Fire Dance

Common Celebration

Overview

The fire dance is a social gathering during the summer primarily held by common vnou during the longest night of summer. While this date used to vary wildly, it has been refined and narrowed down to the summer solstice. The fire dance is a festival that calls back to a simpler time, when gatherings were held to meet new vnou to form new Connections. It was a way of bringing distant tribes and families together so that a vnou could meet that special someone. In earlier eras, such gatherings and social events were prized for the opportunity to meet new vnou since Connections are so paramount to who and what they are. While the need for a Connection hasn’t changed, the ability to meet others via other means has lessened the importance of the fire dance as a social get together for that reason. The festival still persists as a cultural celebration and for many superstitious or wistful vnou they believe they just might meet their other at such a thing. Vnou dress up in summer gowns or colorful clothes they might not otherwise wear any other time of the year. It is a time to be colorful, to have fun.

While many cities or towns will sponsor the festival, any city that Pra’Myoiw, Sid’Zhewday, or Sid’Shrie happen to be in proximity of will find an influx of outsiders, tourists, or guests. For those either in cities owned or near places those families frequent, seeing the Myoiw or Zhewday is not uncommon for this festival.

by Midjourney

Primary Locations

This is an outdoor event, generally set away from city streets. When set in or around large cities, it’s in the most open space available so there is plenty of room for music, dance, and the customary bonfire.

Related Organizations

Pra'Myoiw
Sid'Zhewday

Components

A Fire Dance is both a simple but grand affair. In present day, it is attended by nearly every vnou so the scale and scope tries to accommodate the population of whatever city is nearby and account for any tourists that it may expect, if it takes place in or around a tourist location. This means some Fire Dances are huge, spanning dozens of extravagant bonfires and pagodas where food and drink is provided – sometimes for a fee – and various bands play throughout the night in different locales so there is always a form of live music heard. The event isn’t exactly commercialized but if someone looked hard enough they’d likely see hints of brand endorsements or labels in various places. Other Fire Dances are small town affairs, where everyone knows everyone else. They still involve dance and bonfires, finger foods and drink provided by volunteers.

Participants

It is incredibly rare for a common vnou, or a noble from Myoiw or Zhewday, to miss a Fire Dance. It is a culture wide festival, a superstitious fueled gathering steeped in tradition and driven by the biological desire to Connect – for those that are not already. For older vnou, it is a gathering of community and a break from the routine.

Myoiw and Zhewday attend for much the same reason though they are far less concerned with tradition and more interested in mingling with common vnou. The interest is generally innocent – to have a good time – but the families have tripped over a high Shra now and then that they’ve taken into their family.

Key Roles

For larger events, there is more structured planning. An organizer is assigned or employed by the city government, who then ensures the space is set up with the proper amount of food and drink – accepting sponsorships in whatever form they arise though mindful not to make this very personal event seem too corporate. They accept applications to set up small booths to sell or provide hand crafted trinkets, book various musicians to play throughout the night since historically music over loudspeaker has been taboo.

Much smaller events in tighter knit communities are expected to be handled by the elected government lead personally. A vnou can make or break their public image by how the handle a Fire Dance – how much responsibility they take for the event and whether or not all things go smoothly. It is not meant to be a bought and paid for affair but rather about drawing volunteers together to provide food and drink. Anyone that wants to bring anything to the Fire Dance is expected to give it as gifts. Money is not exchanged in smaller Fire Dances.

by Midjourney

Observance

Because this is a world wide cultural event, there are various periods of time where one place on the planet will be celebrating while others are not. While it is summer in the northern hemisphere, it is winter in the southern. This varies the days the Fire Dance is celebrated around the world. As both time and the modern era has affected the vnou’s calendar, there have been times the Fire Dance was pushed back to a weekend or moved forward because of inclement weather. The necessity for it to be on a specific day has lessened somewhat as global communication has made it easier to broadcast when and where it will be, where as before vnou used the solstice as the time-keeping method to track when the Fire Dance should take place.

While there are still a lot of superstitious beliefs and requirements around the Fire Dance, such as the exclusion of too much technology or corporate presence, the exact date has become less and less important. Especially in the bigger cities or more populated areas. While the Fire Dance is still a must, it isn’t a must on a specific date. The festival is about the attendance and the socializing that occurs, the opportunity to meet vnou you might not otherwise meet, not on the day which it occurs.

“Are ya going?”

It was a silly question – everyone went to the Fire Dance. That wasn’t what he was really asking though. As Sernale fell in step next to Arlyei, shortening his stride to match hers, what he was really asking was if she was going with anyone else. With her hands clasped behind her back and gaze pointedly on the cobblestone path in front of her, she answered, “I had a thought of going with Rodrisy and Edalda.” Her tone lilted playfully at the end, almost like it was a question.

Sernale took the bait. An arm hooked around her waist and pulled her flush to him. He was taller than her but not excessively so. With a couple of tattooed lines under his right eye to signify the amount of times he’d won a game over his best friend. She knew because she’d been there for each game, each mark. Had been his friend for as long as she could remember. Arlyei grinned up at his scowl.

”Go with me.” He wasn’t asking this time. The first time in their playful back and forth, of chasing after one another through grade school and pretending that’s all it was. Moving out of his parents house and into the Gang house had changed things, even if she wasn’t entirely certain she wanted them to change.
“Ok, ok,” she answered, pressing her hands flat to his chest to gently shove away. He didn’t keep her caged. The scowl melted to that carefree grin she knew all too well. “Pick me up at 6.”