Common Holidays

Andrastian humans and Dalish elves have a culture that celebrates five major holidays every year. Each is tied to the transition from one season to the next, or the beginning of a new year.
The traditions and holidays themselves were once solely the Dalish's, but the Chantry has taken them upon as their own.
This is one of the few instances of a unified interaction between the Dalish and humans. Each of the entries below shows the original Dalish name followed by the more general Theodosian name.

Observance

Sa'vunin/First Day

This holiday marks the start of a new year and involves visits to neighbors and family, as well as commemorating the year past. Often, participants join in with drinking and merriment. In remote areas, this is used as an annual check to ensure everyone was alive and well.

Mythalis/Wintersend

Originally a Dalish holiday of reverence to their pantheon, this has become a more general holiday that serves as a celebration of the god(s). It stands for the end of winter and in Ferelden and the Free Marches it coincides with tourneys and contests. In other nations, its a day of gathering for trade, theater, and the arrangement of marriages.

Elgaralis/Summerday

This holiday is universally celebrated as the transition to summer, a time for joy and, commonly, marriage.
For children of the Chantry, these boys and girls ready themselves for their coming of age ceremonies. They don white tunics and gowns and join a grand procession that crosses the settlement to the local Chantry. There, they are taught the responsibilities of adulthood. Summerday is a particularly holy occasion in Orlais as it is also around the time Emperor Kordilius Drakon I first stepped into power.

Eluvis/All Soul's Day

This holiday marks the transition from fall to winter. All Soul's Day is spent in somber remembrance of the dead during the day. As the day comes to its end, people dress as spirits and dance the streets in parades after midnight.
The Chantry encourages its members to use this holiday to remember the death of Andraste, with public fires that mark her immolation and plays that depict her death.

Iounis/Satinalia

One of the wilder holidays, Satinalia is often accompanied by wild celebration, the wearing of masks, and naming the town fool as ruler for a day. In Antiva, Satinalia lasts for a week or more, while a week of fasting follows. In Orlais, it is common for large feasts to be held and the giving of gifts to mark the holiday.
This marks the transition from summer to fall.