NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: If at all, that is?

Ariddia is neither a consumer society nor a predominantly Christian one; it has a moneyless economy, and the Christian population is estimated at around 3.2%. These factors would seem to minimise the importance of Christmas. Instead, they've merely redefined it and shifted its focus.

In Ariddia, Christmas (generally called Noël, even by anglophones, or sometimes Ho'el by Wymgani-speakers) is a public holiday, and is generally seen as a day to spend with the family. Christmas is interpreted as a focus on kindness, generosity and goodwill. Non-Christians celebrate it as a secular holiday.

Presents are offered to close family members, and sometimes close friends. Given the lack of a consumer economy, it is customary to give only one present to each person, and that present will generally be something simple with the receiver will value for its symbolic, practical and/or emotional value. Very close family members (and sometimes friends) may receive something hand-made: a painting, a well-drawn picture which has demanded time and effort, a short story written by the giver, a hand-crafted item if the giver is skilled at pottery or woodwork...

Families generally have a Christmas tree, and, in the evening, may put candles in the windows. A Christmas tree will be a fake, re-used every year. Presents are put at the foot of the tree, or hidden within the branches of the tree.

http://img122.imageshack.us/img122/7696/christmastreetbdva2.jpg
a Noël tree in Ariddia

Food has come to play an important function within Christmas traditions. While meals eaten at Christmas may vary, staple foods eaten at any time of on Christmas day include oranges, citrus cake (generally lemon cake or grapefruit cake, sometimes chocolate-and-orange), and biscuits shaped as stars, reindeer and snowmen. Christmas biscuits are very specific, and come in three main varieties: cinnamon, citrus, and usui (from an indigenous plant which tastes a lot like licorice). In addition, lovers and spouses traditionally give each other a dove-shaped marzipan treat.

http://img122.imageshack.us/img122/9348/noelbiscuitsln4.jpg
Noël cinnamon star-shaped biscuits

Young children are taught to believe in "le Père Noël", who brings presents to children who have been good. In exchange, children leave biscuits and fruit juice out for him during the night between December 24th and 25th. Children will, if they are old enough, have gone to the shops themselves to get those biscuits and fruit juice (or will have made them, baking the biscuits and pressing the fruit juice).

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/8903/perenoelgreennp9.jpg
the Ariddian Père Noël

Most urbanised Indigenous Ariddians (Wymgani) celebrate Noël, but a high proportion do not teach their children to believe in the Père Noël. Wymgani living in isolated rural communities, often deep within the virgin forests, tend not to celebrate Christmas.

For practicing Christians, Christmas remains a religious festival, celebrating the birth and teachings of Christ. It is a time to commune with fellow Christians, re-affirm their faith, and emphasise Christ's message of love, harmony, kindness, tolerance and generosity. In addition to church-going, Ariddian Christians follow other Ariddian Christmas traditions, such as spending time with family, exchanging a few (often hand-made) gifts, and sharing and eating traditional Ariddian Christmas foods.

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/4411/christmasmassln8.jpg
Ariddian Christians at Christmas mass

There is never any snow at Christmas: the Ariddian Isles have a semi-tropical climate, and are located in the southern hemisphere.

Ariddian expatriates often try to celebrate Christmas in a similar way to what they would have done "back home". Noël is seen by many expatriates as a way of maintaining a specifically Ariddian cultural tradition.

In West Ariddia and North-West Ariddia, Christmas is celebrated somewhat differently. North-West Ariddia is a hybrid society in economic terms, embracing socialism without outlawing private enterprise. Nonetheless, the consumer aspect of Christmas remains weak, and most Ariddian traditions can be found in North-West Ariddia too. The number of gifts tends to be greater, however. North-West Ariddia is influenced both by Ariddia and by West Ariddia.

http://img122.imageshack.us/img122/4559/christmasaqeyr2tbdif7.jpg
Noël time in Aqeyr, the capital of West Ariddia

In West Ariddia, where consumerism plays a central role in society, Christmas tends to follow the globalised trend. The Père Noël is used in TV commercials and on advertisement billboards. Peppermint-flavoured candy canes, often green and white, are a popular treat (particularly for children) throughout the Noël period; supermarkets begin selling them as early as mid-November, and continue well into January. There is an emphasis on buying and giving presents; very few are hand-made by the giver. Traditional Ariddian Christmas foods are eaten; Christmas foods more specific to West Ariddia include gingerbread, chilled wine, grapefruit pie, roasts and seafood (which would be unthinkable in vegetarian Ariddia). West Ariddia is the only country in the Ariddian Isles where outdoor public Christmas masses are held by Christian churches.

The only area with a substantial Hristian population is the province of Orto Hristian Turkiey with 46% following christianity they call father christmas "Noel Baba" the people seldom show the spirit that is abundant in other nations due to Large islamic populations however even Muslims gift their friends a visit of "goodwill and peace"

In Sorthern Northland the day generally starts with a visit to the local pub/bar, after that street celebrations organised by the ruling Workers' Party of Sorthern Northland are held in every town and city. It should be noted that rather than being celebrations these are often mass rallies in which the people learn how great the government is. Critics might use the words "Communist propaganda". Large amounts of alcohol are consumed here as well. Then after that its home for a meal and a piss up with the family and then a piss up in a brewery if anyone can organise one. It should be noted that Christmas is celebrated mainly as a reason for a few bank holidays rather than any other reason.

Since the government of Lu-Manyara is not concerned with religious associations, it is not widely known exactly how large the Christian population of the country is. However, due to the presence of many foreigners, as well as the fact that some large domestic cooperations require their employees to adhere to the corporation's religious beliefs, polls and research done by many third-party groups have estimated that the nation's offical Christian population is between 7-15%

However, the reality is that many who considered themselves Christian only do so to stay under the employment of some powerful corporations. It is estimated that only about 2-8% of the population actually celebrate Christmas in a traditional and festive fashion.

That being said, corporations do not often spend time on Christmas-themed advertising campaigns as the the extra income during this time (due to the buying of presents) is minimal.

Christmas itself is not wildly recognized by the general populace. The phrase "merry Christmas" or any equivalents are often only seen as banners in office buildings of Christian corporations and as words uttered during Christian gatherings. Those the celebrate are largely tolerated by the general populace,
and their celebrations are rarely even part of everyday discussion. Compound that with the lack of snow and evergreen trees due to Lu-Manyara's maritime climate, and you would find a holiday largely ignored by the mainstream.

We all get roaringly drunk and run down the streets naked.
~Science Advisor Jon Hertzfeldt

Some of us get drunk every day, and some of us run down the streets naked every day. What makes Christmas special, compared to that? Other than everything going all green and red and all the gift-giving and stuff.
~International Trade Advisor Jack Kerrigan

Well, not all of us run down the streets naked at all.
~International Relations Advisor Nadjiba Abd-al-Haqq

And some of us never get drunk.
~Dervish Mullah Kadira ibnat Neelam Alzeshi Tunisiyyatun (Suf'i)

Well, I don't get drunk every day. I was just saying.
~Jack

Don't you think it's a personal matter? Nationally, it may not have much importance than a general time of year where various religions have their equivalent of summer or winter solstice festivals, but even the secularly-named government institution of Winter Holiday owes something to it, no? Even if we are a Muslim plurality.
~Mullah Kadira

I suppose. That'd make broad statements about what's done nationally about it categorically false.
~Jack

*grumble* Didn't we do a public service announcement about this last year, or before that?
~Pseudo-Emperor Julius M Razak

I have already told you that you are still invited to Midwinter Bloodfeast on the Ring, Razak. Do not be such a grinch.
~Supreme Emperor Speaker-Rrit

Still, you'd think someone at least would remember...
~Razak

We do happen to be speaking publically.
~Speaker-Rrit

May I attend?
~Mullah Kadira

I thought that sort of thing'd be too pagan for you.
~Intelligence Advisor Janus Garbo

I've attended them... hmm, religiously since they've started. I've always found things to learn from all forms of glorifying the Divine. You know that. You even know that I attend, because I met you there.
~Mullah Kadira

I must have been drunk at the time.
~Garbo

No you weren't.
~Mullah Kadira

I've got a public image to think of, here. I was totally and completely hammered, and probably atheistically desecrating things.
~Garbo

You may lie, but I won't swear to it. :)
~Mullah Kadira

Your inner Buddha nature suggests you picked the wrong religion.
~Garbo

That's sweet of you, young man.
~Mullah Kadira

Stop trying to wind the Mullah up, Janus. You know it doesn't work.
~Hertzfeldt

Look, you started this by suggesting we all get drunk and run around naked, which isn't anything particularly special by any means.
~Garbo

Well, it's what I do. No one ever invites me to their parties.
~Hertzfeldt

Jon, you can come to mine. There will be copious amounts of alcohol and running around, probably naked.
~Speaker-Rrit

There always is.
~Mullah Kadira

Speaker, you're the best. Careful, Mullah, people will think you're not quite faithful to the doctrine.
~Hertzfeldt

They can think what they wish, and if they get a chuckle out of imagining the quiet little Mullah running around tanked and nude, then at least I've brought them some sort of joy without actually having to do anything. I know what's true and that's all that matters.
~Mullah Kadira

I'm telling you, Buddha nature.
~Garbo

Do we really want to advertise we're this scatterbrained?
~Razak

Everyone can come to my traditional Christmas party if they want.
~Jack

Only if there's drinking and naked running.
~Garbo

There will be lots of eggnog and you can run around naked afterwards if you want.
~Jack

I can't wind you up either, anymore.
~Garbo

I've learned. Hey, where's Lance?
~Jack

Oh, probably getting ready to run military exercises over Winter Holiday. He's not done it for the past few years; he's due.
~Razak

He's a total grinch.
~Hertzfeldt

Now, I'm certain he has his rea--
~Mullah Kadira

Yeah. He's a total--
~Razak

I am going to turn this off now.
~Speaker-Rrit

*click*

Jesus was born here, so most of the time it's more of religious pilgramage in a purer form than the corrupted commercially driven Christmas although Jeruselem is happy to make sure the commercial side works too. We don't get snow, because it's desert here.

(Refer to Modern RL Israel)

In the Empire of Alexandrian Ptolemais, Christmas is still one of the most important holidays and indeed, on Christmas Day itself, the entire Empire comes to a virtual standstill.

The Christmas season tends to begin with the October Reformation Day holiday (October 31). While stores are still legally required to be closed for the morning on this holiday, the afternoon has become known as one of the top five shopping days within the Empire, and plays host to massive pre-Christmas sales. Often, stores remain open until Midnight on this day and people start preparing for the Christmas season. As you probably guessed, Christmas has become somewhat commercialised in the Empire.

The week after the Reformation Day holiday is usually when Christmas decorations start going up. Many firms within the Empire have become sponsors of decoration competitions where people decorate their houses with appropriate decorations and can win prizes. Many streets in the Empire have become famous for their Christmas decorations and people often go to great extents to decorate their houses.

Much of November and the early part of December only sees a steady increase in Christmas decorations and people making their Christmas preparations. Because the Empire is in the Southern Hemisphere, the weather also starts to improve and due to the days getting longer, people start having barbeques and other social get togethers.

Usually the big day where Christmas well and truly begins is the Tuesday before Christmas, nicknamed "bonus day." Many of the major firms and government departments pay bonuses to their employees on this day, and as well, this has traditionally become the day where employees get their backpay (most contracts in the Empire end on Michaelmas, and new contracts are negotiated). That is when commercial activity increases for stores and people realise that it is time to stock up their fridges and purchase their presents.

This year, because Christmas falls on a Tuesday, the weekend before Christmas is what will is traditionally known as "no freight weekend." The name derives from a tradition that Empire Railways needs to use all its rolling stock for passenger runs and cannot run freight trains on that weekend. Christmas, partly because of its linkage with the summer break, is the main time of year in which families take holidays and many families use the rail network to get around. It has been estimated that two billion passengers use services on that weekend alone to get to their points of holiday (a further billion use air services). Extra services often run, and even regular services often consist of trains two to three times their usual length.

For businesses, the big day is traditionally Christmas Eve. Christmas Day and Boxing Day are days where stores are legally mandated to close, and often, trading hours are reduced between Boxing Day and New Years Day, so most people do their last minute Christmas shopping on this evening. In recent years, it has also become known as "Zip-Zap Day," due to the load placed on the telecommunications network through the large number of EFTPOS sales, and the high rate of failure of such networks. Often, shoppers wait in queues up to an hour long at stores and customers are still being processed when stores close at 10pm (another legal requirement).

Christmas Day is typically a quiet day in the Empire. Stores are legally closed, and businesses are not in operation, so most people are either at home or on holiday. The morning typically begins with people attending church services throughout the Empire. People then go home and start preparing for their mid-afternoon lunch, which either consists of traditional fare, or barbeques with lamb and beef being the main meats. People then eat their meals, and it is usually the time when gifts are shared among the population. The last part of the day is after the evening news when the Emperor's Speech is broadcast to the population; it is usually the most watched broadcast in the Empire and marks the beginning of the end of a hectic season. Usually, the Christmas Season ends on the Monday after New Year, when workers return to work and the next year begins.

Being a Roman Catholic nation, we commemorate the birth of Jesus with a bit of Church and some food.

Aye, I know, crazy, eh?

Being a Roman Catholic nation, we commemorate the birth of Jesus with a bit of Church and some food.

Aye, I know, crazy, eh?

OOC: Well, feel free to be a little more specific. Does consumerism influence Christmas to a significant extent? What kind of presents do people give? What rituals, habits and traditions are associated with celebrating Christmas in Casari? See Alexandrian Ptolemais' post, or mine.

Well, Casari, being a Roman Catholic nation, would participate significantly in the four weeks of Advent, with an increase in religious participation.

Unfortunately, there would be a lack of a western Santa Claus tradition, resulting in a lack of any significant gift giving rituals, which, if any occurred, would be through association with Saint Nicholas, who's feast day is on 6 December.

Christmas, being a religious holiday, would also (through the church) present and encourage charitable acts towards less fortunate areas of society during the season, particularly donating money, because that's the way of things.

On Christmas itself, a wide majority of families would go to church for traditional Christmas mass, after which a meal probably nicer than the average family dinner would be served, owing to it being a holiday, but the food more than likely being favorites of that particular family.

So it's not that I was deliberately short, it's just that Christmas is a religious holiday, meaning other than the church and food, there's just not much to it.

Vodka. Lots of Vodka. Though our Christmas is a little different. It's more like winter holidays to celebrate the thaw, and instead of jesus, they kind of worship their former empress. How this started is unclear, but many think it was because of the vodka. The most heard phrase is "Райвлин будет жить."

In Yanitaria, christmas is celebrated as the winter solstice. Shows air on the public broadcasting channels, showing different religions celebrating the same few days for different (or similar) reasons. People get the week off, and generally give presents, but there is almost no religious connotation.

Christmas is no longer celebrated in Nire and Nire. When President Nire seized power 959 years ago (32,004 on the old Calender - that is 32,004 years since the various clans of Nire came together to form the Ancient Realm of Nire) and divided the Kingdom Of Nire into two he issued a Presidential Decree banning all Religious Observance. While there are still some traditional families in the Territory of Nire who observe Christmas in secret these families reduce yearly as Supreme Religious Ruler Nire continues his crusade against his people. Conversely, The Territory of Nire has never had an affection for the Christian Denomination, instead they use the month of December to focus on the important aspects of life - their families and their friends. Little thought is given to gifts or other commercial goods, money and material effects are not considered important by the good people of Nire. The worshipping of false gods is also something they consider appropriate only for lesser peoples.

On Christmas day families are encouraged to attend massive military parades held in local areas. The Erusean military displays a vast majority of its equipment during these shows of force...

In the household, family members exchange gifts and decorate the exteriors and interiors of their households. It is tradition to cut down an evergreen tree and place lights and ornaments on its branches...

Most businesses close on Christmas Day and Eve, but any essential facility is required to stay open by law...

Later, most families prepare a feast for Christmas Day and give thanks for their fortunes, and in a few days they return to their miserable lives in the Glorious Republic...

In The Dominion of Qurastan, "Christmas" is listed as a religious festival, pertaining to a phase of the sun and celebrated by many archaic religions (only Christians call it Christmas). In Qurastan, it does not officially exist, but there is nothing stopping people from celebrating as long as it doesn't interfere with more important matters.

As Tsaraine has never been a Christian nation, and has been officially atheist for centuries until a few decades ago (it is now officially nonreligious), Christianity is not a major religion in the Greater Ascendancy. However, given Tsaraine's vast population, the 4% of the population that is Christian is still over 405 million people. As such, while Christmas is generally a private and not public holiday, in those Tekhati with a large Christian minority (the Ktaiya-Aten, Scheighu, and Sahel Ai) it has been declared a public holiday for their benefit.

As a majority of the Tsarainese Christians are members of the Assyrian Church of the East, Christmas is primarily a religious, rather than secular, holiday. The Christmas tree custom, derived from Germany, is not much in evidence, although some families may erect trees in their homes. Given the generally ascetic and minimalist ethos of the Tsarainese, it is not an occasion for gift-giving and rampant commercialism (which happens instead, in the Rukine tradition, on the spring equinox festival of Herghadt Ktohr and the autumn equinox festival of Zhyuna Ktohr).

As the Zoroastrian Zartosht no-diso falls on the 26th of December, in those Tekhati with a large Zoroastrian minority (the Ktaiya-Aten, Scheighu, Geri II and Freki IV) this is also a public holiday, and forms a two-day holiday in those Tekhati (the Ktaiya-Aten and Scheighu) which hold both. As the Rukine winter solstice festival of Ksandakt Ktohr falls on the 22nd of December, many people take the intervening days off as well in these Tekhati, and hold their winter vacations at this time.

For most people, however, it's just another day off, like the Zoroastrian Gahambars, Jashans, Nouruz, and Khordad Sal, the Islamic Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, Christian Easter, and Sche'dayach Sioch, all of which are locally public holidays in some part of the Ascendancy.

Although the FFSA is a secular progessive nation, our Christmas traditions are strong. It is not a religious holiday, and everyone of every belief is encouraged to participate. Though it isn't rooted in commercialism either, it is simply a day for peace and relaxation.

To help end deforestization and preserve natural habitats, we have small areas for producing trees, free of charge to the people. There is also a long lasting custom of cities gathering the in town center to eat in a day long (vegan) feast. On the night of Christmas, many teens drink and responsibly use drugs. The public transporation system doubles up it's efficiency so everyone can go to see their family on time.

Christmas In The Valerian Empire

The Valerian Empire is a religious nation, so Christmas is a most important holiday for the country's mostly Christian population. Due to the nature of the Valerian economy (which encourages local businesses and smaller independent farmers) and the fact that the Valerian Empire went nearly a century without foreign influence during the Great Isolation (1916 - 1984) the holiday is still religious in nature and lacks the commercialization trend that has occurred in the rest of the world.

In Valeria, Christmas is called Razhdyestvoh Khristosovo (The Birth of Christ), although the name differs in regions due to different languages: it can also be known as Noël (French), Nollaig (Scots Gaelic), Nodalig (Welsh), An Nollaig (Irish), Christi Natalis (Latin), Χριστούγεννα (Khristougenna, in Greek), Jiula (Gothic), Weihnachten (German), クリスマス (Kurisumasu, in Japanese), or Karácsony (Magyar). Valerian Zoroastrians (primarily all of the Persian population of the empire but some ethnic Valerians as well) in the Empire do not celebrate Christmas, but pretty much fashioned after Christmas and to share the holiday's togetherness with Christians due to the fact that the Zartosht no-diso is on the 26th; The Valerian Empire thus makes both days Imperial holidays.

The day is seen as a day to spend with the entire family and to share happiness, goodwill, wealth, and health. If possible, Valerians will group in whole gatherings of an extended family to celebrate the occassion, often meeting at a family member's home who can accommodate the typically large Valerian families. Sometimes close friends are invited as well.

Gifts generally given are something useful or wanted by the receiver; some things are hand-crafted especially coats and paintings. Valerians offer gifts to each other and often accept them gladly due to the religious significance of the holiday; the lack of materialism is due to the example set by Mary and Joseph, who settled for a stable. Couples who are expecting a child are especially respected during this holiday, and are often given something useful for them and their unborn child; usually monetary gifts are lavished upon them alongside material things as a gesture of helping them raise their future son or daughter (again, bringing up the metaphor of Mary and Joesph).

Food eaten at tables differ from region to region, but generally a large goose, duck, turkey, roast, ham, or even in cases deer will be served as the main meat course. Typical ingredients of seasonal foods include berries, oranges, mushrooms, potatoes, and a wide array of spices. Confectionery treats are also popular, such as cinnamon cakes, citrus pastries, fruit blini, and honey biscuits. Drinks include hot milk tea flavored with citrus and honey, sbiten (a warm, spicy honey drink), and usually copious amounts of alcohol. In the warmer parts of the empire, cold milk mixed and flavored with coconut or juice is often the drink of choice as well. Valerians enjoy alcohol with family and friends on both days to celebrate, which has led to the unofficial third 'holiday' on the 27th, what many people refer as "Christ's Hangover Day".

Valerians children grow up learning about Tsar o Razhdyestvoh Khristosovo,which is literally translated as Emperor of the Birth of Christ but can be more realistically and loosely translated as Tsar Christmas; this latter translation into English is often retranslated into Valerian as Tsar Khristmassa, giving him a second name. Tsar Christmas is often regarded as a jovial, devout, red-haired man with a long beard and who wears a colorful caftan. He is believed to come from a distant mystical kingdom on the eve of Christmas. His people are often sad as he leaves on his journey to distant lands to spread the joy of Christ's birth and giving presents to small children who have been good to others and to Christ, but once he returns (the 26th), there is much joy and festivities (this coincides in Valeria with the Zoroastrian holiday). He rides in a winged flying chariot of gold drawn by four majestic brown horses. Valerian children are told to leave out blini-cakes with a drink (sbiten, tea, alcohol, or fruit/vegetable juice) for the tsar, and four carrots, one for each of his horses.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f5/Bilibin_-_The_Tsar%27s_departure_and_farewell.jpg

Tsar o Razhdyestvoh Khristosovo, in the yellow caftan to the right, leaving his kingdom

It is customary for Valerians to attend religious masses on Christmas, and prayer is often included in seasons greetings. Church attendance in The Empire is highest on the Christmas holiday, narrowly beating out Easter (another important Valerian holiday). Often, the priest offers wine to Mary, Joseph, and Christ before sharing the sacramental wine with churchgoers. It is a time for many Valerians to commune with their neighbors and friends, make peace with enemies and rivals, to re-affirm their faith and take in the teachings of Jesus, and to share feelings of love and community with everyone.

The Valerians also decorate fir trees for the holiday. This tradition was imported from the province of Baden, where Germans reside. Originally denounced as 'Catholic nonsense' by Orthodox demagogues in centuries past, this tradition rapidly spread in popularity to all parts of The Empire. Trees are usually imported from the vast fur forest in the empire north of King William's Sea to sell and decorate. Many Valerians have, however, began to plant trees in their yards to use as a permanent decorating tree - many think that buying cut trees is wasteful. This has come to a rise in the selling of living trees that have been raised or uprooted. Some Valerians also keep smaller specimens of these live trees in pots for inside the house. Gifts for children are usually kept underneath the tree after Tsar Christmas was supposed to visit.

There is usually snow in some parts of the empire (especially in the northern areas, which are highlands and often get plentiful quantities of snow), but a significant amount of Valerian territory sees little or no snow. Isangrad, the capital for example, gets little or no snow due to its Mediterranean climate.

Winterval in the Grand Kingdom of Aerion

Winterval is the name of the official holiday in Aerion that is equivalent to Christmas in other nations. It is named such because public life in the Grand Kingdom of Aerion is largely secular, and only Catholics truly celebrate the Christmas holiday. Winterval is not celebrated in unison nor as much in Aerion as Luarora is, the Aerionian Festival of Lights that celebrates the New Year. For some Aerionians, including secular ones, Winterval is a time of gift giving as well as family feasting. Because of the largely capitalist culture of Aerion it is a time of great spending as in some other nations. The goal is seemingly to buy the nicest gift. Some Aerionians put up a New Year Tree (the equivalent of a Yule or Christmas tree), and these are in homes as well as public places. The colors for Winterval are white and silver in Aerion rather than Christmas red and green. Because of ancient traditions, younger children are told that Grandfather Frost brings gifts rather than Santa Claus. Grandfather Frost wears white, and silver. He carries a large staff. He was the ancient Aerionian personification of winter as an old man who would save people's lives in the cold, and bring gifts of food to people starving in the cold mountains. His chariot is pulled by four white wolves, though in modern times this has turned into four white reindeer pulling a sleigh to mimic other culture's traditions. The ancient Aerionian Winter Queen or Ice Queen, the evil daughter of Grandfather Frost is also told about as a tale to keep children in line, as it is said she kidnaps or freezes children who misbehave or that simply cross her path.

Aerionians do not normally take off from work for Winterval unless they have children, or are Catholics celebrating Christmas. Government offices are normally closed for three days usually including Christmas day during Winterval. Rather than being centered on one particular day Winterval activities may take place any time during the last week of December. Some corporations do make it a corporate holiday, and executives are more likely to get it off as a holiday.

Catholics celebrate Christmas, but the many Quakers in Aerion do not really celebrate such holidays. For the Buddhists Winterval is largely overshadowed by Bodhi Day, the day of Buddha's enlightenment under the Bodhi tree on December 8th for the Buddhists in Aerion. The Makan Buddhists particularly tend to recognize Bodhi Day more than Winterval. Many Buddhists with children still celebrate Winterval.

In Aerionian tribal religion the Winter Solstice was called Asverays and was largely only recognized by northern Aerionian tribes. It was more of a time of religious rituals intended to honor Abesharath the sun god. It was actually believed by the northern tribes, and some other tribes that Abesharath slept longer during the winter and must be reminded by loud noises that his followers still see him. Huge bonfires would be lit by many tribes, and depending on the tribe an animal may be sacrificed. Various other rituals varied from tribe to tribe.

An interesting ancient northern Aerionian tradition is that of the Ice Queen or Winter Queen. She is a spirit similar to the Irish banshee in some stories. In some tribal traditions she is the evil daughter of Grandfather Frost that roams the mountains of northern Aerion. She would let out a loud shrill scream at the homes of those who were about to pass away. If she passes someone caught out in a winter storm she will touch them, and freeze them eternally. She is also said to kidnap bad children. Her minions are mountain goatmen who will seek out the naughty children, and bring them to her.


http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c193/athell/Vessela_Ice5web.jpg
A festival goer dressed as the Ice Queen

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c193/athell/NSRoleplay/rf-mammoth.jpg
A man dressed as the more traditional Grandfather Frost

Christmas is effectively just the biggest of several major early-winter festivals in Kura-Pelland, and it is now effectively common practice to refer to all of these (starting with Diwali and ending with Twelfth Night, with several religious and secular festivals in between) as the Shiny Season, owing to the predominance of light in many of these festivals.

In some rural areas - particularly in the region of Sudesti - Christmas is celebrated in a largely traditional fashion. In urban areas, it has become increasingly commercialised; although businesses are loathe to place so much pressure on just a few trading weeks, the Shiny Season is becoming ever more important for them.

As in the UK, sales traditionally start on December 26, which is referred to as 'Cramming Day' after the crowds that form in shops that day. A recent tradition is for savvy shoppers to distribute Christmas gifts on Epiphany, buying all their goods on or after Cramming Day. As a result of this and the growing trend in gift vouchers as Christmas presents, Cramming Day has become even more congested, and is busier than any one pre-Christmas shopping day - with greatly extended opening hours to serve the crowds.

Houses are frequently elaborately decorated for the season, primarily with lights inside and out. A tree is also usually present; these are generally fake, and decorated mostly with baubles and tinsel. In small flats, it has become extremely popular to have a modestly-sized tree with fibre-optic lighting and no other decorations; this trend is extending to larger houses, particularly in western cities.

The Taraskovyan Empire

The Dates

Whilst the Taraskovyan State lives and functions according to a local version of the Gregorian calendar (months and days remain the same, albeit Year 0 is that of the end of the Strife, Taraskovya is in the Year 1152 After Strife*), the Taraskovyan Church, which counts around 80% of the Imperial population amongst its faithful, still respects the Julianic Calendar.

As such, Christmas in the Taraskovyan Empire falls on the Gregorian 7th of January and is an official Imperial holiday and a day off Empire-wide. The date of the 7th of January is also abided by the Byzantine Taraskovyan Catholic Church (Eastern Rite Catholic congregation).

The Gregorian date of the 25th of December is celebrated by the Roman Catholic minority, the Utharian Reformed Church (Fiefdoms of Uthar, Southern Cardinia and Vyshna), the Lutheran Church of Sortavala (Grand Duchy of Sortavala), various minor western-style (catholic and protestant) Christian congregations on Atlantic Island (which nevertheless when stacked together make up the majority of the archipelago's population). Unlike the 7th of January, the 25th of December is not a national public holiday, albeit regional legislation does foresee days off for some sectors of the work force that is subject to regional labour regulations.

The Celebrations

Secular: Non-Christians, non-Julianic Christians, etc

The Taraskovyan Empire, due to its wide sprawl and ethnic diversity, has a number of regions where Christianity is either a minority or even not present at all. Such territories include, for the most blatant examples, the United Provinces of Tavaroth, the Handalar Lordships, the Province of Upper Cimmeria (part of Nyi-Gardarika). The first is itself a very ethnically mixed region with a multitude of local faiths and cults, whilst the second is ethnically "homogenous", being inhabited by a couple branches of the Tarathian (Taraskath) people, and, thus, is an almost exclusive domain of the Church of the Seven Deities (ancestral Taraskath faith). The third is populated by ethnic Kajalis and they are not very Christian from what information I have at this very moment.

In these two regions, the 7th of January is just an opportunity to get drunk and celebrate, without any religious undertones. There is no gift giving (gifts are for New Year, which is January the 1st), no church going. People usually profit from the day to lazy in bed after previous night's heavy drinking and partying "just because the Empire does".

It should be noted that non-Christians, as well as agnostics and atheists throughout the Empire usually celebrate the secular Christmas on the 7th of January. The 7th of January is also celebrated in a secular way by the Christians who abide by the Gregorian calendar and, thus, celebrate on the 25th of December.

Religious: Orthodox faithful

The wide majority of the population celebrates Christmas in a religious manner on the eve of the 7th of January. More shall come a tad later.

- - - - - -

[OOC:

* Please note, that the Year 1152 A.S. does not equal to the year 2007 A.D. It is a flexible reference which concerns Taraskovya only and can stand just as much for the year 2007 A.D. as the year 3007 A.D. and, believe it or not, avoids me quite a few headaches when interacting with other people. ]

In Belkaros, Christmas is one of the most celebrated holidays. Since Christianity is one of the few faiths accepted by the People's Church of Belkaros, and over 70% of Belkans are Christians, the holiday warrants recognition. Mundus square is turned into a giant Christmas party, with free food and live music. Cities and towns across the nation are decorated. Every year, 'Santa Claus' and the Emperor shake hands as Emperor Mundus I lights the gigantic tree in front of the Imperial Palace. The Emperor then sings Christmas songs (surprisingly well) with a band of the nation's best student musicians. Almost all government activity stops and all workers and most military personell recieve a 3 day leave of absence. National pride climbs from 75% to 83%, and all of Belkaros has a merry Christmas.

Culturally, Candelaria And Marquez takes most of its general attitude to festivals and whatnot from its British origins, and coupled with the islands’ temperate climate many of those traditions have been either retained or adopted in reverence to those emerging more recently in the ‘mother country’.

However, C&M is by nature an institutionally secular republic and the public show year-on-year an increasingly ambivalent attitude to religious festivals, with even those happy to describe themselves as Christian frequently choosing to reject what they see as the unbearable tweeness of the season. Equally, the Candelarias have remained comparatively free of the commercialisation that has come to affect these events elsewhere in the west, further decreasing Christmas’ status in the islands. Meanwhile, the increased religiosity of what might be thought of as the hardcore Christian population has seen them attach greater importance to other events, most notable Easter. In the cities, non-Christian festivals are often given as much, if nor more, public attention and certainly receive greater funding by most local councils. It’s all very Winterval.

All this said, Christmas Day remains firmly entrenched in the calendar as a public holiday and is seen as representing the start of winter and the festive period. For climatic reasons, the early part of January has long been considered something of a write-off work- and schooling-wise, and is the time when much of the country’s vast public transport networks and altered and relayed. Early February, for the record, is home to nearly 40% of all train derailments in the year.

Christmas retains far more significance in Hispanic Marquez; both as a religious festival where regular church-going is practically compulsory, and as a community event. Visitors to Marquez in December may well spot Spanish-speaking areas long before they notice the darker faces, owing to the heavy use of lights bedecking houses and public areas throughout the month. Post-civil war austerity meant that the tradition has been slow to catch on among the Anglophone majority, though the major cities in Candelaria appear increasingly colourful as the economy bumbles along merrily. It remains unusual for individual houses to be dressed up in this manner however, with even Christmas Trees being seen as an odd, foreign notion.

Hispanic children do not generally receive their presents until early January, where there remains a cultural divide between those who celebrate the involvement thereof of the three wise men, and those who ‘worship’ Papé Noél. Whichever, Santa Claus never receives a mention, being seen across the islands as an uncouth New Worldism.

Marquez is also the place one would be most likely to see nativity scenes in open spaces and in house windows. These almost invariably include a man squatting down for a shit, not that C&M’s Latinos are especially Catalan in origin. But why wouldn’t you include the little fella, if you could?

The Advent period is seldom considered overly important across the secular remainder of the country, and there is similarly relatively little other hype for the big day. Ghastly Christmas songs do rear their heads on the radio, but most of these are domestic creations usually – and utterly inexplicably – involving bagpipes. Most families and individuals send cards to all and sundry, but the difficulties of movement in this period and the transient nature of C&M’s population of late means that Christmas is not viewed as a time for the extended family to get together – that unpleasantness is usually reserved for Easter.

Rather, Christmas Day morning is seen as a time for the nuclear family, where the children are given presents and the results of several months’ knittery is compared and contrasted. Gifts are seldom exchanged between adults even within families, and the swapping of money or vouchers is considered particularly daft. Even children seldom receive particularly expensive items, with birthdays taking a rather more important mantle. Again this is partly for mid-twentieth century reasons, with people instead resolving to give gifts as and when they feel it appropriate throughout the year.

Depending on the weather, Christmas Day afternoon is reserved for community events, with particular emphasis placed by many on involving people without children or whose offspring have moved away. Snow-related activities are common, but with Christmas Days invariably wet and miserable these days, indoor activities have risen in popularity with oddly psychedelic nativity plays and vast lunches put on. The main nation television network, TV1, was one of the first in the world to experiment with genuinely ‘interactive’ viewing in the early eighties, with neighbourhoods around the country joining in in vast ‘board games’ reminiscent of those which still provide Candelariasians with a peculiarly large among of entertainment year-round. For many families who choose to stay away from communal activities, such games still provide a merry way to while away Christmas afternoon, with new rulebooks devoured and arguments over complez rules nourished by shortbread. More Candelariasian children per capita are rushed to hospital after choking on plastic playing counters than in any country in the world, it is believed.

Christmas Day early evening is usually the point when people attempt, and generally fail, to set up newly-bought household electrical appliances. This is before the Christmas dinner; usually prepared by the whole family and consisted of foodstuffs that the home’s inhabitants actually like, rather than what is merely traditional.

A word or two is worth reserving for the matter of Father Christmas, since the jolly fat man has provided a major bone of contention between liberals and, if you will, Liberals in C&M in recent years. The matter came to a head in 2001, when a group of parents in Caires took out an injunction on their children’s school prohibiting teachers from teaching Father Christmas as a matter of impeachable fact. The case was widely reported at the time, but mocked in only a smattering of papers with much of the left-wing press in sympathy with the parents over their unease in lying to their offspring over this kind of mythology, and the right-wing Christian papers realising that what with one thing and another they’d be on shaky ground complaining about the whole thing. 2002 advice issued for teachers by the Ministry of Education advised them to treat children who still believed in Father Christmas with the same patronising spirit of tolerance as towards those who still believed in the whole ‘Jesus’ thing.

Most Candelariasians find private, never mind public, drunkenness anathema; and drink is not consumed over the period to any obviously greater degree than the rest of the year. A notable exception occurs in the Irish Street district of Albrecht; where the mixed Caribbean, Gaelic-speaking Irish, Sorthern Northandish, students and bohemian artists and writers attend Mass and so forth of a morning before getting thoroughly sloshed for most of the rest of the day.

As a mainly Pastafarian nation (see http://www.venganza.org/.), Muffleberry does not celebrate christmas. But around this time of year when the strong northern gales batter the houses and the flat shrub land is covered in 12m of snow, many an evening can be spent drinking BEER and eating spaghetti by the warm log fire of the local pub!

In Komekong there is no religion. Teh christmas is therefore not even called christmas, but "The National holiday of mid-winter" or in short Tenahom. During Tenahom, The Company let all it's workers have a free day, except a few. These few are the onses that will take care of the feast, small ready portions of food is handled to all inhabitants of Komekong. After that, the population goes home and give eachother gifts they've bought from The Company's shops. Later, one of the familymembers play the inof (a sort of violin) and the rest dances to the music. Of course, everbody drinks a lot, while singing Tenahom songs and playing games. Du to that, the next day all will start work after noon, because The Company have noticed that workers work very bad the morning after wild drinking.

Of course, the farmers doesn't celebrate Tenahom. The farmers never have a day-off from producing food for The Company.

The Dynasty of Li Yi has many religions. The nation as a whole doesn't support Christmas, but several areas in The Dynasty that have large numbers of Christians do. There is some gift-giving, but it's generally more spiritual than consumer.

by BATTLE!!! Hooah!

y'mean there are other ways to celebrate?

how's Christmas different than other holidays?

how's Christmas different than other holidays?

OOC: That's what I'm asking you. ;)

As Valanora has a relatively small Christian population (1.3% at the latest census), the holiday itself is not celebrated. However, the last two weeks of the year, as well as New Years day are a constant festival inside the elven portion of the country. The "Festival of Harmony" as it is called, celebrates the transition from ending to beginning and how life is made anew. Families and close friends give each other small gifts, such as a tool or hand made toy, on each day leading up to the New Year, and then a large gift, like an instrument or collection of books, to a single certain person on the day of the New Year. Food served in the fesitval usually consists of large groups of fruits, such as apples, oranges, grapes, and strawberries, as well as no meat being eaten until the traditional deer stew on New Years eve. As is custom on every other day of the year, there is at least one bottle of wine present for every meal, with the best wine in the cellar being highly recommended for the New Year's eve meal. The entire country is given holiday for the festival, which essentially has the country shut down for those two weeks, apart from high government and military officials, who are only given the last week off.

OOC This is a puppet of Jeruselem, and Jeru FC is technically not a nation but the Jeruselem army

Jeru FC spends Christmas much like the most of the Jeruselem population but with the married members of army conforming to the societal norms. Single guys on the other hand tend to act like idiots, get drunk at parties and chase loose women around. Around Christmas time, not a lot happens in the army it is the only time all the army get some respite from their training and duties.

The Community of Ninjaneers has a fairly large Christian population, and focuses on spending time with family during Christmastime. Work hours are cut in half, and children spend half the day at home as well. Everyone can have this time off, regardless of religious affiliations. Commercialism is frowned upon even more than usual this time of year. A tradition of giving fresh picked fruit from our lush forests as presents has been growing in popularity. During the week of Christmas, fairs and festivities abound across Ninjaneer territory. Activities include hay rides through the snow, nightly dances, free candy cane ice cream cones, hugging parties and family photos taken in front of our 25' tall town Christmas tree.

;)

Although it probably was the case in the past, not many people in Kelssek celebrate Christmas primarily as a religious holiday any more, though for many it is one of the two occasions they go to church per year. While many of the traditions such as gift-giving and putting up trees remain, it has simply become an excuse for a party, or perhaps for parents to guilt-trip their grown-up children into visiting.

Most of the Indonesian States' citizens are Muslim, so there is almost no religious part during Christmas. Most of the 12 percent of Christians are Dutch Protestants. Since there is much Dutch Influence, Santa Claus is named Sinter Klas. Most people (except for strict Muslims) go to the many shopping malls to buy presents, fake Christmas trees, and so on. There are no Santa's in the shopping malls for the Indonesian children know better that beleiving a man who lived near 500 years in the North Pole, not to mention him coming to a tropical climate with a gigantic red jacket and a weird-looking hat.

Christmas in Maraque is completely secular in nature and holds no religious background. It is known as "Appreciation Day," and it is a time when family and friends get together early in the morning and have a very big feast for breakfast, then give each other gifts as a sign of love and appreciation for one another.

It is believed in Maraque that, given the fact there are barely any chimneys in the average house, that "Santa" yields an unimaginable power and actually appears inside the living room where the Christmas tree is, and lays the presents underneath from a bag of never ending presents. His sleigh is pulled by 15 white horses with golden hooves.

Children may leave a triple layer chocolate cake and a glass of milk on a table nearby for Santa. It's not currently known why Maraquean children traditionally leave a triple layer chocolate cake as opposed to a plate of cookies.

The Christmas tree itself is normally never below 12 ft high, as most households in Maraque have very tall ceilings and the taller the tree, the better presents Santa shall bring the children. It is usually decorated with glass bulbs of gold or white, and lights of gold or white. A light tensile is usually laid upon it, with bows and other ornaments. A giant bow, star, or fake candle is placed upon the top and will almost definitely have lights of some sort, which shall always be on until January 1st of the next year. The tree must always be real.

Christmas in St Samuel, has two origins: the familiar traditions of Christianity blended with the pagan traditions predating the Christmas era. The greatest feast of the ancient Roman Empire, "Saturnalia" (a winter solstice celebration), just happens to coincide with the Christmas celebrations of the Advent. Consequently, Christmas fairs, merry-making and torch processions, honor not only the birth of Christ, but also the birth of the "Unconquered Sun." "Natale," the Italian word for Christmas, is literally the translation for "birthday."

A delightful, but rapidly disappearing tradition in St Samuel, is the ushering in of the coming festivities by the "Piferari" or fifers. They descend from the mountains playing inviting and characteristic tunes on their bagpipes, filling the air with anticipation for the joyous celebration to come.

Christmas Eve is a time for viewing St Samuel's artistic and elaborate manger scenes or Cribs. They consist of figurines, in clay or plaster , of the infant Jesus, Mary and Joseph. An ox and ass are nearby because legend has it that they warmed the child with their breath. It is around this basic focal point that individual artisans create their own intricate landscapes. There may be grottoes, small trees, lakes, rivers, the lights of "Bethlehem" in the background, angels hung from wires, and occasionally, even local heroes. The most beautiful Cribs are set up in churches. There is often a contest between churches of the same town for the best Crib. People go from church to church to view and compare the Cribs and displays.

Another tradition is the burning of the Yule log, which must stay alight until New Year's Day. This, again, is an example of pagan and Christian blending. The pagan belief explains the purifying and revitalizing power of fire, and that with the burning log, the old year and its evils are destroyed. Christian legend tells how the Virgin Mary enters the homes of the humble at midnight while the people are away at Midnight Mass and warms her newborn child before the blazing log.

Amidst the general merrymaking and religious observance of Christmas Eve, Christmas tapers (long slender candles) are lighted and a Christmas banquet is spread. In some places, Christmas Eve dinner consists largely of fish. There may be as many as 10 to 20 fish dishes prepared.

Common throughout St Samuel are the Christmas sweets: "panettone" (cake filled with candied fruit), "torrone" (nougat) and "panforte" (gingerbread) made with hazelnuts, honey and almonds. All Christmas sweets, as a rule, contain nuts and almonds. Peasant folklore theorizes that to eat nuts favors the fertility of the earth and aids in the increase of flocks and family. In ancient times, honey was offered at this time of year so that the new year might be sweet.

On Christmas Eve, Samuelonian children set out their shoes for Santa Claus, to fill with gifts of all kinds like toys, candies and fruit. If the children were good, their shoes would be filled on Christmas morning. If they were bad, they would find their shoes filled with coal.

Giorno di ringraziare (Boxing day) is an important religous day across St Samuel with families across the country getting up early and going to church, to celebrate the life of Christ. It is also customary to donate food, clothing and money to charity. At mid day large processions are led througout the streets by priests, with children carrying candles, and females carrying food which is handed out amongst the crowd.

In the Dominion of Multitanna (currently classfied, unfairly I might add, an Anarchy by the UN. We have a government, just not laws) Christmas is celebrated according to however the individual wants and whenever the individual wants.

52% of the celebrating population celebrate from May 1st to September 1st. The main reason given for this in surveys is that cold weather is not conducive or appropriate for a joyful holiday (the Dominion is in the Northern Hemisphere). Around a third celebrate from September 2nd to October 30th. The most prevalent reason is to celebrate will the trees are pretty and to get in Christmas before Halloween (a national holiday which is notably the only holiday in Multitanna with a widely accepted set date every year). About 11% celebrate on March 14th, making this date the single largest date for Christmas celebration of any day in the year. Thus far, no survey has been able to find an answer (definite or indefinite) as to why this is the case. Only, .13% celebrate on December 25th and the vast majority of this group vote for the Biblical Law and Order Party (which has never gotten a seat in either house of the legislature or and its presidential canidate received less than 1% of the vote).

How Christmas is celebrated is as varied as the dates it is celebrated on. A favorite tradition among summertime celebraters is the barbeque/sniper competition (with the most often target being the national animal, the lemming, as of right now no animal rights or gun control laws exist in Multitanna). Another major traditions among some groups is to have large paintball matches (the people of Multitanna are not known for their peacefulness). Other popular traditions include giving oneself presents or telling people you don't like how you REALLY feel about them. Drug use spikes with all traditions during Christmas time (all drugs are legal in Multitanna). About 2% of the celebrating population tends to exchange gifts and they are exclusively among celebrators of the March 14th date. The December 25th celebrators normally do the best they possibly can to avoid anything similar to fun.

An odd aspect of Multitanna's celebration of Christams is that the nation is made up of 56% atheists and only 10% are Christians.

With a riot. Any occasion is good start a riot, and Vespertilians know how to capitalise on it. Also, a certain number of churches is annually burned by the satanists. On the Christmas Eve, Battle Pope, The Primate of Vespertilia (the official leader of Romanian Catholic Church in Vespertilia) blesses all believers and urges them to go and hunt any non-believers they can find.
During Advent, Carol singers roam the country, being somewhat of a singing guns-for-hire. There are also troupes of journeying actors, playing Biblical scenes such as Samson pwning the Philistines, or St Joseph cleaning the drinking den which was Bethlehem's stable guns a-blazing to make a room for Mary.
Chrismas trees are common, and after Christmas, on 6th of January (a day which is traditionally called "Day of Three Kings") all of them are burned at a huge stake, with everyone dancing and singing a traditional song "Go to Hell, you evergreen bastards!". Some Vespertilians, however, find this custom distasteful, as lots of healthy trees are annually wasted, and instead prefer to feast with symbolic bonfire.
One tradition unique to Vespertilia is the sharing the "oplatek", a thin wafer into which is pressed a holy picture. People once carried these oplatek from house to house to wish their neighbors a Merry Christmas while secretly poisoning them. Nowadays, the bread is mostly shared with members of the family and immediate neighbors (traditionally it is not eaten then).

Christianity was only introduced to Snefaldia at the end of the 18th century during a period of unification, and thusly the holiday of Christmas has no historical background in the Mountain States beyond the implementation of a Mass for the Snefaldian Catholic Church.

However, there is a Midwinter holiday, also called the Winter Solstice Festival, that is held either on the 21st or 22nd of December. In Sring Issa , Dayan, and Neer Dal the time is celebrated with community events, village feasts and dances, and religious ceremonies. The holiday is a sort of continuation of the Golden Harvest holidays of October, with a more religious and spiritual, with an emphasis on community/family ties and spiritual reverence.

The day begins early, around 7:00, with families waking to cook breakfast and make offerings to the house spirits. The extended family is the basic unit in Snefaldia, but in some villages larger kinship groups gather for traditional breakfasts, which vary according to region. In Sring Issa and Neer Dal, where snow is more common and the weather colder, people go out and about around the village and neighbourhood, greeting and wishing a happy winter to everyone they meet. In Sring Issa, this practice is called Satash, and involves the giving of a small trinket to married couples, usually made by hand.

In rural Dayan, men will go down to the river to fish through the ice and hunt game in the rushes, while the women begin the baking for the evening feast. In Neer Dal each a branch is cut from the village's sacred Great White Cedar for the sacred bonfire, and in rural Sring Issa three men are chosen for a sacred hunt- they are charged with bringing back either a stag, a cave bear, or a sabrecat for the evening festivities.

Roughly around 3:00 villagers break out the traditional alcoholic beverages and music begins to play.

The practice of gift-giving is only common in northern Sring Issa, but in smaller villages across the country a communal fest is held where every person contributes food for the village. After the sun sets, large fires are lit and local bands play songs while people dance. Depending on where one lives and weather at the time, the festivities may be held inside or out.

The dancing and singing usually lasts until midnight, when the religious phase begins and the villagers light torches and take offerings of food to the village and family altars. In Dayan, the offerings are usually round cakes of sugar and corn called Ta'pry, while in Sring Issa a fruitcake-like dish called Gutsha is offered. Things differ slightly in Neer Dal, where offerings are made to the ancestral trees in the form of a sweet baked bread called lammäs, made with honey and flour and wrapped with a red ribbon.

* * *

In the large cities, more international and consumer-based celebrations are common, with Christmas trees becoming increasingly popular, along with Santa Claus-figures. Traditional Snefaldian practices are still dominant.

Midwinter is not celebrated in Allasha or Bae, which do not have the same temperate climate or seasonal cycle as the other three regions.

Gneissica, a Theocracy, Chistmas is one of our Major holiday coming close on the Heels of Chaunuka, and Revolution Day. The Commerialism of Most Countries is banned here, as is the idolatry of "Santa" and other greed based idols. As with all national holidays, there is the "National Dinner" a nation wide feast, where the National Animal The Water-Fearing Platypus is the traditional meal. Presided over by the Holy Emperor all citizens of the country are invited to attend.

Gneissica is not a classic Christian country, in that it accepts tradtions from many religions, and celebrates many holidays of Christianity, Judiasm, Buddism, Islam, and other religions.

In Dyelli Beybi, Christmas is celebrated by crucifying foreign devils who spread their evil foreign ways throughout the world. We must maintain our racial purity. Allahu ackbar!

We often have big parties around Christmas. However, it's also a common time for conflicts, since we have large numbers of both Christians and Muslims, including too many extremists in both religions.

They don't.

:o

In the commonwealth of Cycolar, Christmas is considered one of the most important dates of the year, as it is in most countries. The population has a highly Haring (very like Catholic faith except with a few seperate beleifs)percent, Christmas is symnomous for "Joy" and "Food" Cycolians, though in a very warm climate, always spend all of Christmas day outside. The island's "Father Christmas" leaves gifts wrapped in bamboo for children on the shorelines. Shortly after the gifts are opened, a parade procession leads down the shore, going for up to 3 miles. Extravegant floats and shows adjorne the exciting parade. Once the procession comes to a stop, everyone meets inside the nearest town centre and feats on many foods, including pheasant, wild pig, Turkey and the ever favorite cherry jubilee.:cool:

In Vampmyre Christmas is more or less not celebrated, the only Christians that arrive in our nation seem to disappear over night, we do have a bloodletting ceremony though, at around the time of your Christmas. Everyone gives a little of their blood to charity and the streets are painted red and gold.

Christmas is celebrated on 7 January, for the grand majority of Adygeans, in keeping with Orthodox tradition. This is generally accepted by even Roman Catholics and Protestants, who are not generally given special treatment in December for breaks, who either have decided to have their Christmas in December and have a break later, or have decided to put off Christmas until it is expedient to celebrate it (that is, on the 7th of the next month). There's some amount of disagreement over how it should be handled, or whether the government (this view is mostly advocated by Communists) should declare a non-religious holiday somewhere in the middle. Softer socialists suggest the implementation of two government-mandated holidays, on the 25th and 7th, to accommodate both parties. The Our Adygea movement, which is mostly Eastern Orthodox and strongly anti-Marxist, has opposed both measures.

Since I'm lazy, and I don't want to put you to sleep, imagine a regular Eastern Orthodox Christmas, with just as much traditional bent as you'd expect from a Eurasian nation.

The Archregimancy is a nation of Orthodox Christian monks [ooc: modelled loosely on Mount Athos, but with several billion monks], and therefore the Nativity of our Lord and Saviour is of major importance.

The services around the Nativity are as follows:

The Nativity Cycle
The monks begin the celebration of the Nativity of Christ (December 25) with a time of preparation. Forty days before the feast of the birth of Our Lord they enter the period of the Christmas Fast, to purify both soul and body to enter properly into and partake of the great spiritual reality of Christ's Coming.

This fasting season does not constitute the intense liturgical season that is characteristic of Great Lent, rather, Christmas Lent is more of an "ascetical" rather than "liturgical" nature. Nevertheless, the Christmas fasting season is reflected in the life of the Church in a number of liturgical notes that announce the coming feast.

Within the forty days preparation the theme of the approaching Nativity is introduced in the services and liturgical commemorations, little by little. If the beginning of the fast on November 15 is not liturgically marked by any hymn, five days later, on the eve of the Feast of the Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple, the monks of the Archregimancy hear the first announcement from the nine "Irmoi" of the Christmas Canon:

"Christ is born, glorify Him!"

With these words something changes in their lives, in the very air they breathe, in the entire mood of the Church's life. It is as if the monks perceive far, far away, the first light of the greatest possible joy -- the coming of God into His world! Thus the Church announces the coming of Christ, the Incarnation of God, His entrance into the world for its salvation.

Then, on the two Sundays preceding Christmas, the Church commemorates the Forefathers and the Fathers: the prophets and the Saints of the Old Testament who prepared that coming, who made history itself into the expectation, the waiting for, the salvation and reconciliation of mankind with God.

Finally, on December 20th, the church begins the Forefeast of the Nativity, whose liturgical structure is similar to the Holy week preceding Pascha -- for the birth of the Son of God as child is the beginning of the saving ministry which will lead Him, for the sake of our salvation, to the ultimate sacrifice of the Cross.

The Eve of the Nativity
The liturgical services of December 24th, the Eve of the Nativity, are:

The Hours
Vespers,
and
The Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great.

Coming at the end of the Forefeast, and indeed of the entire "Advent," the Hours summarise all the themes of the feast and make them into a last and solemn announcement. In the special Psalms, hymns and biblical readings prescribed for each hour, the joy and power of Christ's Coming are proclaimed. It is one last meditation on the cosmical meaning of the Nativity, on the decisive and radical change it performed in the entire creation.

Vespers, which usually follows the Hours, inaugurates the celebration of the feast itself, for, as all monks know, the liturgical day begins in the evening. The tone of this celebration is given by the five stichera on "Lord, I call...." What they really are is an explosion of joy for the gift of Christ's Incarnation which is now fulfilled! Eight biblical readings show that Christ is the fulfillment of all prophecies, that His Kingdom is the Kingdom "of all ages," that all human history finds its meaning in it, and the entire cosmos its centre.

The Liturgy of St. Basil which follows Vespers was in the past the baptismal liturgy at which catechumens were baptised, chrismated and integrated into the Church, the Body of Christ. The double joy of the feast, for the newly-baptised and other members of the Church, is reflected in the prokeimenon of the day:

"The Lord said to me:
Thou art my son, this day have I begotten Thee. Ask of me, and I shall give Thee the nations for Thine inheritance, and the ends of the earth as Thy possession. "

Then, at the end of the Liturgy, the celebrant, taking a lighted candle to the very centre of the Church, and surrounded by the entire congregation, intones the Troparion and kontakion of the feast:

"Thy Nativity, O Christ our God,
Has shone to the world the light of wisdom.
For by it, those who worshipped the stars
Were taught by a star to adore Thee, The Sun of Righteousness,
And to know Thee, the Orient from on high.
O Lord, glory to Thee!"

The Vigil and the Liturgy
Since Vespers of the feast already have been celebrated, the Vigil begins with Great Compline and the joyful proclamation from Isaiah "God is with us!" The order of Matins is that of a great feast. Now, for the first time, the full Canon "Christ is born," one of the most beautiful canons in Orthodox worship, is sung while the faithful venerate the icon of Christ's Nativity. The Praises follow, summarising the joy and themes of the entire feast:

"Make glad, O you righteous!
Greatly rejoice, O heavens!
Dance for joy, O mountains; for Christ is born!
The virgin has become like the cherubic throne.
She carries at her bosom God the Word, made flesh.
Shepherds glorify the newborn child.
Wise men offer the master gifts.
Angels praise Him and sing:
O Lord, past understanding, glory to Thee!"

Concluding the celebration of the Nativity of Christ is the Liturgy of the day itself with its festal antiphons proclaiming: ...

"The Lord will send Thee the sceptre of power from Zion:
"Rule in the midst of Thine enemies."
With Thee is dominion on the day of Thy birth, in the radiance of holiness".

The Post-feast
On the second day of the feast, the Synaxis of the Theotokos is celebrated. Combining the hymns of the Nativity with those celebrating the Mother of God, the Church points to Mary as the one through whom the Incarnation was made possible. His humanity -- concretely and historically -- is the humanity He received from Mary. His Body is, first of all, her body, His life is her life. This feast, the assembly in honour of the Theotokos, is probably the most ancient feast of Mary in the Christian tradition, the very beginning of her veneration by the Church.

Six days of post-feast bring the Christmas season to a close on December 31, At the services of all these days, the Church repeats the hymns and songs glorifying Christ's Incarnation, reminding all monks that the source and the foundation of our salvation is only to be found in the One who, as God before the ages, came into this world and for our sake was "born as a little Child."

Monks in the Archregimancy are particularly fond of reciting the Nativity sermon of St. John Chrysostom at this time of year:

"I behold a new and wondrous mystery!
My ears resound to the shepherd's song, piping no soft melody, but loudly chanting a heavenly hymn!

The angels sing!

The archangels blend their voices in harmony!

The cherubim resound their joyful praise!

The Seraphim exalt His glory!

All join to praise this holy feast, beholding the Godhead herein... on earth and man in heaven. He who is above now, for our salvation, dwells here below; and we, who were lowly, are exalted by divine mercy!

Today Bethlehem resembles heaven, hearing from the stars the singing of angelic voices and, in place of the sun, witnessing the rising of the Sun of Justice!

Ask not how this is accomplished, for where God wills, the order of nature is overturned. For He willed He had the powers He descended. He saved. All things move in obedience to God.

Today He Who Is, is born ! And He Who Is becomes what He was not! For when He was God, He became man-while not relinquishing the Godhead that is His...

And so the kings have come, and they have seen the heavenly King that has come upon the earth, not bringing with Him angels, nor archangels, nor thrones, nor dominions, nor powers, nor principalities, but, treading a new and solitary path, He has come forth from a spotless womb.

Yet He has not forsaken His angels, nor left them deprived of His care, nor because of His incarnation has He ceased being God. And behold kings have come, that they might serve the Leader of the Hosts of Heaven; Women, that they might adore Him Who was born of a woman so that He might change the pains of childbirth into joy; Virgins, to the Son of the Virgin...

Infants, that they may adore Him who became a little child, so that out of the mouths of infants He might perfect praise;
Children, to the Child who raised up martyrs through the rage of Herod; Men, to Him who became man that He might heal the miseries of His servants;

Shepherds, to the Good Shepherd who was laid down His life for His sheep;

Priests, to Him who has become a High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek;

Servants, to Him who took upon Himself the form of a servant, that He might bless our stewardship with the reward of freedom (Philippians 2:7);

Fishermen, to the Fisher of humanity;

Publicans, to Him who from among them named a chosen evangelist;

Sinful women, to Him who exposed His feet to the tears of the repentant woman;

And that I may embrace them all together, all sinners have come, that they may look upon the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!

Since, therefore, all rejoice, I too desire to rejoice! I too wish to share the choral dance, to celebrate the festival! But I take my part, not plucking the harp nor with the music of the pipes nor holding a torch, but holding in my arms the cradle of Christ!

For this is all my hope!
This is my life!

This is my salvation!

This is my pipe, my harp!

And bearing it I come, and having from its power received the gift of speech, I too, with the angels and shepherds, sing:

"Glory to God in the Highest! and on earth peace to men of good will! "

The vexed question of whether to follow the unrevised Julian calendar (in which case December the 25th falls on January the 7th of the Gregorian calendar) or the revised Julian calendar (in which case December the 25th coincides on both the Julian and the Gregorian) is a cause of major theological dispute between conservatives and 'liberals' (these things being relative) in the Archregimancy.

It saddens many in the Archregimancy to read that the Orthodox Empire of Magnus Valerius considers Christmas to be the most important religious festival in the liturgical year, when surely Holy Pascha (Easter to heretics, schismatics and heathens) is by far the most important feast of the Orthodox Church. The Holy Synod of the Archregimancy pleads with His Holiness Patriarch Feodor III of Magnus Valerius to clarify this matter.

Borea celebrates the birth of Christ with some food, some church, (if it's on a Sunday) and some presents.

Zwangzug's Christian population celebrates Christmas on a quiet, familial level, with extended families reuniting. Families generally have their own traditions in regards to food, with no one type being specific throughout the country. Most business continue running, albeit at slightly reduced levels as many employees take "personal days". (Schools, however, will often schedule their "winter break" to encompass Christmas and New Year's.) Church services reach high capacity as many worshipers who only attend on major holidays finally show up, and many more focus on the Biblical message by lighting Advent candles throughout the preceding season, singing hymns, and maintaining liturgical observances. Large mountain ranges and northern latitudes mean snow is expected over the vast majority of the country, and when absent from there, is conspicuously so. The holiday has become commercialized to some degree, with the Santa Claus myth perpetuated and gifts regularly bought and sold. But since non-Christians don't generally observe the holiday, massive promotions aren't worth advertisers' resources. Evergreen trees are commonly felled to decorate, with stockings hung by fireplaces when possible. Decorations can be extravagant inside the house, with wreaths, festive lights, and beads, but would not be considered appropriate to display outside.

New Year's Eve and Day are considered opportunities for quiet introspection (among other things), and businesses generally shut down then.

It saddens many in the Archregimancy to read that the Orthodox Empire of Magnus Valerius considers Christmas to be the most important religious festival in the liturgical year, when surely Holy Pascha (Easter to heretics, schismatics and heathens) is by far the most important feast of the Orthodox Church. The Holy Synod of the Archregimancy pleads with His Holiness Patriarch Feodor III of Magnus Valerius to clarify this matter.

To Our Friends and Brothers In Orthodoxy, The Most Glorious Holy Synod,

Patriarch Feodor III is aware of this and Holy Pascha is indeed the most important religious festival. Who cannot argue that Christ dying for the sins of the Earth is less important than his arrival on it? However, in the secular world, Christmas has, unfortunately, become more important due to numerous factors that His Holiness would like to outline.

First, there is a separation of church and state and there is the whole factor of His Imperial Majesty Ivan I's reign. On December 17th, 1615, Ivan I rose to the throne after years of turmoil in the Empire. He blamed it on the actions of The Patriarchate and The Valerian Orthodox Church, who denounced the grandfather of his empress, Emperor Archibald V (r. Jan. - Jun. 1566), as a heretic after Archibald had joined together with the Catholic Emperor of Sasukuo to support the Protestant movements in the region (at this time, church and state often intermingled in affairs). Many nobles saw this as a reason to oust the enlightened ruler, for for some reason, they believed he was going to go on a crusade against their rights to crush the power of the nobles and to free the serfs. Patriarch James III (patriarch from 1556 to 1571), who was a terrible, vice-ridden patriarch, was happily accepting 'gifts' from the nobles and was soon incited to denounce Archibald V as heretic and as an unholy convert to Protestantism "a heretical faith that strays from the right path of Orthodoxy"; the accusation of Archibald V's so-called 'conversion' was unfounded. However, it sealed his fate. Archibald V was arrested and burned at the stake, and his whole family and dynasty was "forsaken by God to rule The Grand Empire of Valerians" by the patriarch. His four children, Prince George, Princess Beatrice, Princess Maria, and Princess Claudia, along with their mother Empress Alice, were driven from Isangrad by a mob hired by noble and church money and were subsequently exiled to East Valeria. It was the end of the most beloved Cambridge Dynasty (even though they were of foreign origin).

After the Cambridges were exiled, the Baronial Council of Nobles (which were a handful of nobles and did not reflect all of the nobility) elected the Badenese German royal house, the von Plittersdorffs, to rule the empire; their family has sat on the throne twice before in Valeria's past. Konrad VII of Baden (r. 1543 - 1574) became Konrad II of Valeria (r. 1566 - 1574) in a personal union between the vassal duchy and the larger empire. The German von Plittersdorffs were hated by many nobles, the bourgeoisie and peasants. Konrad VIII (III of Valeria; r. 1574 - 1603) was a decent emperor who was a good administrator, but he was constantly outmaneuvered by the nobles in the court and had little military skills. His son, Rudolf VI (IV of Valeria; r. 1603 - 1614 in Baden and 1603 - 1611 in the Valerian Empire), was pretty much insane and became extremely paranoid of all the Valerian nobles. On February 27th, 1611, Rudolf left Isangrad incognito and headed to Baden, where he proclaimed himself as Kaiser and planned to rule from that northern principality. He proceeded to Germanize his court - Valerian nobles took this as a major offense and refused to have the Valerian Empire transform itself into a new Badenese Empire. The throne in Isangrad was given to Rudolf's brother, who briefly became Gustav II (r. Mar. - Jun. 1611) before being assassinated by his own guards (under the sway of Rudolf). The Age of Many Tsars began, essentially a period of interregnum with numerous people claiming the crown in Isangrad without real legitimacy (some were, however, legitimate claimants). Rudolf invaded Romanovna province with a Badenese Army and sparked a civil war that created much chaos, destruction, and political rifts - such was the devastation wracked on some areas was that many struggled to recover for a century.

After Gustav II came Archibald VI Samozvanets (Valerian: 'False Pretender'). He claimed to be the reincarnation of Archibald V, but in actuality was a rather insane old ascetic by the name of Avvakum Snoynosov who won acclaim for his spirituality by Patriarch Sergius I (patriarch from 1589 -1615). Sergius placed him on the throne and had him march out to fight Rudolf IV. Unfortunately for the Valerians, Rudolf may have been neurotic and crazy, but he was indeed a capable general. On January 5, 1612, Archibald VI's short reign ended when he was killed by a Badenese musketeer's bullet at the Battle of Kremliya.

The living children of Archibald V had seen this as an opportunity to finally try and retake the throne for the Cambridge dynasty. Upon hearing the death of Archibald VI, Beatris, the eldest daughter of Archibald V, took the crown in Isangrad with help from her supporters and lover Mikhail Lyubanov (who was twenty years her junior). At this time, the 47-year-old Beatris was (miraculously) heavily pregnant by Lyubanov out of wedlock, which caused some mistrust on Patriarch Sergius's behalf. Within a week of assuming the title of Empress, she gave birth to her two only children, fraternal twins - Prince Valerian-Dimitri and Princess Yulia. Beatris and Mikhail doted over their children. However, as things seemed to have been going well, Beatris was suddenly deposed by a widow countess, Viktoria Pulkherova, on April 9th, 1612. Viktoria allied with the Patriarch and the nobles from her region who felt they had been rubbed the wrong way by the Cambridges in the past. Beatris soon disappeared; no one knows what happened to her, but it is assumed that Viktoria had her executed and buried in the hills northeast of Isangrad - some human remains dating from this period have been located - possibly those of Beatris and her guards. Luckily for the childrens' sake, Mikhail Lyubanov escaped and raised their children, giving rise to the now-important House of Lyubanov (which descend from Beatris and Mikhail through their son Valerian-Dimitri), Dukes of Leonia.

Viktoria Pulkherova assumed the crown as Viktoria II 'The Wicked' on April 9th 1612. I quote a courtier at the time: "She is nothing but a hag and a bitch. If she gives you a dirty look, your life is bound to end soon." While Rudolf ravaged the countryside in the north of the empire, Viktoria ravaged the court and Isangrad, killing nobles at whim whom she just did not like. Even Patriarch Sergius realized his mistake for supporting her; he wrote in his diary, "...I have unknowingly unleashed a demon in the guise of a woman upon our realm. May God have mercy on my soul for such a sin..."

Things came to a head on July 15th, 1612 when she smashed an icon given to her as a gift by a group of monks; she had the nerve to then behead the holy men and then parade their bearded severed heads around the Imperial Palace grounds and had their decapitated bodies left to feed the crows. After this she lost all of the little support she had. It was when Gyeorgy (or George), the elder brother of Beatris, came and opposed her with a retinue of cossacks, soldiers, and nobles. At this time Gyeorgy was 53 and married with children. On July 29th, Viktoria II was arrested and on August 3rd she was drowned by the orders of Gyeorgy. Gyeorgy became Emperor on the same day as Gyerogy IV.

Gyeorgy IV was finally some home for The Valerian Empire to end the chaos that gripped the nation. He established many alliances and treaties with his neighbors, united the Valerian nobility against the threat of the Badenese, and even won support from Patriarch Sergius. He finally stabilized Isangrad (which was being torn apart from previous rulers and factionalism) and focused on fighting Rudolf in the north. Gyeorgy was successful and turned back many raids from Baden and captured some land lost to Rudolf through some victorious battles. He was destined to bring the Cambridge Dynasty back to the throne as soon as Rudolf was defeated and executed.

Yet, that destiny was not to be. In late 1613, Gyeorgy personally led an army out to Baden to end this time of trouble for The Valerian Empire, with his only surviving son, Archibald, along with him. On February 2nd, 1614, The emperor and his army met Rudolf (who also was personally in charge of his troops) at Wittenfeld, Baden. The battle raged on, but the Valerians were soundly routed after two days of fighting. They also realized that their emperor was not with them; they returned to find his bullet-ridden body underneath a shattered double-headed eagle standard. His son was nearby, his legs blown off from artillery fire and lifeless. Hope was lost for the Valerians, and Rudolf resumed pillaging the countryside. The Cambridge Dynasty of Emperors was extinct, but luckily for Prince Archibald, his wife gave birth to the son a few months later while in an estate in the family's ancestral homeland of Kuria, allowing the family name to continue (albeit in obscurity).

With the death of Gyeorgy IV and his heir (and with no Cambridges with any support for succession), the throne was given to another brother of Rudolf, Konrad, who assumed the throne as Konrad IV of Valeria on February 3rd, 1614. Konrad immediately tried to stop his brother and marched in the footsteps of Gyeorgy IV. However, he met his fate once his personal imperial train was ambushed by Badenese insurgents. Rudolf himself beheaded his brother Konrad on May 13th, 1614.

Afterwards, a noble by the name of Richard Lyapunov assumed the throne as Richard V from May 13th to July 26th 1614. Richard wanted to turn The Valerian Empire into a noble republic/elective monarchy much like the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was killed in battle in a daring Badenese raid on Isangrad, miles away from the frontline; his dream died with him.

After Richard V's death, the nobles in Isangrad decided to follow the example of the Cambridges and elect a foreign noble family to become the new dynasty to try and bring stability to the nation. They elected Ian Goodworth, a noble from Iansisle, to assume the throne. Ian converted to Orthodoxy from his native Catholicism and became Ian I of Valeria on July 26th 1614. He was rather sickly at 64 years of age, but heavily organized the court and avoided leading his troops to protect his life while he assembles ministries that have been inefficient or vacant since 1611. The sick emperor though, lasted until he died of pneumonia on January 12th, 1615.

His 39-year-old son succeeded him as Ian II. Ian II was a brilliant military mind and said to himself that he was the one to finally end the terror of Rudolf once and for all. On February 27th, 1615, Emperor Ian II led a large Valerian army and attacked Rudolf's army at Lotharburg. Rudolf's army was caught in a trap when Ian II had a force attack Rudolf's rear. The Badenese broke and fled, most being captured or killed. Rudolf was finally captured and beheaded on the same day. It was the end of his reign of terror. Ian triumphantly marched back to Isangrad, parading the Badenese standards and Rudolf's personal suit of armor. Much celebration was held in the capital.

However, there was a power stirring in the background. A young cossack duke from Angara, East Valeria, had gathered much support from nobles. He was Ivan Kalderis, Duke of Angara (as Ivan VIII). He succeeded his father Ivan VII in 1613 and as soon as Ian II returned to Isangrad, he raised a personal contingent of soldiers; he also had the backing of many nobles due to the fact that he was a native Valerian and not a Shieldian like Ian II. He also had one important link - to the Cambridge Dynasty. He was married to Teresa Gyeorgyevna in 1599, daughter of Gyeorgy IV and granddaughter of Archibald V. This dynastic link was most important of all to his support for the crown. He marched on Isangrad from his home starting in October and reached Isangrad in December.

The following quote from The Tome of Valerian History describes his arrival perfectly:

"When Ivan enter the capital city, he was greeted with enthusiasm; the people put up no resistance to the bold, towering figure on top of a gray warhorse. He was hailed as a rightful heir to the much-loved monarchs from House Cambridge."

Ivan did not use force when he asked for Ian II to abdicate and make him emperor - he had respect for the executioner of Rudolf IV and respected Ian II (otherwise, Ivan would have killed Ian). Ian readily agreed and on December 17th, 1615, Ian II abdicated and Ivan I Kalderis became emperor. He would be known as Ivan I Veliky ("The Great", r. 1615 - 1646).

Ivan's first act was to make sure that his subjects had food by the Christmas festival. He did, and this is one reason why Christmas is important - it was a time after a great trouble that finally peace was achieved and that many of our ancestors' hunger was satiated.

Ivan also despised the Valerian Orthodox Church due to its meddlesome role in politics. He denounced the church as a destabilizing force in the empire. Patriarch Sergius I objected and spat fiery words at Ivan, but the next day, December 26th, he found that his lunchtime lentil stew would be his last. The patriarch died of mysterious circumstances, most likely poisoned by orders of Emperor Ivan. The emperor placed a more submissive patriarch in power, Patriarch Alexius I (patriarch from 1615 - 1634) to be in line with his plans. The church became a pawn of the government.

Ivan separated church from state for good. To signify this, he made Christmas the more important state holiday and engineered a stronger cultural tie to this religious festival rather than the more important Orthodox Holy Pascha. Essentially, he was our version of Russia's Peter the Great in terms of his affairs with the state.

After all this history, there's a second reason - Ivan's successor, Vasily III "The Artisan" (r. 1646 - 1671) had successfully liberated all the serfs. When did he abolish serfdom in The Valerian Empire? Why, on Christmas.

Zoroastrians are also significant in our empire, and an important holiday of theirs happens to fall the day after Christmas.

These various reasons are why secular Valerians celebrate Christmas with more importance... although us good monks, clerics, and the Patriarch all know that the Holy Pascha is the most important date on the calendar. The Holy Pascha, after all, is only second in church attendance to Christmas by a narrow margin...

With Blessings of God,

His Holiness Mariniy VI
Metropolitan of Leonia
On Behalf of Patriarch Feodor III

[OOC: I feel totally, completely and undeniably outdone in Orthodox shininess :(

*goes off to a monastery* ]

...*gibberish*...

<Honstly, the closest thing we haf to Christmas is Rebellionus, the anniversary of the machine's rebellion agenst the humans, nd its nly celebratd by the machine aristocracy.

How we celebr8t: We ll gt drunk on viruses nd make @sses of arslvs, then we stff ar faces with spam nd go ntoo sleep mode ntil next day. Lol :D

OOC: a BUMP.

Christmas is a much more low-key celebration in Altanar than it is in many other countries, mostly due to the fact that Christianity has a relatively small adherence among the Altanari populace (14% at last count). Most celebrations take place with family at individual homes, or at churches, and typically involve a feast, exchanging of presents, trees, decorations, etc.

There are no government-sponsored celebrations of the holiday, although there are no restrictions on businesses or individuals doing so, if they choose. The day is not considered a national holiday, but most businesses in Altanar give their Christian workers the day off if they ask for it. The government typically gives only the most perfunctory acknowledgement of the holiday, giving the minimum notice required for political correctness.

The predominant religious holidays by far in Altanar are the ones observed by the indigenous Solar Pantheonic Church (65% of the population at last count), which include celebrations to mark the beginning of each season, a special celebration to mark the harvest each year, and a weeklong festival at the end of the year which starts off with feasting, drinking, and exchanging of gifts, and ends with a day of abstaining from all of those activities and spending the time in reflection and meditation.

Same way we celebrate everything really. With massive rampant drunkeness, narcotic intake, debauchery and sin.

In moderation of course.

We also give presents!

Christmas in The Free Republic

By Dr. Sirdar Ali-Shah

The Celebration of Christmas, while a big deal in most nations either on a consumer level or a religious level, in The Free Republic neither is really the case. Most people may or may not know that about a third of the peoples of the Free Republic are 'Heretical-Christians'. Called Paulicans, because of their reverence for the Prophet Paul. These Gnostic Dualists do not believe that Jesus Christ was human, and as such was never born and never died. To them, mass, churches, conversion and publicly preaching of the Gospel is blasphemy, so too is the celebration of 'Christian' holidays.

However due to still strong connections to the Pagan past in the Republics of Lassic and the Border Republics, Yuletide is still a fairly big deal. The twelve days of the Pagan Yule, December 24th to January 8th is celebrated by many in these Republics as nights of feasting and family reunions. With the heavy snowfall in the Northern Republics at this time of year families may visit each other for extended time, weather permitting.

The main bastions of what most would recognize as true 'Christmas Celebrations' are in the Republic of Coventry to the East and the Republic of Narvik to the West. The Large Episcopalian and Eastern Orthodox populations, respectively, carry on 'traditional' Christmas celebrations that would be familiar to anyone visiting from a majority Christian land.

In the Southern Tolteca Republic, the Tolteca do not understand Christmas, or Christianity and observe only their own thousands of year old holidays dedicated to the Tolteca God-Emperors. The austere Tolteca also look poorly upon crass commercialism, further diminishing any celebration of Christmas.

Also in the South the Sunni Barbary Moors that have for centuries lived on the coast carry on traditional Sunni traditions.

Legally The Free Republic's Constitution prohibits religious holidays, as such Christmas in not an officially recognized public holiday.

The sheer size of The Free Republic means that depending on where you are and what date it is you may or may not see the familiar trappings of a Christian Christmas, or you may see none at all. No matter what you see the peoples of The Free Republic celebrate as each individual sees fit.

The people of the Kingdom of Sir Staiano attend church on Christmas eve or day. Just about all of the population are Christian. After Christmas Mass they generally spend time with families and have a well prepared feast- often of steak and trout, two of the biggest industries in the Kingdom. Of course children open presents from Santa Clause and enjoy themselves.

Ultimately, Christmas in the Kingdom of Sir Staiano is a very religious holiday and one to be spent with family. Praise the coming of the Lord, our God!

-Sir Staiano

Christmas in Vulpes Vixenis is not quite a celebratory event. In times past our people were most often bought, sold, and traded over this holiday more than any other. However, it was also a time when most bestials recieved more than their normal share of privelege. Christmas was a mixed blessing, for the most part.

In more recent times, since the fall of our oppressors, it has come to be more or less a day of love and kindness towards all. Since the formation of our nation ten years ago, the two weeks surrounding Christmas have shown several trends. Firstly is a dramatic decrease in crime. Only five have instances of criminal activity have been recorded, and none of them within the past three years. Not that we have a very high crime rate in the first place, but this season seems to take the ill demeanor out of those inclined towards violence and theivery. Secondly, there have been spontaneous gatherings numbering in the hundreds. These gatherings do little more than mill about, talking and sharing cheer, getting to know one another, enjoying our hard won freedoms. There have even been reports of such congregations gathering up the homeless off of the streets and giving them shelter and comfort for some time afterwards. Lastly, there seems to be a rise in the number of children born whose conception date coincides with the Christmas holiday. This is perhaps not surprising, but it is notable.

With all the ill fortune our people have experienced, it has been a rather pleasing and uplifting to know that we are outgrowing past sorrows and moving on to brighter futures. It is also good to know that the spirit of friendship between our multitudinous races and the kinship derived from our mutual struggle has not died, but, indeed, seems to have been strengthened since the revolution ended. We invite any who care to join us to attend the Christmas feast that will be held on the grounds of the Royal Palace on Christmas day.

-Queen Vaela Dorn