The Aurora of Eras and the Century Aurora

I do not think that my marking of this topic down is necessary, as I would hope that even the layman takes note of the passing of years, considering that it's the only time we have light other than that of our lanterns and candles. If they do not, then I can't imagine that I will be able to change that with the amount of paper available to me, prodigious though it might be.
Yet I can't disentangle the thought of the Auroras from the thought of the sun and stars. Something described as so notable, with depictions that hold them both in reverence, but I cannot say that I truly know what they were. What they looked like, what they felt like, or what emotions they conjured forth for those who saw them. If those can simply vanish, leaving us in the dark in the first place, then why not the Auroras as well?
And so I put pen to paper.
The Auroras are annual events experienced all across the world, or rather, at least all of the known world. They demarcate one of two things:
The most common is the passing of the year, which is marked by the erroneously named Century Aurora. I imagine 'the yearly aurora' didn't carry the weight wanted by a name. Every year, as it comes to its end, the Tower of the Aurora Wheel's inner mechanism comes to life once again and either brings about or simply coincides with the Aurora.
It's a truly beautiful event, the whole sky lit up in streamers. I've noticed, though I have yet to have anyone of a more learned standing tell me I'm right or wrong on the topic, that the Century Aurora tends to stick to cooler colors. Blues, purples and the like with warmer offerings only appearing as speckles throughout. 
For several hours in the middle of the night, these colors blaze across the sky, and the event is usually accompanied by celebration and merriment across the world. Gatherings in the streets, lavish parties thrown in every household, food and drink flowing. Another year survived in the dark certainly earns it. Once the light show ends, and the skies grow dark again the festivities tend to wind down, and the new year declared as began. Some of my best memories, not to mention some of the most fantastical fetes I have ever been invited to (Or not quite invited).
The other event is the turning of the Wheel, or that is to say, the revolution of ten thousand years. Functionally, the Aurora of the Eras happens the same as the first, but on a far grander scale. The end of the year comes, the Tower of the Aurora Wheel grows brightly and comes to full life this time, and the sky lights up. 
This time, however, the colors are far warmer. Above my hometown, the sky burned with gold and crimson, or so I'm told. I was busy coming into this world, and my mother was struggling to aid me in that action. A fact that she very much likes to hold over me, as she was far too distracted with the process of birth to take in the sights and experience of a once-in-ten-thousand-year event. Not that I mind helping around the house when I find myself at home, but I do wish I had a sibling to take some of the blame off me.
The circumstances of my birth and the need for Candleglasses it left me aside, the Aurora of Eras also burns far longer than the few hours of the Century. From the moment the day behind, to the moment it ends, the world is bathed in what I can only describe as sunlight. Such is the intensity of the aurora and its longevity. 
The celebration that comes during the end of the standard year comes back a thousand times stronger for the turning of the Wheel, and the debauchery becomes practically comical. Whole cities drank completely dry of booze, military units deserting for hours, days, or completely, and couples....coupling in the street. By the time the Aurora burns itself out, I'm sure a fair few lives are burned out as well, even in more reserved areas. The frenzy is just too great to control everyone, and things quickly grow out of hand...Perhaps it best that my mother was unable to take part in the festivities...

There is debate as to if the Tower of the Aurora Wheel is responsible for the phenomenon, or simply marks it's regular passing.

Type

Natural