How the Laniri is Celebrated Throughout Vathis – Part One & Three 5e Laniri Items
This is part one of a two-part series.
The Laniri is a holiday sacred to all peoples and cultures across Vathis. As the day between the changing of the years, it holds a special place in the heart of the world’s citizens. It is also a date of extreme importance to a number of religions, and clergies far and wide celebrate the Laniri in their own unique day. As a traveler of the world, you may find yourself abroad on the Laniri. Here is part one of our quick and handy guide on how the Laniri is celebrated across the world:
Aurezia
The Laniri is the largest holiday celebrated in The Holy Kingdom of Aurezia. For Aurezians, the Laniri commemorates the rebirth of the goddess Astea, the patron goddess of the country. Celebrations feature decorated evergreen trees, holly boughs, and colored and magical lighting displays both in homes and on the nation’s streets. Revelers exchange gifts with loved ones and throw large boisterous parties. These intense celebrations begin the week before the Laniri, and end on the day of the Laniri itself, a day in which the Aurezians feast and give thanks to Astea. These festivities are largest in the Grand Garden of Aurez City, the nation’s capital. Citizens gather within the Grand Garden and before the Sapphire Spire to sing holiday songs praising Astea and celebrating her rebirths.
Cypress
The extremely strong traditions of the Aurezians to north bleed into parts of Cyprean culture and this is especially true of Laniri celebrations. Like Aurezians, Cypreans celebrate the Laniri with feasts, merrymaking, and hanging colored lanterns and lights. Uniquely Cyprean, however, is a festival of remembrance that takes place at the same time as the Laniri. This holiday of remembrance celebrates gods and goddesses and men and women alike. Heroes and important ancestors are prayed to during this time, and the festival doubles as a celebration of Cyprean pride.
Darastrix
The Laniri is the second-largest holiday in Darastrix, and it is observed with an extremely competitive nation-wide relay race. Every mote in Darastrix chooses torchbearers over the course of the year, and at the end of the year, all of the torchbearers bring their colored flames to Lavei, where a unification ceremony is held. The colored flames are brought to an enormous torch that celebrates Daras unity and pride. The foreigners who choose to spend their Laniri on holiday in Darastrix observe their local traditions as well, but the bulk of the celebration in Darastrix observed by Daras-born citizens is centric to national pride and identity.
Erygis
Erygis is an extremely diverse nation that observes all of the world’s diverse cultural Laniri traditions. Aurezian-style celebrations are held alongside Tristan-style celebrations, with neighbors respecting and acknowledging the differences in their festivities. A week before the Laniri, Erygans celebrate a holiday called Brightest Day, which features jousting, fencing, and races. Brightest Day reinforces a sense of shared Erygan identity that makes it possible for the diverse Laniri celebrations to take place peacefully.
Isild
Laniri celebrations in the nation of Isild are similar to the celebrations found in Vavaire and Aurezia. This is largely on account of shared history and cultural similarities. What makes Isild unique is the attention the Isril pays to the Zodiacs in addition to Astea and the world’s other Deities. Evergreen boughs decorate Isril houses, and feasts celebrating the various Zodiacs take place throughout the entire winter season leading up to the Laniri.
Leyathar
The Leyarish celebrate the Laniri in perhaps the showiest display in the entire world. Their festivities include grand displays of magic lasting days, and magic-users in the nation use this opportunity to showcase their talent and compete with others. Some mages prepare for their Laniri displays year-round. Like in Isild, the Leyarish revere the Laniri as a celebration of the Zodiacs as well as of the Deities. The Laniri is also the birthday of High Templar Syvesia, one of the nation’s renowned leaders.
Mythrayne
The citizens of Mythrayne celebrate the Laniri with song and dance. They decorate their homes and give gifts to their friends and neighbors, like in traditional celebrations, but they show their most sincere reverence for the day by singing the songs of their ancestors. During the Laniri, the sprawling caverns of Konungardra resonate with their great, collective voices. It is customary for the Mythrene to sing a particular holiday song on the Laniri, and one family member must be singing this song in their town’s center at all times. Throughout the Laniri, members of a household will take turns traveling to the center of town to sing with their friends and neighbors. The song of the Laniri describes the dwarf’s history and destiny as it is written in the stars.
