Nollaig & the Long Walk

In the evening of High Winter, Wealding fathers throughout the nation volunteer to be consecrated as walkers by their priests and shamans. The Long Walk is not just a cultural celebration, it is part of the Great Covenant of the forest magics that shapes the Weald. The clans have an absolute obligation to participate in the ritual, and clans who fail to do so suffer grave misfortune.
At midnight, the consecrated fathers march away from their homes and camps and temples. They follow a road that seems bright to them - like moonlight glowing on white cobblestones. To their friends and families, they appear to simply walk away, soon appearing blurry and difficult to see and then disappearing altogether.
A few hours later, the walkers return, their numbers multiplied by the glowing, translucent forms of the dead who, for this one night, return to the plane where their clansman wait to greet them one last time. They don't stop moving, and they can't speak, but as they walk past, they might catch the eyes of a kinsmen and nod in approval or smile in benediction at a newly born descendant.
Usually, all the clansfolk will march alongside the walkers. Living parents may get a chance to hold a ghost babe they barely knew and feel its cool glow against their arms. Greybeards may see their parents and grandparents and remember what it was to be young in their care. The clansfolk take the opportunity to share their kin ghosts company for a few hours each year, knowing that when their time comes, their descendants will help them achieve this thin immortality in turn.
As the night flows on, the strength of the walkers wanes. One by one, they slowly drop out of the march, drained by the ritual to build the bridge between this world and the next. The ghosts they brought fade from sight, drawn back to their plane or the past or the power that let them loose. Until at last, when the first light of dawn breaks over the horizon, only one walker remains. He is made the Gatekeeper of Nollaig by his endurance. And when that light touches him, his body turns to stone. A permanent memorial to the sacrifice of the fathers that keep the Great Covenant.
It is said that his spirit maintains the gate for another year, so that the path to the ghosts is not lost forever, but that it also guards the gate for that year, keeping the land of the living from being overrun by the less friendly dead. Gatekeepers are celebrated and venerated, with home villages often creating shrines to their sacrifice.
The next day is Nollaig proper, a celebration of fathers and the past. Walkers may take several days to fully recover from their part in the ritual, so a bed is made for them in from of a fire in the great hall, and they're expected to rest and tell and listen to stories. Traditionally, family members and friends give presents to all the fathers they're close to, visiting from bedside to bedside. Different parts of the Weald have slightly different traditional foods served, but generally a feast is held sometime after midday, with storytelling playing a featured role. Everyone is expected to tell a story of the past, whether it's an epic tale of a long-dead hero or the funny story of what your sister did when she was a moody teenager.

History

Although Nollaig was celebrated in various forms for many centuries, the Great Covenant of the Weald was sealed in 1868 TH, almost 150 years ago. Before that it was sometimes celebrated as a holy day for the Father of Winter, and some of the southern clans (notably Clan Wolfcliff and Clan Serpentmire)had precursors to the ritual where clansmen did a ghost march around a bonfire to see visions of their past dead, but it was with the sealing of the Great Covenant that Nollaig became a nation-wide obligation and strong enough to seriously call back the dead and require a gatekeeper sacrifice.

Participants

All Wealdings who are physically able to get out of doors participate in some way.

• Generally only Priests of the Father of Winter, priests of the Holy Family in general, Spirit mediums, and Shamans are the ones who master the ritual that consecrates the walkers, binding them to the Great Covenant so that the energy to fuel this part of the magic is drawn from them.
• The walkers themselves are always fathers, whether they sired a child or adopted or fostered one. They must be consecrated to the ritual in order for them to help lead the ghosts back to land of the living.
• The majority of the clansfolk act as an audience - showing their support for the walkers and ghosts by walking alongside them.
• One of the walkers becomes the Gatekeeper, keeping the path to the dead from being lost, but protecting the land of the living.

Observance

The consecration of the walkers is performed on the evening of High Winter. High Winter the 15th day of the month of Eanáir -- midway between the winter solstice (Alban Yule) and the spring equinox (Alban Eibol) in the The Wealding Calendar . The march itself lasts from midnight to dawn.

Primary Related Location

Wealding National Territory

Related Ethnicities

• Wealding