First Use of Magic Celebration

When a kit first uses magic, it's a cause for grand celebration among their kitsune family. This signals the kit survived the most delicate stage of their life. Kitsune have a high mortality rate. So pre-magic kits are loved, but left without a name.  

Observance

The family invites their kith and kin. Each attendee brings a gift wrapped in an indigo dyed furoshiki and a slip of paper wrapped around a blossom or branch picked from the flowers and trees in season.   The gifts are carefully chosen educational toys and magical texts, and the kits will be most excited about those. For the family, it's the paper that is the most anticipated part. One's name signifies their fortune.   The order of the celebration goes like this: everyone sits down for a feast, the kit opens the gifts and picks their name, and the family lights fireworks to announce their kit to the world.  

Food

Green Wagashi by Douglaspperkins
The immediate family serves their favorite dishes with plenty of local specialties - fresh caught fish, inarizushi, rabbit, fowl, fresh picked or pickled vegetables, green tea, and wagashi.

 

Opening the Gifts

After eating, the family sets the kit in the middle of their family and friends with the gifts. No tags indicate the giver. It's a game to guess who gave each present.  

Naming

The family blindfolds the kit and sets them in a circle of the slips of paper. The kit sniffs and tries to use ki to discern which paper has the name that will suit them best. Once chosen, the kit picks up the branch or bloom and delivers it proudly to their parents who read it aloud for the audience's benefit. The one who gave that name will become the kit's godparent. Then they divine the kit's fortune based on number of strokes in the kanji characters and the meaning of each character.  

Grand Finale

Finally, the kitsune clan shoots off a volley of fireworks magically shaped in the name to announce their kit to the world.
Work in Progress

This article will be expanded in the future.

Stub

This article will be expanded in the future.

Definition

This article stub serves as a simple definition.

Furoshiki by Freepik
Species
Kitsune
Approximate age to perform first magic
Varies from about 2 to 15 years of age. It depends on the examples they see and the complexity of what they try. The complexity is often an indicator of the kit's ability and age of first magic. So parents don't worry if their kit is a late bloomer.
Inarizushi by topntp26

Appears In:


Liminal Chronicles Series bookcover art by Odette.A.Bach and text by Amy Winters-Voss. Short story bookcovers by Amy Winters-Voss


Cover image: by wirakorn

Comments

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Jul 20, 2021 04:29 by Laura VanArendonk Baugh

I love it. Especially the inarizushi. (And now I'm hungry, thanks.) ;-)

Aug 5, 2021 16:04 by Amy Winters-Voss

Thank you!

Author of the Liminal Chronicles urban fantasy series | Author Website
Jul 20, 2021 17:47

All around utterly adorable!

Aug 5, 2021 16:05 by Amy Winters-Voss

Aww shucks. Thanks!

Author of the Liminal Chronicles urban fantasy series | Author Website
Aug 4, 2021 15:07 by Chris L

Super cute ceremony and I love the little details you've included.


Take a look at my Institutions of Learning challenge article.

Learn about the World of Wizard's Peak and check out my award winning article about the Ghost Boy of Kirinal!

Aug 5, 2021 16:05 by Amy Winters-Voss

Thank you much!

Author of the Liminal Chronicles urban fantasy series | Author Website
Oct 6, 2021 20:27

I love it, every bit was so lovely. I was a bit confused and intrigued about the name choosing parts first, but you eventually explained it. It's so interesting to me the idea of the kit choosing their own name, but blindly. Super interesting!

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