High Holidays

All societies take time off for one reason or another. Usually these official holidays are: religious (if one religion is truly dominant in the area), agricultural (commonly at the equinox and solstice), or political in nature. In the latter case, they often mark the founding of the country or some great victory of war or revolution. Usually, one can count on one officially recognized holiday every other month or so.

Religious holidays rarely involve either fairs or tournaments. These are traditionally times of fasting and personal sacrifice to one’s church. They are always placed on days significant to the given religious calendar (i.e. the death of a saint, the resurrection of a god, the founding of a new order). Holy knights, like paladins, tithe their incomes to the church during ceremonies held on these occasions. They also spend a lot of time seeking guidance from both their local priest and their patron deity. Visions of great quests often come at such soul-searching times.

Agricultural holidays are celebrated by the rich and the poor, and there will be both common fairs and a royal tournament held to mark such occasions. Those marking the harvest in autumn and the end of the planting season in spring usually last for a week at a time, while all others last but a day.

Political holidays are times of private parties, town parades, and local noble tournaments. Unless the political deed had great significance to the realm and the king in power, no royal tournament is likely to be held on this day. In essence, towns hold large Market Days on these days, supplanting the need for the usual monthly Market Day.