Eluitthenan

Background

Elves are well-known for their long lives, living up to a thousand years in some cases. In Thalassa, there are several veterans of the Ninth Crusade against the Dwarves still alive today, an event that occurred almost 1300 years ago. Because of this longevity, Elves do not see time the same way Humans do, and do not mark their years in the same way humans do either. For elves that have reached adulthood, years flow by the same way months do to humans; despite their overall higher intelligence, the passage of time can be a blur for them. As such, Elven culture has diminished the importance of a single year or even a decade in the passage of time. While ten years for an Elf is closer in their perception to a human's year, even the High Elves (who see Elven life as sacred above all things) refuse to mark the passage of time for its own sake. An ambassador from Kolthis once said of a Human birthday celebration "You Monekei had better thank the Gods there isn't enough wine and cake in the world for you to celebrate every time one of you takes a breath." 
Elves believe that the process of determining what is valuable in their life is a meditation on time and existence itself. As such, taking stock of time is not a yearly excuse for a party. Rather, it is a chance for an extended retreat from daily life into creativity, meditation, and introspection that occurs once each century called Eluitthenan. 

Practice

Eluitthenan translates literally to "to rest time for oneself". Rather than attempting to translate the term, an explanation of the ritual it describes will suffice to elucidate the word's meaning.
Eluitthenan is celebrated by an elf every hundred years, starting on the date of their birth. During the ritual, an Elf will take an extended period of time in order to assess their experiences, previous goals, acheivements, and setbacks— as well as set new goals. Sometimes this will take the form of an extremely long meditation. Other times it will be a creative endeavor, usually a novel or epic poem but other art is possible. Rarely, it is a vacation or trip to some faraway land or to visit far flung relatives. Sometimes it is all of these. Elluitthenan can take anywhere from a week to six months to complete depending on the lifespan of the elf so far and the endeavor they choose to pursue.
For Elves, Eluitthenan is not only a self-help exercise but a philosophical inquiry into the meaning of their existence and the nature of time. Exploring what they are doing with their time allows the Elves to understand their own purpose on Granthea and puts them in touch with the higher power they worship. As an elf gets older and older, their Eluitthenan gets longer and longer and tends more and more to be a simple meditation rather than an activity. Venerable Elves such as those mentioned above can meditate for an entire year, breaking the state only a handful of times for just long enough to eat and drink a small amount.

Cultural Variations

• Wood Elves and Snow Elves will frequently terminate their own life by taking an extended meditative Eluitthenan where they do not take the minimum nutrition to survive and pass seamlessly from the meditative state into death. Some High Elves do this, but Thalassa and Fennein frown on it because they believe Elven life should be preserved as long as possible. In fact, the latter often seeks to extend it artificially.
• For High Elves, Snow Elves, and Dark Elves gift giving is common on the day Eluitthenan begins. It is considered impolite or dishonorable to give such a gift at the end of Eluitthenan because the Elf does not have the opportunity to factor in the gift to their next hundred year plan.
• Dark Elves celebrate a "tenyear" as well which is more like a human birthday party. However, this is usually just a cover to see who their real friends are and an occasion to gather rivals into one place for an assassination.

Related Ethnicities

• Dark Elf
• High Elf
• Snow Elf
• Wood Elf