Holidays in Covtle
There are many holidays in Covlte, celebrating a wide variety of occasions. While the majority of holidays in Covtle focus on the historical exile of Baðatrepava, there are many other holidays celebrating the seasons, such as Lacanaval ad tevlor, or other events, such as Lelvledadá. Below is a list of holidays in Covtle, from the beginning of the year to the end.
Lada ad ladadera ini
Date: 0 atawiþi
Location in Covtle: Everywhere
Significance: Minor
Lada ad ladadera ini, or New Year's Day, is a minor holiday in Covtle. It is a day off across the Wiþi empire. A tradition found in northern Covtle is to go ice skating, but this is far from universal.
Lelvledadá
Date: First elvleda on or after 20 losi
Location in Covtle: Everywhere
Significance: Major
Lelvledadá, or the Day of Wednesday, is a quirky and popular celebration in Covtle. It commemorates the popular reaction to King Emtlanðo's decree eliminating elvleda (English: roughly Wednesday) from the calendar, which resulted in popular protest and Emtlanðo's abdication. It has overtones of defiance of the authority of the monarchy and others more generally.
On Levledadá it is customary for everyone, including children, to get up early in the morning, and gather at a designated meeting point, carrying signs that say "Ðo psote Lelvleda!" or "It's Wednesday!" On occasion you will see other, more modern demands, mixed in, depending on how political the particular parade is. Then the parade will set off to a government building. The oldest and largest of these parades, in Glisng, goes directly to the royal palace. At the location someone will come out, the monarch in Glisng or another figure of governmental authority in other locations, and will declare "Ðo psote cleda!" or "It's Thursday". The crowd will declare that it's elvleda, and the figure of authority will declare it to be cleda again. The crowd will repeat their declaration, and the figure of authority will repeat theirs. Then finally, the crowd will demand that it's elvleda one more time, and the figure of authority will instead throw some combination of coins and candy into the crowd, depending on the mixture of adults and children.
After this event it is customary for people to go to a park and spend the rest of the day there, picnicking and generally relaxing. This is especially common in the warmer south, but still quite prevalent in the colder north. It's common to eat filling and starchy foods such as potatoes during the picnic.
Lacanaval ad tevlor
Date: 0 vlori to 5 vlori
Location in Covtle: Mangátle
Significance: Major
Ladaðblu ad Baðatrepava
Date: 9 baðatrepavi
Location in Covtle: Everywhere
Significance: Major
Ladaðblu ad Baðatrepava (English: Baðatrepava's birthday) is one of the most important holidays in Covtle, centring around the celebration of Baðatrepava, the discoverer of gemstone magic. The holiday is centred around the family, who generally gather to feast and tell stories of their family history. The theoretical goal of this is to trace one's ancestors back to Baðatrepava, or at least to his followers, however this is generally impossible if you're not of high noble birth as the majority of the population of Covtle is converted rather than direct descendants. Instead, the absurdity of old family stories of how one is connected to someone famous and important is often some of the fun of the holiday.
Besides the family storytelling, feasting is considered an important part of the holiday. Traditional foods include hard-boiled eggs, spinach, and peas. However, it varies by region somewhat, with those in Mangátle likely to use Wàmèrìzé spice, and those in the north more likely to turn to tinned food as their crops aren't ready yet.
Lada ad lablanþa
Date: 16 þali
Location in Covtle: Everywhere
Significance: Major
Lada ad lablanþa (English: Day of Exile) is a sombre holiday memorialising the day in which Baðatrepava and his followers were exiled from the Pìleloget Empire. It begins the Week of Remembrance. As a remembrance to the sacrifices of Badatrepava, most people in Covtle fast for the day, only eating once the sun has set.
It is also customary to light candles to remember the people who died on the journey across the Wiþi mountains and out of the Pìleloget Empire. The number of candles lit is very specific and complex to determine. There is a specific number of candles that must be lit on each day, but then one candle is added for every important death, either within the family or of a major person in society. The candles are left to burn until they are completely gone. The number of candles for the Day of Exile is three.
Lada ad lablanþa
Date: 16 þali - 21 þali
Location in Covtle: Everywhere
Significance: Minor
Following the Day of Exile, the Week of Remembrance memorialises the people who have died as a result of the persecution of Baðatrepava's followers. It is customary to light candles to remember the people who died on the journey across the Wiþi mountains and out of the Pìleloget Empire. The number of candles lit is very specific and complex to determine. There is a specific number of candles that must be lit on each day, but then one candle is added for every important death, either within the family or of a major person in society. The candles are left to burn until they are completely gone. The number of candles for each day is given in the table below:
| Day | Number of Candles |
|---|---|
| 16 þali (Day of Exile) | 3 |
| 17 þali | 1 |
| 18 þali | 4 |
| 19 þali | 9 |
| 20 þali | 2 |
| 21 þali | 7 |