Commemoration of Ximret the Impaled
This is my entry for the Love Seasons flash challenge
Ximret the Impaled is a Zeribian saint of love and passion. Not much of his mortal life is known, but he is supposed to have been an unremarkable middle-class citizen. According to the tradition, fell obsessively in love with a noble lord , and knowing his love could never be accepted, he tried to get close to him in secret. He tried to spy on him to see him naked, but was caught and sentenced to death by impalement for offending him.
He was left on the stake, but when the night came, the Moon Rabbit God Haššiw took pity on him, and turned him into a demigod. He is said to have spend the rest of his time helping others succeed in their love affairs better than he did. Each year, a festival is held in his remembrance.
Execution
The Feast
The Commemoration Day falls on the full moon (approximately 17th day) of the third month of the Zeribian lunar calendar. The faithful gather together at the temple at the midnight, and sacrifice a young male goat. Then they paint themselves with the sacred blood, and eat the sacrificial meat. The feast will last the whole night.
by Zde (wikipedia user)
The Parade
After the ceremony, at the break of dawn, the worshipers start carrying the cult statue around the city. While walking, they sing erotic songs and dance, trying to lure passersby to join them. If the bystanders approach the parade, the followers sprinkle sacred blood on them too. The rites are believed to promote fertility, and give good luck in finding a mate.
by Old indian painting, Public domain
Participants
His shrine is frequented by people seeking help in their love affairs. Unsurprisingly many of them are homosexuals. Even though any openly homosexual gatherings are discouraged by the nobles, being dangerous to the society, the faithful of the shrine are thought to be quite harmless and are tolerated to exist among the hundreds of other shrines in the Capital. Ximret the Impaled is also a popular saint among the Šyrzir (Zeribian 3rd gender) population.
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