Meta Month, Day Six: Holidays

[mark_asphodel]

Holiday Meta: Archanea/Valencia

Holidays!  Everyone likes holidays...Holy days, festivals, whatever.  I mean, we know the FE characters don’t actually celebrate Christmas, right?

[Please say yes-- unless you’re writing an FE/Narnia crossover or something...]

Now, first off... I see no reason to assume, unless it’s stated somewhere in the games, that the various cultures observe a mandatory “day of rest” once a week.  Those of us in countries with a predominantly Abrahamic-derived culture may think that’s normal, but IIRC the ancient Romans, among other peoples, found this “rest on the seventh day” thing pretty bizarre.

So, no need to assume that all the shops in Pales close on Sunday.  Or Saturday, or Friday... or Tuesday, even!  Or that they even CALL these days Sunday, Tuesday, and so on...

Now, I see Sofian culture as being pretty holiday-happy.  They’re known for being averse to “toil,” and for having a good life handed to them by the goddess Mila.  If anyone in all of Fire Emblem takes the weekends off, it’s Sofians.  They probably do have a day of rest-- hell, they might take a week off every moon-cycle.  And I expect they love parades, fiestas, and other celebrations of Mila’s beneficence and their own happy lives.  At least until Mila gets sealed and the famine strikes...

Rigel?  Hell no.  I’d expect them to have religious observances in honor of Doma-- perhaps something like the civic/religious holidays of the ancient world, with offerings to Doma and probably games and contests-of-arms.  

Archanea is a more complex picture; I’d expect that the overall human culture probably celebrates some holiday in honor of the Guardian God, while the individuals countries have various seasonal festivals plus a civic/religious holiday or three honoring the local culture hero.  So, you can bet that the Alteans celebrate the birthday or coronation day or some analogue of a saint’s day for Anri... and their neighbors in Gra emphatically do not.  And probably each country that faced destruction in the Liberation Wars has some kind of liberation-day celebrations.  Maybe Macedon has the Glorious Revolt of the Peoples Day or something like that.  Pyrathi probably has some very weird observances-- maybe with the exiles observing their familiar holidays on the down-low.

Of course, after the events of 604-608, I’m sure the calendars are rewritten extensively.  Something tells me the civic and religious calendars are going to be commemorating the exploits of you-know-who for the next thousand years.

Meanwhile, FE2 does have that tidbit about Cellica being regarded as an incarnation of the earth goddess, so after she ascends to the heavens or whatever, I’ll bet she gets her own cult... and possibly receives some kind of formal deification, in the manner of a Roman emperor.  Alm, too, possibly-- he is referred to as the Holy King, after all, not the Warrior King or the Supreme Badass or Our King Who Is Better Than That Other Guy Over There --

Comments

[myaru.livejournal.com]

Macedon might celebrate something in relation to their pegusi or dragons, if you assume mini pegusi are born at a certain time of year. And maybe they make a point of celebrating most holidays with some kind of war game or tournament because Archanea would do it with poetry, and Macedon thinks they're dumb.

(Gotta say, while I don't like Hetalia much, it'd be hilarious (or depressing?) to do a Hetalia-style rendering of the different nations in Archanea. Someone has probably already tried... for another FE game.)

When it comes to holidays, I tend to go very general (equinox, harvest, etc.) because it's safe. Harvest festivals seem especially logical. Celebrating the coming of spring seems logical. It's not very exciting or creative, though.

Micaiah would get her own saint day. Ike would get five.

[crimsonmorgan.livejournal.com]

Hetalia-style FE would be hilarious. I have to admit it crossed my mind once while doing meta for Magvel, but it was more of a joke than "serious" fic or something.

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

a Hetalia-style rendering of the different nations in Archanea

Hah. I'm on the fence about where that would fall on the funny/depressing continuum.

It's not very exciting or creative, though.

Well, it's the idiosyncratic days (like a pegasi festival) that make a culture "real," you know? The things that aren't so obvious but somehow make sense anyway.

Ike would get five.

Hahah. So true.

[sailorvfan10.livejournal.com]

And maybe they make a point of celebrating most holidays with some kind of war game or tournament because Archanea would do it with poetry, and Macedon thinks they're dumb.
I LOL'd.

I'm with you on the holidays. I do have ideas concerning what else they might celebrate, but the general ones are safe and you don't really have to go into too much detail with them, because everyone has some kind of idea of what happens at them. It's the ones you make up that you have to explain, and sometimes that's...not really all that easy.

Or someone would go WELL WHY THE HELL DOES MARTH HAVE TWELVE HOLY DAYS DEDICATED TO HIM? (I'm sure he would be wondering the same thing, and his advisors would give him a look that says, "Um, duh.")

Micaiah would get her own saint day. Ike would get five.
In Crimea, Ike might have more than five unofficially because Elincia said so. At least, in my mind. I DECLARE EVERY DAY "IKE DAY".

I wonder what they would do on "Ike Day"...

[writerawakened.livejournal.com]

Gotta say, while I don't like Hetalia much, it'd be hilarious (or depressing?) to do a Hetalia-style rendering of the different nations in Archanea.

OH GOD XD.

My headcanon is, if Magvel had personified countries, they'd probably be a lot like the Five Heroes :P It might be a similar case for the Heroes of Elibe, although a lot less exact of a fit, for sure.

[hooves.livejournal.com]

I mean, we know the FE characters don’t actually celebrate Christmas, right?

LOL, of course not!! That's The Scouring Is Over Day in FE7/6

/dashes off

That said, this is a pretty awesome meta. imo.

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

Heh!

Thanks. :)

[sailorvfan10.livejournal.com]

There is nothing I hate more than fics where people are celebrating holidays that just would not exist in their culture. There is no Christ in FE, therefore there is no Christmas. Or people named Chris for that matter, though IS ignored that one.

...is it bad that I feel that, after FE12, Altea (and maybe elsewhere) has a crapload of holidays...just for Marth? And that he really wishes his people wouldn't do things like that but he goes along with it anyway?

[kyusil.livejournal.com]

Or people named Chris for that matter, though IS ignored that one.

You could pretty much apply this to... any name in FE that isn't completely made up, though. None of the other mythologies from which they draw names exist in those worlds either. From what I've gathered, MyUnit is pretty much a godmoder anyway, so this might even be intentional.

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

You could pretty much apply this to... any name in FE that isn't completely made up, though.

As in, "why is that wyvern named for the Greek god of the sun?"

I agree that "Chris" seems particularly jarring-- to a player in a majority-Christian culture, anyway.

MyUnit is pretty much a godmoder anyway, so this might even be intentional

I subscribe to the St. Christopher "man who carries the messiah" hypothesis when it comes to our boy Chris.

[kyusil.livejournal.com]

I subscribe to the St. Christopher "man who carries the messiah" hypothesis when it comes to our boy Chris.

Ooh, that works really well.

[raphiael]

This. You've got scads of biblical and mythological names -- Chris might seem like an especially big "ouch, obvious", but I don't think from an outside view it's any worse than other myth/religion/folklore connected names, like Joshua, Matthew, Lugh and Lleu, and even that Marth/Mars deal.

And agreed with the idea that it could easily be intentional- there are a whole lot of clear connections to the name-roots going on across FE, and to a culture that isn't predominately Christian, it probably doesn't feel much different than a Westerner might feel slapping "Shiva" or something like that on a character.

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

And that he really wishes his people wouldn't do things like that but he goes along with it anyway?

I'd say the holidays fall into the following categories for Marth and other ruler FE characters (not necessarily Ike):

1) Big military victories. I'd bet money the Alteans celebrate their liberation from Dolhr in 604/605. The Grustians probably celebrate the expulsion of Lang and company in 607. The problem in FE is, depending on who conquers whom, this could be pretty divisive.

2) State holidays designed for personal exaltation of the sovereign, established during one's reign-- it's standard to celebrate birthdays and/or reign anniversaries (UK monarchs even have an "official" birthday regardless of when they're born). I'd expect that under future reigns, Marth's accession is celebrated as a more generic rah-rah Unification Day that everyone is supposed to feel involved in-- but you can bet the future Archanean rulers celebrate how long they, personally, have been around, as well.

3) Commemoration after the fact-- something like Victoria Day, which is still celebrated in Canada at the least. Frex, even if Eirika should leave Renais, future generations might celebrate Eirika Day as some kind of pleasant spring/summer holiday. Something like that.

4) Religious holidays co-opted for state/political purposes-- dangerous ground here, but you can imagine.

[writerawakened.livejournal.com]

There is nothing I hate more than fics where people are celebrating holidays that just would not exist in their culture. There is no Christ in FE, therefore there is no Christmas. Or people named Chris for that matter, though IS ignored that one.

Yeah, but by that logic, no FE script could never use the word "vandal". Or "Barbarian". Or "Berserker." Or have people named Rebbecca, Lot, Noah, etc. (all of which are FE characters, by the way). Personally, I don't see how Chris is such an oddball name compared to all those (although I will give you how wrong it would seem for actual Christmas to be celebrated in a fantasy world :P)

[sailorvfan10.livejournal.com]

Well yeah, actual Christmas is what I was driving at. With Christmas trees and going to church and all that stuff. They could have something like that but I doubt it'd be like Christmas or something. They could have a gift-giving thing or whatever, but they wouldn't be celebrating Christ's birthday, because he doesn't exist. THAT'S what I was trying to say.

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

FWIW, I feel the same way about stories that have St. Valentine's day going on...

[writerawakened.livejournal.com]

Which of the nations in Archanea would you consider the most pious (to whomever they worship?)

My educated guess would be that those places would have the most holidays (And I have to agree that even the defeated "enemy countries" would have some commemorative holidays. Probably when all the survivors get together and bemoan the "War of Altean Agression" or somesuch :P)

[mark-asphodel.livejournal.com]

Which of the nations in Archanea would you consider the most pious (to whomever they worship?)

There's not a hell of a lot to go on, but I'm guessing Altea. This may seem a strange argument, but the people of Altea seem to have an exceptional faith that someone is going to bail them out of trouble, even if that someone is a teenaged boy who went missing a while ago. When crap happens, most of the other countries manage to start rebellions-- Grust and Macedon definitely do, and Midia tries her hand at it twice in Archanea Kingdom. But it really seems like the people of Altea just sit there and wait for their savior. Who does finally come, justifying their faith.

Probably when all the survivors get together and bemoan the "War of Altean Agression" or somesuch :P)

Well, hell, that's what it sure looks like from some angles. Especially if anyone remembered Hardin's propaganda campaign. If you've sat through more than a year's worth of material about how that maniac from Altea wants to take over the whole damned world, and one day you wake up and it's his statue going up in the town square? Yeah, fun times.

[raphiael]

I definitely love the idea of the Sofians having piles and piles of holidays and feasts and everything - it definitely fits with the plush and cushy life they're handed. I can also there perhaps being sort of a tiny cultural backlash against it, rather like we have the "put Christ back in Christmas" stuff, there's gotta be someone wringing his hands over the holidays being meant to be about being thankful for the bounty, rather than pigging out and getting drunk.

Not that I think anybody really listens.

[xirysa.livejournal.com]

There isn't much I can add to whatever's already been said, but this was a really interesting read. I don't think there's ever been a human civilization to date that hasn't had a holiday of some sort, so translating that into canonical events given in the games is a really neat sort of cross-reference. The customs, too, accompanying those holidays would be really interesting to see, too.

[wolfraven80.livejournal.com]

.Holy days, festivals, whatever. I mean, we know the FE characters don’t actually celebrate Christmas, right?

Heh, no, though I have seen some fics that go with midwinter or solstice, which makes some sort of sense-- at least if the place in question has winter (but that's another post ;) ).

I love you country by country breakdown. It makes me wish we had a little more about the countries in Magvel. They do refer to the founder of Rausten as a Saint though, and where there's one saint there are probably more, right? I remember a book I read a while back pointed out the large number of rest/feast days in Christian Europe due to the all the Saints's days. I can see Rausten being like that, having lots of religious holidays.

[raphiael]

Yeah, Magvel has Latona, and while I think her role might put her as the only emphasized saint, there's also the bit that Frelia, at least, is polytheistic. So, there's probably some kind of holiday going on there - I'm pretty sure I remember feasts, at the very least, being mentioned, and there's mention of balls and such for the royals. So, it makes sense, but it's hard to say with, as you said, the very scant canon.

/dorking

[shining-valor.livejournal.com]

I firmly believe that Saint Nick has no problems taking a vacation in Fire Emblishenia while he hides from the naughty kids of earth.