent behavior was upheld instead. The Dragons who were not fans of role-reserved that was a central part of celebrating Christmas. They put an end to the Twelfth Night or Twelfthtide tradition of crowing a Lord of Misrule who could demand embarrassing tasks from people in power. The Dragons didn't want this tradition to continue because they saw themselves as hosts to all the refugees and their decedents as guests who should be grateful to the Dragons for them to take refuge in Miyla in the first place. Also, in time the tradition of predicting the future during Christmas slowly faded as fortune-telling is not a proper use of magic and is frowned on by most of the Races. Even if the prediction was right it is still not a good use of magic that can heal with a snap of your fingers.Gift Giving
The tradition of gift-giving was added to Christmas much later when the Dwarves started to hear the Gospel they took to the story of the Magi and the gifts that they gave to the Savior which protected the Holy Family from Herod. The Dwarves started the tradition inside their own homes as it spread to the other Races. The gifts were designed to remind people about the gift that they were given. Since Christmas was being celebrated by poor refugees from various other worlds children and people in general do not get as many gifts as they would in the various countries on Earth. As a rule, children can except four gifts from their parents on Christmas and that would be something they want, need, wear, and read. The Jade Humans brought with them from Asia Furoshiki which is the art of using a cloth to wrap a gift.Execution
Christmas starts with a Midnight Mass for Christian households after the service they go home and either sleep or open the presents. If they slept they will open the presents in the morning instead. Christmas Day is also the start of the feast which is traditionally headed off with a roasted Afpessdt. The other days are celebrated with feast games and time with family and friends.
Components and tools
Various foods are needed for the feasts throughout the days of Christmas and gifts. Fairy Lights are used to decorate the house and trees. The lights are used to make the homes and streets more festive and cheery during the chilly cold winter months. The Elves would even decorate using greenery and trees to make the holiday season even more beautiful.
Participants
Priest of the Christian church will give the Midnight Mass to celebrate the coming of Jesus and the forgiveness of the sins. After the service, most of the other traditions are done at home or at eateries for feasts and opening presents.
Observance
Other than Midnight Mass to signal the beginning of Christmas there is also the tradition of opening presents and feasting. Various games are also played and most of the holiday is observed as a religious holiday where Christians share the Gospel of Christ with their neighbors by inviting them to the various parties throughout the Twelve Days of Christmas.
Sources & References
How Christmas Was Celebrated in the Middle Ages article written by Dave Roos for the History Channel on Dec. 17th, 2021.
Related Ethnicities
