Kaldari Birthday Traditions
A Rare Opportunity For A Kaldari To Set Down Their Responsibilities To Their Family and Kingdom
Celebrated for each individual once a year, a birthday is a rare opportunity for a Kaldari to set down their responsibilites to their family and kingdom and instead relax and enjoy the presence and attention of those closest to them.
History
Birthdays are a common celebration reflected in many species across Alwaus, and is seen in virtually all Human cultures. Common threads exist between the different culture's interpretations of the event, which is to be expected given humanity's common ancestry in the Astorian River Valley.
Execution
On the day of their birthday, the subject of the birthday is expected to be told by their family that a great deal of preparation and care was put into celebrating their day with them, however other responsibilities have forced them to have to cancel their plans and they will need to make up for it next year. The subject is then expected to groan and complain about how devastated they are but then admit that they too have other commitments that require their attention today as well. This is of course a charade - however it does give some interesting insight into the Kaldari's relationship with work/life balance). Anyone else who makes contact with the subject of the birthday or had plans in place - is expected to cancel said plans at the last minute with similar excuses, and again the subject is expected to complain unpleasantly before admitting that they too have work to attend to. In reality, the subject is well aware that a "surprise" is being planned for them in evening and this is merely a way to give a world weary Kaldari the opportunity to spend a day in pursuit of solitary, private, and personal errands. The exact nature of what they subject gets up to on their birthday is completely up to them; some will spend the day exploring the cliffs around their village, others will peruse music and writing, while others may simply choose to open a bottle of whiskey and get "birthday boozed." At any rate, the activities gotten up to on a subject's birthday are not expected to be productive and contributory to the community at whole - and as such it is considered taboo to make inquiries about how the subject spent their day.
Come the evening hours however, the subject will return home to find their extended family and close friends gathered in their home to celebrate with them. They share food, drinks, and take turns telling stories of the subject to the whole crowd (some pleasant, most embarrassing). A Kaldari birthday is an intimate social affair, even among the nobility, and a rare opportunity for the hardened people to otherwise relax and set their axes down.
Components and tools
The evening meal for a birthday is usually the subject's favorite meal, however compromises can be made due to a specific guest's allergies. If a guest does not enjoy the particular meal being served it is considered in exceptionally poor taste to comment or complain about the meal choice, as it is seen as a direct complaint against the preferences of the subject person.
Noticeably absent from Kaldari birthday traditions is the concept of gift giving, which is expected in most human cultures. While there is some mention of gift giving in older texts, it is a rare occurrence and only done so between the most intimiate of family and friends, a likely result of the many long winter seasons the Kaldari have endured.
Participants
The person being celebrated is of course expected to attend, as well as both close and distant family. It is common for close friends and their families to be invited to the celebration as well, however it is considered taboo to not extend an invitation back to the invitee for your own celebration. This causes Kaldari birthdays to be rather family focused, with only close family friends expecting invitations to attend - a welcome relief to non-family as there is a considerable amount of expectation for the guests of the event.
Observance
Birthdays are celebrated every year on the calendar date that coincides with the subjects birth. For example, if a child was born of the 87th of Spring in 108 AoEE, they would expect their family to celebrate their birth every year afterwards on the 87th day of Spring. This causes some degree of confusion should a child be born a day that is already subject to another holiday - as it can create a conflict of attention between the opposed subjects of celebration - particularly if the conflicting holiday has considerable Kaldari cultural significance.
Primary Related Location
Related Ethnicities
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