Runehack Holidays

When I started to write this article, I had been feeling creatively stuck on NaNoWriMo for two weeks. I doubt I will catch up at this point, and I've come to terms with that. But while I'm giving up on the writing goal of finishing the novel within the month of November, I am not gonna give up on the goal of finishing the novel overall. Maybe what I need for jumpstarting my creativity is to just... focus on something else for a bit.

The end of the year in our world tends to be a season of many holidays. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and likely many more. I'd love to take this opportunity to make up a couple holidays celebrated locally or globally in Runehack, one for each of Moon's cycles in a year. Not all of these are old or official holidays, some are just events that happen yearly and are broadly recognized. Expect six more next time around!

I hope you'll enjoy this article, and I wish you a great day!

It's rather difficult to find art for holidays that I'm making up, so... just imagine this is roughly what a Wildenfeast can look for in a fairy family. Or perhaps they have graduated from some sort of rune-related school. As for the background, maybe they're holding this celebration in a city park... in a city very close to the equator. That happens to not be a jungle, somehow.
... or maybe the art just has some wholesome vibes I wanted to share.
Artwork by Ivy Dolamore

Wildenfeast

Date: 1st day of spring

The cruel weather is on its leave and nature is still too drowsy to be dangerous. The early spring is a time when everyone brings out tasty treats and celebrates the moment of truce between the wilderness and the civilization.

Decoration. To show nature's presence, people decorate the area in which the feast is to take place with wreaths or festoons made up of leaves and branches. Nature isn't present only in people's surroundings, it makes up their bodies too. Thus, people who want to show their holiday spirit usually wear either a garland of flowers on their head, or one or two articles of clothing with natural motifs such as leaves, vines, or flowers.

A small group of elves and fairies fell in love with this kind of clothing, and over time their outfits became more natural. Over the years, they began to wear them earlier and later around the Wildenfeast time, until it became a daily outfit style for them. Some people didn't like this due to the general apprehension people feel towards the wilderness beyond the walls, so this small group grew more rebellious in their ideals. This marked the beginning of the Wilderpunk subculture. 

Family. Usually, it's celebrated in the privacy of homes by the parents and the children who aren't married yet. The presence at Wildenfeast represents being part of a family, so exceptions aren't uncommon: parents who wish to show their child's partner that they are willing to accept them, a single parent's romantic interest, an orphaned child who is very close to the family, and many other exceptions are considered normal in real life as well as in the fiction that showcases Wildenfeast.

Meals. The feast eaten on this day consists mostly of fruits, vegetables, and grains left over after the winter. Eating meat is believed to bring nature's wrath upon the household, which is why the Wildenfeast meals contain meat. Traditional meals eaten during the Wildenfeast include salad rolls wrapped in paperbread; oiled pasta noodles mixed with spinach, garlic, and chopped tomatoes; and egg-fried rice.

Heartcall

Date: 42nd day of spring

All people are social animals who desire companions. Most people desire to have one companion who is much closer to them than others. Following the naming pattern of northcall, everyone is invited to follow the call of their heart shortly before the spring equinox, either to have a lovely time with their romantic partner or to confess their feelings.

Confession. While couples can form on any day during the year, this is a chance for those who have strong unexpressed feelings for another person to show them without judgment. Those who are not brave enough record their confession, either as a voice message or on a paper, and personally deliver it to their romantic interest.

Date. Those who already have a romantic interest traditionally share a meal in the privacy of either partner's home and afterward show the partner one's love through their love language. It's polite to give one's partner at least a small gift on this day, whether it's a flower or a dessert. The usual ingredients for desserts gifted on Heartcall are honey, strawberries, and chocolate.

Loneliness. Not everyone has a romantic partner or seeks one. On the day of Heartcall, it's normal for groups of single friends to go out together to one or more establishments such as restaurants, bars, and clubs. To incentivize their customers, these businesses tend to give discounts on their drinks on the Heartcall's evening.

Trickstorm

Date: 70th day of spring

Toward the end of the spring, the Silver Dame tends to act a little ridiculous. Sometimes she waters the world beneath her, but only for a minute. Sometimes, she stomps her feet upon her misty dress, while the shine of her radiant smile blinds people's eyes. And on some occasions, she gathers the ice from the Caldfort and throws it down upon people. With the unpredictable weather, some decided to play tricks on each other too.

Common Comedy. Some pranks repeat year after year because they are easy to pull off. These include but are not limited to spoken lies that are soon revealed to be lies, runic illusions that startle people, paper slips that insult their reader, or putting something inedible into someone's meal or drink.

Fashion. Not everyone can appreciate a good prank, of course. Those who do not wish to participate in pranks on this day of the year show it by making most of their outfit for the day black, gray, or brown. It's generally frowned upon when a person dressed this way plays a prank on the day of the Trickstorm.

Reward. People who enjoy and embrace pranks tend to reward the ones they find to be the most impressive by gifting the prankster something small, such as a piece of candy, a glass ring, or a bandanna. Some see this as an opportunity to get back at the prankster, for example by gifting them a candy wrap full of glitter, or a bandanna with something embarrassing on it.

Runic Revolution Anniversary

Date: 25th day of summer

The monstrous paramorphs beyond the walls have kept the civilization divided for a long time. However, it is thanks to the cunning of those knowledgeable of the runes that the society could be reunited and begin cooperating yet again. Runetech allows people to communicate with each other instantaneously, travel great distances to see new places, and so much more. This is why there's a year dedicated to celebrating the development of the first rune-powered computing mechanism.

Parade. A couple of major cities have a parade with vehicles that display gigantic illusions of the most iconic pieces of prominent runic technology. These include runebooks, runecards, water pumps, hovering vehicles, runebots, and abstract representations of Mistweb.

Science Fairs. The Runic Revolution Anniversary is the most common day for science fairs to happen. It is an opportunity for the students to make a scientific model of something they've learned at school to impress others, or to invent something completely new. Most of the time, it's the former rather than the latter though.

Truce. On this day, the two megacorporations that rule most city-states of the world do not try to compete or outdo each other. Lifestock and Nexuspace put their differences aside on this day, as their leaders travel to the Grand Republic, the most neutral ground, to host a polite ball there. Royals of the independent kingdoms are also invited.

Lingershine

Date: 45th day of summer (Summer Solstice)

Dreams are visions of the unreal that come to people as they sleep. Some would say that the dreams are origins of many myths and legends. Dreams can also stand for hopes or goals that people have. All three of these are celebrated on the longest day of the year. When a tale or a piece of fiction within the world of Runehack talks about the ordinary world and the world of myths crossing or merging, it usually happens on the day of Lingershine.

Dances. While drinking and eating are prominent parts of the Lingershine celebrations, the most important part of it is dancing. Generally, these dances are split into three types, based on how many people it takes to perform the dance. The Whirlin is a formal dance for two that has a strong accent on the first beat, and alternates between quadruple time and double time, both taking roughly the same time. The Tetric Dance is a dance performed by exactly four people, standing with their backs to each other. Its music alternates between triple time and double time, making it feel like every other bar misses one beat. Finally, the Stride is an informal dance performed by any number of people, though fewer than four make it look awkward. It uses a common time signature.

Masks. Most of the Old World believed that on the day of Lingershine people and creatures of legends enter this world to join in on the party, which is why one should wear a mask for any kind of Lingershine party—to blend in with the weird creatures. While such beliefs are ridiculed in the New World, Old World sees it more as a sentimental remembrance of the old times before the era of monsters, when people actually believes such myths to be real. The only requirements for the masks are to represent some legend and to cover the area around one's eyes, with or without covering the eyes. Anything else, including covering the rest of one's face, is considered optional.

Resolutions. Setting goals for the next year, and sharing what you've managed to accomplish within the last year, both make up part of the Lingershine celebrations. One is encouraged to share both of these with their close friends so that they could be proud and support each other. It's not frowned upon for one to fail in fulfilling their resolutions, usually with a phrase: "Perhaps some of them are meant to stay dreams."

Swimming Week

Date: 60th-66th days of summer

People's habits can become a widely recognized holiday when they are repeated by people often enough. During the first week of the last moon of summer, many people tend to go to the beaches or pools for a refreshing swim due to temperatures being fairly high. This is how over time, it became a part of the global culture.

Fashion Shows. On the first day of Swimming Week, fashion shows tend to be held, describing the current trends in swimwear, hoping to get those who care too much about trends to invest in a new set of swimwear.

Games. Since it's a time of fun and joy, those who partake in Swimming Week come up with various games to play in the water, or on the beach. One of the most common ones is Aquatic Catch, a game of tag played in the water. Another fairly common game to play is Spraywar. It's played with toy weapons that shoot water and has a huge variety of rules that are or aren't followed by its players. Only one rule is consistent: when someone is hit by the water, they are eliminated from the game for a short duration of time, roughly a minute. Other games exist too, of course, with plenty of them being locally known but not widespread across the globe. One such game is Pearlhunt, played in the city of New Prista on the last day of Swimming Week.

Relaxation. Certain pools, such as the ones commonly found in Ashington, heat their water up and possibly add some minerals into the water to boost the swimmers' health. Such pools aren't a center point of fun times and focus instead on relaxation and peace. Surely these kinds of pools operate all year long, but during Swimming Week they give great discounts to lure in new customers, in hopes of getting them used to it.