Lunar Li Festival

A festival that takes place from the first day of the year to the seventh, the elves take time off of school and work, and head to the highest mountain in the Golden City, where the oldest temple stands. There, they hold dances between courters, family and friends. Have food and trinket stalls and then spend the night praying to their goddess, this is repeated until the seventh day, in which all engaged courters will be separated for the day and the male population will hold a small party for the to be married elves, while the female population will also do this for the to be brides. The non-binaries (as they exist in Kitharea's world) will simply choose which party to attend.

History

This festival started soon after the elvish people began to separate and move around Kitharea. They all still believed in the same goddess, so they believed they needed a way to bring themselves closer together, and after the winter equinox the sun begins to set later, the moon is essentially 'dying' as it is appearing less and less, so originally the elves (believing themselves to of descended from spirits of the moon) believed that their presence near the moon on the highest mountain top would help rejuvenate the moon.
During the ages, the belief that the moon was dying, well died out. And it was more about rejuvenating the moon with the elves loving spirit each year. Trinkets and food were introduced two hundred years after the initial ceremony to introduce the productivity of the elf people.
This change came after a huge decline in alchemy due to a plague that killed off many planets that helped create masses of potions and remedies, meaning that the elves needed to create a new industry (trinkets and food) which they then incorporated into their festival.

Execution

The festival starts on the first day of the year and finishes a week later on the seventh day of the year.
On day one-six they hold market stalls + dances in the morning for friends, family and lovers to all partake in, and then in the evenings they hold prayer sessions in order to thank and rejuvenate the celestial body that they worship.
On the seventh day they separate all engaged elves into different parties made up of close friends and family (those that aren't friends or family to engaged elves help sort out the later ceremony) and hold extravagant parties for them, that include childish games and friendly contests. Then on the night of the seventh day, they join all together in the temple and hold giant marriage ceremonies, because for the past six days they have rejuvenated the goddess, it is said that those married on the seventh day of the Lunar Li have the goddess smiling down on their marriage.

Components and tools

Stalls of food inspired by generations of different recipe's, mainly bread and stews. Trinkets that hold even the smallest details relating to the moon, so that they can be even closer to the goddess as they celebrate. Drinks, that though can get you drunk if ingested in high doses, are child friendly are exchanged at both the extravagant parties before and after the wedding ceremonies.

Participants

All Elven people who are able to attend, attend the ceremony. Even though it is a minor democratic government, it is essential that all members of it attend in order to set the example. As well as that, all Lunar priests and priestesses are summoned to the holy site by demand, because their presence also makes the rejuvenation more likely to happen.

Observance

The festival takes place on the first day on the new year, and lasts until the seventh day of the new year. Though many preparations start on the last full moon of the previous year.

Primary Related Location

Temples