Holidays
These holidays are generally universal all across Arivir. They originated in the worship or certain gods, but in more recent times it's more about celebrating certain aspects of life. Below is a list of all the holidays that are celebrated throughout the year.
- Star Festival
Used to be a celebration surrounding the moon deity, Naenarvas.
The Star Festival is celebrated near the end of the year. The celebration starts when there are five days left in Yolev, and the new year is approaching. It's customary to invite a lot of people over during this time, and feast for the full five days. Any leftovers that are left from the feast on a certain day, will be donated to the less fortunate. It's very common to make too much for that reason. Guests that are invited into someone's home usually bring gifts with them, as appreciation for the family that's hosting them during these five days.
During the day, there commonly are little fairs scattered throughout the cities, where people and Avarris alike sell hand-made star and moon shaped trinkets. These trinkets can be anything from jewelry to paper lanterns and anything in between.
The Star Festival ends when the year ends. Fireworks and lanterns alike are lit up to celebrate the birth of a new year as well as present one large gift for the gods. In the past, the lanterns were used to return some of the stars they gave to the Avarris.
- Nijradi
A festival for the harvest deity, Nij'rul
Nijradi, or the Harvest Festival, is only really celebrated in Na'vock. The holiday originated as a way to thank the harvest goddess, Nij'rul for the plentiful harvest and ask her to bless next years harvest. Great feasts would be hosted among villages and celebrations would commonly last four weeks.
Currently Nijradi is celebrated for a smaller amount of time, and with smaller groups of people. People who live in Na'vock invite people to their home to feast with them and celebrate for a week. People outside of Na'vock are often invited to join the celebrations as well, making it common for people from all over Arivir to join the festivities. Nijradi is seen more as a holiday where you show appreciation to your family and friends, rather than to celebrate the harvest.
Any food that's left after the feast is donated. It's very common for Na'vock Avarris to make an overshot in food on purpose, so they can donate entire meals to the less fortunate. It's common that during Nijradi, restaurants and cafes offer sales on their products. Smaller businesses might even opt to offer food for free, lest they throw it out the next day.
In the last few years, a superstition started to surround the donation of food, where people that do not donate will be punished by Nij'rul. The actual punishment varies wildly from Avarri to Avarri. Some claim it's something as mundane as a run of bad luck until the next Nijradi, others will claim that she will make it so that someone's home will collapse onto it's self, and their ground becomes infertile.