Skylands Birthday Tradition

Written by Pookas Kreations

This article explains the Skylands' birthday tradition.

History

In the early years, boys were also taught to all the skills they needed to build their own house, tools they would need to farm, hunt, and survive in the wilderness as no cities had yet been built. Women were sheltered and treasured because their were so few.

Participants

The father and other male relatives for the boys; the mother and other female relatives respectively. Depending on the tradition, the family only has an observational capacity so no favoritism is shown.

Observance

The Skylands don't celebrate "birthdays" specifically, they actually lump everyone's birthdays into a birthyear celebration on the New Year. Their are a few special days for certain age groups as well, these are for coming of age celebrations. Most people in the Skylands society follow the lunar calendar, although some do follow the solar instead. So everyone knows the year/month sign they were born under. In some places, those born under certain signs celebrate their birth year on the first day of the month representing their symbol. Gifts can be symbolic of the birth month/year sign, the receivers' personality, or "lucky money" (a portion of this money is supposed to be spent almost immediately, but the majority is saved for the future). The specific birthday is recorded, but besides that, no one pays attention to it unless it is needed to establish a line of succession (or something similar).

Between 7-10 years old a child can be apprenticed to a "master" to learn a craft. If his father is apprenticing his own son this often begins earlier, as he deems fit. When a child reaches 12 years old, they are thought ready to learn the laws, beliefs, customs, songs, and dances of their people. The men teach the boys, the woman the girls. The girls are usually initiated between 14-15, they taught about marriage, household duties, marriage, and babies. There are only a few groups, that both sexes are treated as completely equal and learn the same things.

Primary Related Location

Skylands Continent