Discovering Sor, Part III: The Festival of New Life
Ten days of festivities: music, dance, food, drink, light shows, and religious gatherings.
A world without holidays and festivities would be a sad world to live in, don’t you think?
Lucky for the people of Sor, they know how to celebrate. Sor has four major holidays, once religious in nature—yet as people became more secular, so did their holidays. Even so, the religious roots still show in many aspects of the celebrations.
As we are nearing the holidays of Easter and Passover, I’m eager to write about the spring holidays on Sor—which I have not explored in any of my stories yet—and discover how my people celebrate the Festival of New Life.
Are you ready to dive in?
Religious Roots of the Festival
Originally, the ten-day Festival of New Life was celebrated in honour of its creator Eylah, goddess of growth, renewal, and fertility. During this holiday, the people of Sor remember the creation of their world—or at least, they used to.
The Creation of Sor
On the first day of creation, the goddess Eylah created the planet Sor. She sculpted the land, the seas, and the sky, and ensured they would remain in perpetual motion—too slow to behold with the naked eye, but enough to prevent stagnation, for stagnation is death.
On the second day, Eylah made the rivers flow from the mountains to the seas, and weaved the veins of fire and magic which run through the rocks under the ground to feed the elements of life.
Day three saw the first movement of sun, moon, stars, and minor celestial bodies to serve as guides and omens to those with the patience to watch and the wisdom to interpret the intricate patterns they weave across the skies.
The next day, Eylah wandered the bare soil of Sor and sprinkled the seeds of life. This is how she created the fields and forests, and the plants that grow underground or thrive in the waters.
On the fifth day, she breathed life into the land and seas, and animal life came into being. Large and small, hunter and prey, magic and ordinary, each found its place in the goddess’s creation.
The sixth day saw the birth of the Divine Muses of Expression, Seven in total: Mellas for song and melody, Kora for dance and movement, Verbine for poetry and speech, Rafine for painting and craft, Ludira for laughter and satire, Nocine for dreams and prophecy, Memra for memory and history.
On the seventh day, Eylah created the minor deities and great spirits, each with their own purpose to safeguard the natural course of Sor’s development. Amongst them are Yat S’ber the god of death, A’harat the goddess of the afterlife, Rav’ok the trickster, and Vesht’or the seducer.
Mankind came forth on the eighth day, born from the seeds of life Eylah had strewn across Sor on the fourth day. They came into being, male, female and all genders in between, while the goddess was resting. And when Eylah beheld them, she blessed them and called them her children.
On the ninth day, Eylah gave her children the gift of free will, for they were her children, and she wished for them to choose their own paths in life. Yet, in their dreams, she grants them fragments of divine knowledge to help them choose wisely.
Finally, on the tenth day of creation, Eylah set apart a tribe of priests, on whom she bestowed a divine magic and the ability to communicate with her directly, throughout all ages, so the people of Sor would never be alone or without guidance.
Even today, creation stories play an important role in the lives of many people in the real world, too. How do you feel about creation myths? Do you have a favourite?
If you’re a fantasy writer: Do you develop creation myths for your worlds?
Religious Observance
The religious start the first day of New Life by taking a bath—either at home or at a communal bath house—and dressing in clean, preferably new, clothes.
Families gather at home or in nature, depending on the weather, to eat special meals with symbolic food like eggs, nuts and seeds, young greens, citrus fruits, and honey. They spend a leisurely day together, talking, playing games, and sharing stories around the theme of new beginnings.
That evening, just before sunset, believers gather in the temples and houses of prayer to hear a priest recite the Creation Cycle, followed by a short sermon on a single aspect of creation. There’s song and dance, and the service ends with the people going outside, carrying lit torches to light their way home.
During the next seven days of the festival, they continue to enjoy their free time—the schools are closed and most people don’t have to work—and abundant meals featuring more symbolic food.
It’s a time of rest and recuperation. A time for connection and community. A time to shake off the winter blues and prepare for the warmer seasons ahead.
On the tenth day, the Festival ends much like it began: With food, games, music, dance, and storytelling. But the highlight of the day—especially for the children—is the Tree Ceremony, led by the priest, where each family plants a tree in a community orchard.
After the ceremony, each participant—regardless of their personal persuasion—gets a flowering plant in a small container, which they can either plant in their own garden or grow inside their home.
The day ends with a religious gathering in a place of worship, where the priest recites the Divine Verses and contemplates on the responsibilities of the priestly tribes and how their divine connection to the goddess benefits all people.
As on the first day, there’s song and dance, wine flows in abundance and food to satisfy even the greatest appetite. Late that night—often well past midnight—the priest gives every member of the congregation his personal blessing, along with the blessings of Eylah.
Secular Festivities
As more and more people became secular, they developed their own traditions to celebrate New Life, and these activities are just as important as the religious observances, and believers enjoy them just as much as their secular friends and neighbours.
Open-air markets and street performances shake life into even the sleepiest of towns. Clowns, acrobats, musicians, living statues… There's enough to enjoy for everyone, no matter their taste.
Parks and city squares alike turn into living art exhibits with floral sculptures that become more intricate with each new turning (the Sor equivalent of our year). Growth tunnels with interweaving blossoms and vines symbolise the coming of spring.
For young lovers, there is at least one Love Canopy in every village, town, or city. A hidden, heart-shaped tunnel of intertwining flowering vines, where soft melodies answer the lovers’ whispered words, and the blossoms’ colours deepen with their kisses.
After dark, impressive light shows, powered by magic and technology, enchant the people with heroic tales of new beginnings. One new story is brought to life in the ink black sky on each consecutive night of the festival.
Imagine you’re a tourist on Sor, and you arrive just in time for the Festival of New Life. Which parts of the festivities would you enjoy most?
Closing Thoughts
Although the Festival of New Life is no longer a purely religious festival, it remains one of Sor’s four major holidays. It’s a holiday the religious and secular inhabitants of this world can celebrate together, without judgement or prejudice.
There’s room for everyone, and the priest blesses Eylah’s children, regardless of their religious conviction—or lack thereof, with these words:
‘As evening descends, and winter concludes, may Eylah’s light shine upon your future. May your hands be ready to create, your heart open to love, and your spirit attuned to the world’s beauty. May your dreams flourish and grow as nature awakens, and may joy and hope never leave you.
In the name of Eylah, and by the power of her gifts, I bless you—now and in the worlds to come.’
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Love the in world words at the end too. Perfect way to end it off.
Thank you for sharing this, I love getting insight into worldbuilding. This was so dope to read and some of your descriptions were like paintings themselves. Especially the secular activities part. The lovers canopy. Super dope. I hadn’t even thought about holidays and such but I have created my own creation myths for my own world. Super fun.