Veldrinalia
Veldrinalia is a midsummer religious festival celebrated by the Unexpector faith, especially among individuals belonging to the cult of Veldrin Vance, the God of Coincidence. Veldrinalia is also a holiday for the cult of Zevtwill, the God of Verbal Irony.
Execution
The Veldrinalia celebration is hosted by Unexpector clergy dedicated to the cult of Veldrin Vance. It begins on the day before the summer solstice and ends the night after it. As the holiday has Voxelian origins, public entertainment is an important aspect of Veldrinalia, with revenues from church-sponsored illusionist shows serving in part to keep the church financially solvent for the remainder of the year. Actors, whether amateur or professional, are encouraged by the church to disguise themselves as famous modern or historical individuals and act in-character for the duration of the celebration. At the end of Veldrinalia, actors who are successfully mistaken for the actual famous figure are given recognition by the church for their talents.
For the public, Veldrinalia is a time to conduct various good-natured pranks, especially those which rely on a contrast between the truth and expectations. A common Veldrinalia prank is for a prankster to create food items which look like other (often distasteful) food items or inanimate objects, then be seen eating them to get a rise out of onlookers. Another common prank involves trying to convince someone that a known coincidental effect is an actual, ineffable truth (i.e. "everyone who eats carrots die eventually, so we know that carrots are poisonous"), arguing the point with a wry, faux sincerity. 'Winning' with this prank means either being sincere enough - or finding a listener gullible enough - that the listener actually starts to believe what the prankster is saying, then revealing the ruse at the last second.
The cult of Zevtwill also regards Veldrinalia as a holiday, though for different reasons: as faith-appointed gadflies and smashers of ignorance, worshippers of Zevtwill try to spoil the pranks made up by the worshippers of Veldrin Vance. If a follower of Veldrin Vance successfully pranks a follower of Zevtwill, the latter celebrant owes the former celebrant a treat; conversely, if the follower of Zevtwill successfully sees through a prank, the follower of Veldrin vance owes the follower of Zevtwill a treat. This can sometimes result in nested pranks, as the treats traded may be the aforementioned foods which look like one thing but are actually another. This good-natured antagonism often serves to bring the disparate ideologies within the Church of the Unexpected together, as Veldrin Vance is generally considered more 'celestial' while Zevtwill is generally considered more 'devilish.'
Components and tools
As treats and other foodstuffs are an important aspect of Veldrinalia celebrations, exotic flavoring agents, decorations, and garnishes are customarily purchased for use around the time of the summer solstice. For those who wish to participate as actors, disguise kits, makeup, and reference materials regarding the character an actor wishes to play are required, and these materials become hot sellers about a month before Veldrinalia. Magic supplies and literature generally proliferate in markets in the aftermath of Veldrinalia, as young, aspiring magicians often get their first inspirations during the festival.
Observance
The date of Veldrinalia is often itself the subject of verbal pranks, as intentionally false rumors that "Veldrinalia was put on the summer solstice for (insert important reason here)" belie the fact that the date was chosen by church elders because solstices just happen to seem significant to a lot of people. As Veldrin Vance's portfolio centers around the concept of coincidences, Veldrinalia is celebrated with extra zeal and amusement when it happens to fall on the same days as other important cultural observances which otherwise would conflict with the celebration.
Related Ethnicities
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