Celebrations and Feast Days Across The Territories

Background

Celebrations and Feast Days play a big part in any culture, and there are many different cultures across across the Peacekeeper Territories, as is demonstrated by Foods and Delicacies From Across the Territories.   A lot of the species and planets have been part of the Alliance for thousands of years, and as such, their individual celebrations and feasts have become lost along the way.   This is a list of all of the celebrations which are still recognised across the Territories, broken down by when, where and what purpose they serve, with an explanation of what form this celebration takes.  

Calendar

The Peacekeeper Territories abide by the Peacekeeper Calandar, which can be found on the Peacekeeper Category Page.   It is designed to be easy to use, rather than a way of tracking seasons or the like on any one planet in particular. It was designed to be intergalactic. As such, it has 10 months in a year, 5 weeks in a month and 5 days in a week. This means that each year has 250 days. None of these have names, but numbers.   Traditionally, the day is written as a number, the month is a word and then the year is a number once more. For example 13 Three 4748 PT. The PT stands for Post Treaty, as the years count up from the signing of the initial treaty between P'Ache Prime and P'Ache Minor.  

Intergalactic Celebrations

There is only one celebration which occurs across the entirity of the Peacekeeper Territories. It is the only one which the Alliance insist is followed by everyone.  

New Planet Day

Where
All Territories  
When
The day the agreement is signed
 
What
When a new planet joins the Alliance, on the day that the treaty is signed - which is always planned well in advance - everyone in the Peacekeeper Territories is given the day to celebrate in whatever form that may take. At minimum that's a day off.
   

Celebrations by System

Each system has its own celebrations, mostly based around the day on which it joined the Alliance, as none of them had enough awareness to have a system-wide celebration prior to this.  

P'Ache Prime

 

1 One

Where
All Planets  
When
The first day of each year
 
What
The first day of the year is considered worthy of celebration because it is an opportunity to look towards the future and plan for what is to come.   It is sometimes a meal with those you care about, or sometimes it is used to plan or strategise for the year ahead.  
 

Primary Systems

 

Founding Day

Where
All Planets within the Primary Territories  
When
Annually on 2 One  
 
What
Although the Primary Territories actually came into being on 1 One 1410 PT, due to the 1 One celebrations, members of the Primary Territories decided to move it to the day after.   The celebration usually involves a celebration of the Alliance as a whole, and a thankfulness for the great things which the Alliance have allowed them to achieve. The nature of these celebrations varies from planet to planet, but the ideals behind it are the same.  
 

Aspiration Systems

 

Aspiration Day

Where
All planets within the Aspiration System  
When
Annually on 25 Ten  
 
What
Although the Aspiration System actually came into being on 1 One 2302 PT, due to the 1 One celebrations, members of the Aspiration System decided to move it to the day before.   The nature of the celebrations varies from planet to planet, but the ideals behind it are the same. These celebrations are about a thankfulness for the year which has come before and the progress which has been made.  
 

Victalis Systems

 

Victalis Day

Where
All planets in the Victalis System  
When
Annually on 14 Five
 
What
This is a celebration of the day on which the Victalis system came in to being, the day after the end of the initiation of Triumph.   This day is celebrated differently on each planet, but for all it is a chance to think about the great steps and changes that have been made since becoming part of the Alliance.  
 

Celebrations by Species and Ethnicity

Below is a list of celebrations based on the species which celebrates them. They are generally practiced on the homeworld of the species, which means that migrants to the planet may also celebrate these traditions or variations.   Equally, versions of these traditions are likely celebrated on a smaller scale in those places where groups of these species and ethnicities gather on other planets.  

Primian

The Primians don't believe in regular feasts or celebrations, with the exception of 1 One which they celebrate every year.  

Majoran

 

Coming of Age

Where
P'Ache Major  
When
15th anniversary of the birth of a child
 
What
When a Majoran child reaches the age of 15, they are considered of an age to contribute to the communities. They are gifted with a tool, or tool belt which is chosen by their parents as best fitting their skillset, along with a method of capturing their ideas. For traditionalists that might be a sketch book and pencil - which these days are purely ceremonial, but for most that would be a design kit which allows them to sketch, photograph, mock-up and demo their ideas.  
 

Sketch Days

Where
P'Ache Major  
When
Annually from 7 Seven to 10 Seven
 
What
This is a period of three days which occur annually, during which sketches and ideas are presented to the community and voted upon, so that they can become reality. This used to be the way to plan resources for the new year, but now that Majorans have the means to implement whatever ideas they have whenever they like, so it's much more of a ceremony now and tends to be more focused on children. The first day is used for formalising ideas, getting them documented and preparing the pitch. The second day is for presenting ideas to the people of the community, and the third day is for voting on the best idea, at the end of which there is a feast celebrating the winner.  
 

Treaty Day

Where
P'Ache Major  
When
Annually on 14 Six
 
What
This is a feast day which celebrates the day on which the peace treaty with the Primians was signed. This happens every year and is an excuse for the community to come together. The meal usually consists of a combination of traditional Majoran mealworms and algae, served along side the food which the Primians brought with them, of rich meats and cheeses, that aren't possible to get naturally on P'Ache Major.  
 

Minoran

 

Death Words

Where
P'Ache Minor (and anywhere else Minorans gather)  
When
Within 3 days of the death of a Minoran
 
What
When a person dies, traditionally, a group of people who knew the person will sit and talk about the person who has passed. These conversations start with mentions of the words that this person spoke, or the thoughts they gave voice to which particularly resonated. Then the conversation will move on naturally to ruminations around their words or other observations of the person. Death Words can go on for anywhere between half a day and several days, depending on the content of the converation. This is considered an opportunity to learn from the life of the person who has passed and ensure that they build on it for the future. These conversations are not always held in the same place or all at once. When someone who has lived in multiple places passes away, the Death Words might happen in each of the places they have lived with the people who knew them.  
 

Treaty Day

Where
P'Ache Minor  
When
Annually on 10 Three
 
What
This is a feast day which celebrates the day on which the peace treaty with the Primians was signed. Traditionally, they gather with friends and family, and they eat and talk about connections they have made throughout the year, and think about how they can continue in this positive way in the future. With this, as with all Minoran traditions, there is an opportunity to ruminate.  
 

Macran

 

Coming Of Age

Where
P'Ache Micro  
When
17th anniversary of the birth of a child
 
What
When a child comes of age they are taken on a mudwalk, around the area they were born and raised. They are touched on the arms and legs by the people of their community, each person marking them with kired. This is when they are old enough to cover their body in intricate mud designs, and they are treated like adults.  
 

Peace Day

Where
P'Ache Micro  
When
Annually on 21 Five
 
What
A feast day which celebrates the day on which peace was reached with the Primians after The Second Micro Rebellion, and they were allowed to hold on to some of their traditions. The feast is held with friends and family and they celebrate their victories since the previous feast.  
 

Lchan

 

Consort Choosing Ceremony

Where
Laurels  
When
Whenever required by the Queen
 
What
The Consort Choosing Ceremony is designed to allow the Queen to choose one or multiple new consorts, to replace those she has disgarded or have died.   The Queen calls the community together and requests that anyone who wishes to compete to be her new consort steps forward. The competitors then take on whatever challenges the Queen desires until one or more consorts are chosen. The three consorts are then presented with the Consort Feast, which is only for them.  

Related Articles

Organisations Peacekeeper Alliance, Peacekeeper Diplomacy, Peacekeeper Integrity, P'Ache Command, Primary Territories Command, Aspiration Command, Victalis Command
Culture Social Rules for Peacekeepers, Idioms, Expressions and Common Peacekeeper Proverbs, Foods and Delicacies From Across the Territories
Locations Peacekeeper Territories, P'Ache Solar System, The Primary Territories, The Aspiration System, The Victalis System

Comments

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Jan 12, 2024 14:49 by LexiCon (WordiGirl)

Interesting article and very neat layout you're using for these. Thanks for sharing and entering it into the Special Category! God bless and much success with your New Year's plans! <3

Jan 21, 2024 19:10 by Elspeth

Thank you! You too!

So many worlds to choose from...