Lore:Holidays

There are many, varied holidays celebrated by the people of Tamriel throughout the year, ranging from joyous festivals to solemn remembrances. The following is a list of known holidays and celebrations.

Morning Star
New Life Festival
Morning Star 1 
 
Clavicus Vile's Summoning Day coincides with the New Life Festival, the 1st of Morning Star.

Scour Day
Morning Star 2 
Scour Day is a celebration held in most High Rock villages on the day after New Life. It was once the day one cleans up after New Life, but has changed into a party of its own.

Ovank'a
Morning Star 12 
Ovank'a is the day the people of the Alik'r Desert offer prayers to Stendarr in the hopes of a mild and merciful year. It is considered very holy.

Meridia's Summoning Day
Morning Star 13 
In Daggerfall, this is the Summoning Day for Meridia.

South Winds Prayer
Morning Star 14  /15 
The 15  of Morning Star is a holiday taken very seriously in  , where they call it South Wind's Prayer, a plea by all the religions of Tamriel for a good planting season. Citizens with every affliction known in Tamriel flock to services in the cities' temples, as the clergy is known to perform free healings on this day. Only some will be judged worthy of this service, but few can afford the temples' usual price...

Day of Lights
Morning Star 16 
The Day of Lights is celebrated as a holy day by most villages in Hammerfell on the Iliac Bay. It is a prayer for a good farming and fishing year, and is taken very seriously.

A possibly unrelated Festival of Lights is a tradition in the Skyrim city of Dawnstar. Little candies are given out to celebrate. 

Waking Day
Morning Star 18 
The people in Yeorth Burrowland invented Waking Day in prehistoric times to wake the spirits of nature after a long, cold winter. It has evolved into a sort of orgiastic celebration of the end of winter.

Sun's Dawn
Mad Pelagius
Sun's Dawn 2 
Mad Pelagius is a silly little tradition in High Rock in a mock memorial to Pelagius Septim III, one of the maddest emperors in recent history. He died about 350 years ago, so the Septims since have taken it with good humor.  In Daggerfall this is the Summoning Day for Sheogorath.

Othroktide
Sun's Dawn 5 
The people of Dwynnen have a huge party to celebrate Othroktide, the day when Baron Othrok took Dwynnen from the undead forces who claimed it in the Battle of Wightmoor.

Day of Release
Sun's Dawn 8 
The people of Glenumbra may be the only people to remember or care about the battle between Aiden Direnni and the Alessian Army in the first era. They celebrate it vigorously on the Day of Release.

Feast of the Dead
Sun's Dawn 13 
Celebrated in the Skyrim city of Windhelm. During the feast, the names of the Five Hundred Companions of Ysgramor are recited. 

Heart's Day
Sun's Dawn 16 
 

Perserverance Day
Sun's Dawn 27 
  Day is quite a party in Ykalon. It was originally held as a solemn memorial to those killed in battle while resisting the Camoran Usurper, but has since become a boisterous festival.

Aduros Nau
Sun's Dawn 28 
The villages in the   celebrate the baser urges that come with Springtide on Aduros Nau. The traditions vary from village to village, but none of them are for the overly virtuous.

First Seed
Hermaeus Mora's Summoning Day
First Seed 5 
In Daggerfall, this is the Summoning Day for Hermaeus Mora.

First Planting
First Seed 7 
On the 7  of First Seed every year, the people of   celebrate First Planting, symbolically sowing the seeds for the autumn harvest. It is a festival of fresh beginnings, both for the crops and for the men and women of the city. Neighbors are reconciled in their disputes, resolutions are formed, bad habits dropped, the diseased cured. The clerics at the temples run a free clinic all day long to cure people of poisoning, different diseases, paralysis, and the other banes found in the world of Tamriel.

Day of Waiting
First Seed 9 
The Day of Waiting is a very old holy day among certain settlements in the Dragontail Mountains. Every year at that time, a dragon is supposed to come out of the desert and devour the wicked, so everyone locks themselves up inside.

Hogithum
First Seed 21 
In Daggerfall, this is the Summoning Day for Azura.

Flower Day
First Seed 25 
Flower Day is another of the frivolous celebrations of High Rock.  Children pick the new flowers of spring while older Bretons, cooped up all winter, come out to welcome the season with dancing and singing.

Festival of Blades
First Seed 26 
During the Festival of Blades, the people of the Alik'r Desert celebrate the victor of the first Redguard over a race of giant goblins and their god, Malooc.    The story is considered a myth by most scholars, but the holiday is still very popular in the desert. In the Second Era, celebrations included feasting and dismembering effigies. 

Rain's Hand
Gardtide
Rain's Hand 1 
On Gardtide, the people of Tamarilyn Point hold a festival to honor Druagaa, the old goddess of flowers. Worship of the goddess is all but dead, but the celebration is always a great success.

Peryite's Summoning Day
Rain's Hand 9 
In Daggerfall, this is the Summoning Day for Peryite.

Day of the Dead
Rain's Hand 13 
The Day of the Dead is one of the more peculiar holidays of Daggerfall. The superstitious say that the dead rise on this holiday to wreak vengeance on the living. It is a fact that King Lysandus' spectre began its haunting on the Day of the Dead, 3E 404.

Day of Shame
Rain's Hand 20 
All along the seaside of Hammerfell, no one leaves their houses on the Day of Shame. It is said that the Crimson Ship, a vessel filled with victims of the Knahaten Plague who were refused refuge hundreds of years ago, will return on this day.

Jester's Festival
Rain's Hand 28 
 

Second Seed
Second Planting
Second Seed 7 
The celebration of Second Planting is in full glory this day. It is a holiday with traditions similar to First Planting, improvements on the first seeding symbolically to suggest improvements on the soul. The free clinics of the temples are open for the second and last time this year, offering cures for those suffering from any kind of disease or affliction. Because peace and not conflict is stressed at this time, battle injuries are healed only at full price.
Marukh's Day
Second Seed 9 
Marukh's Day is only observed by certain communities in Skeffington Wood. By comparing themselves to the virtuous prophet Marukh, the people of Skeffington Wood pray for the strength to resist temptation. In Daggerfall, this is the Summoning Day for Namira.

Fire Festival
Second Seed 20 
The Fire Festival in Northmoor is one of the most attended celebrations in High Rock. It began as a pompous display of magic and military strength in ancient days and has become quite a festival.

Fishing Day
Second Seed 30 
Fishing Day is a big celebration for the Bretons who live off the bounty of the Iliac Bay. They are not usually a flamboyant people, but on Fishing Day, they make so much noise, fish have been scared away for weeks.

Mid Year
Pelinal's Midyear Massacre
Unknown Date
Pelinal's Midyear Massacre is an   celebration that dates back to the fall of the  s. Celebrants remember  's slaughter of the Ayleid forces at Heldon Bridge, a key battle to capturing the Imperial City. During the celebrations, warriors are anointed with a red blood-like substance in honor and mimicry of Pelinal, whose face and hair was said to be covered in the blood of "righteously slaughtered Ayleids". This ritual is said to invigorate warriors and imbued them with righteous power or even grant visions of St. Alessia herself. The celebrations are presided over by the priests of St. Alessia. They are charged with delivering sermons and offering blessings to combatants, who are said to become renowned for their brave deeds in days thereafter.

Drigh R'Zimb
Mid Year 1 
The festival of Drigh R'Zimb, held in the hottest time of year in Abibon-Gora, is a jubilation held for the sun Daibethe itself. Scholars do not know how long Drigh R'Zimb has been held, but it is possible the Redguards brought the festival with them when they came in the first era.

Hircine's Summoning Day
Mid Year 5 
In Daggerfall, this is the Summoning Day for Hircine.

Mid Year Celebration
Mid Year 16 
Today is the 16  of Mid Year, the traditional day for the Mid Year Celebration. Perhaps to alleviate the annual news of the Emperor's latest tax increase, the cities temples offer blessings for only half the donation they usually suggest. Many so blessed feel confident enough to enter the (dangerous) dungeons when they are not fully prepared, so this joyous festival has often been known to turn suddenly into a day of defeat and tragedy. 
Dancing Day
Mid Year 23    
Dancing Day is a time-honored holiday in Daggerfall. Who started it is questionable, but the Red Prince Atryck popularized it in the second era. It is an occasion of great pomp and merriment for all the people of Daggerfall, from the nobles down.

Tibedetha
Mid Year 24 
Tibedetha is middle Tamrielic for "Tibers Day." It is not surprising that the lorddom of Alcaire celebrates its most famous native with a great party. Historically, Tiber Septim never returned once to his beloved birthplace.

Sun's Height
Merchants' Festival
Sun's Height 10 
The bargain shoppers of the known world are out in force today and it is little wonder, for the 10  of Sun's Height is a holiday called the Merchants' Festival. Every marketplace and equipment store has dropped their prices to at least half. The only shop not being patronized today is the Mages Guild, where prices are as exorbitant as usual. Most citizens in need of a magical item are waiting two months for the celebration of Tales and Tallows when prices will be more reasonable... In Daggerfall, this is the Summoning day for Vaernima.

Divad Etep't
Sun's Height 12 
During Divat Etep't, the people of Antiphyllos mourn the death of one of the greatest of the early Redguard heroes, Divat, son of Frandar of the Hel Ansei. His deeds are questioned by historians, but his tomb in Antiphyllos is almost certainly genuine.

Sun's Rest
Sun's Height 20 
You will have to wait until tomorrow if you are planning on making any equipment purchases, for all stores are closed in observance of Sun's Rest. Of course, the temples, taverns, and Mages Guild in the (city) are still open their regular hours, but most citizens chose to devote this day to relaxation, not commerce or prayer. This is not a convenient arrangement for all, but the Merchants' Guild heavily fines any shop that stays open, so everyone complies. 
Fiery Night
Sun's Height 29 
Few besides the natives of the Alik'r Desert would venture out on the hottest day of the year, Fiery Night. It's a lively celebration with a meaning lost in antiquity.

Last Seed
Maiden Katrica
Last Seed 2 
On the day of Maiden Katrica, the people of Ayasofya show their appreciation for the warrior that saved their county with the biggest party of the year.

Koomu Alezer'i
Last Seed 11 
Koomu Alezer'i means simply "We Acknowledge" in old Redguard, and it has been a tradition in Sentinel for thousands of years. No matter the harvest, the people of Sentinel solemnly thank the gods for their bounty, and pray to be worthy of the graces of the gods.

Feast of the Tiger
Last Seed 14 
The Feast of the Tiger in the Bantha rainforest is like other holidays in praise of a bountiful harvest. It is not, however, a solemn occasion for introspection and thanksgiving, but a great celebration and festival from village to village.

Appreciation Day
Last Seed 21 
Appreciation Day in Anticlere is an ancient holiday of thanksgiving for a bountiful harvest for the people of Anticlere. It is considered a holy and contemplative day, devoted to Mara, the goddess-protector of Anticlere.

Harvest's End
Last Seed 27 
Perhaps no other festival fires the spirit of   as much as the one held today, Harvest's End. The work of the year is over, the seeding, sowing, and reaping. Now is the time to celebrate and enjoy the fruits of the harvest, and even visitors to   are invited to join the farmers. The taverns offer free drinks all day long, an extravagance before the economy of the coming winter months. Underfed farm hands gorging themselves and then getting sick in the town square are the most common sights of the celebration of Harvest's End.

Bretons celebrate the Harvest Festival in an attempt to placate  , the Bad Man - the ancient Breton god of crop failure. According to tradition, appeasing the Bad Man will ensure good fortune and a bountiful harvest. Fresh apples and bags of grain are burned on a sacrificial altar in his honor, followed by a feast.  This day in   marked the beginning of the Oblivion Crisis. 

Dishes such as Goatherd's Pies and vegetable soup are commonly served during that day. The taverns offer drinks free of charge during the festivities. One of the more common drinks served that day is Water of Life.  

Hearth Fire
Tales and Tallows
Hearth Fire 3 
No other holiday divides the people of   like the 3rd of Hearth Fire. A few of the oldest, more superstitious men and women do not speak all day long for fear that the evil spirits of the dead will enter their bodies. Most citizens enjoy the holiday, calling it Tales and Tallows, but even the most lighthearted avoid the dark streets of  , for everyone knows the dead do walk tonight. Only the Mages Guild completely thrives on this day. In celebration of the oldest magical science, necromancy, all magical items are half price today. In Daggerfall, this is also the Summoning Day for Nocturnal.


Khurat
Hearth Fire 6 
Every town and fellowship in the Wrothgarian Mountains celebrates Khurat, the day when the finest young scholars are accepted into the various priesthoods. Even those people without children of age go to pray for the wisdom and benevolence of the clergy.

Riglametha
Hearth Fire 12 
Riglametha is celebrated on the twelfth of Hearth Fire every year in Lainlyn as a celebration of Lainlyns many blessings. Pageants are held on such themes as the Ghraewaj, when the daedra worshippers in Lainlyn were changed to harpies for their blasphemy.

Children's Day
Hearth Fire 19 
Children's Day in Betony is a festive occasion with a grim history. All know though few choose to recall that Children's Day began as a memorial to the dozens of children in Betony who were stolen from their homes by vampires one night never to be seen again. This happened over a hundred years ago, and the holiday has since become a celebration of youth.

Frost Fall
Dirij Tereur
Frost Fall 5 
The fifth of Frost Fall marks Dirij Tereur for the people of the Alik'r Desert. It is a sacred day honoring Frandar Hund, the traditional spiritual leader of the Redguards who led them to Hammerfell in the first era. Stories are read from Hund's Book of Circles, and the temples in the region are filled to capacity.

Malacath's Summoning Day
Frost Fall 8 
In Daggerfall, this is the Summoning Day for Malacath.

Witches Festival
Frostfall 13 
 

Broken Diamonds
Frost Fall 23 
On the 23  of Frost Fall in the 121st year of the third era, the empress Kintyra Septim II met her death in the imperial dungeons in Glenpoint on the orders of her cousin and usurper Uriel III. Her death is remembered in Glenpoint as the day called Broken Diamonds. It is a day of silent prayer for the wisdom and benevolence of the imperial family of Tamriel.  [''Editor's note: It is Uriel III who killed Kintyra, not Cephorus. This is a scribe's error in Daggerfall''].

Emperor's Day
Frostfall 30 
Once the 30  of Frostfall, the Emperor's Birthday, was the most popular holiday of the year. Great traveling carnivals entertained the masses, while the aristocracy of   enjoyed the annual Goblin Chase on horseback. Recently, these traditions have fallen into neglect. It has been decades since there was a big carnival in   and longer still since a   of the     a Goblin Chase. It is rumored that the Emperor has even begun refusing any audience.

In 4E 171, the Great War began on this day when then-Emperor Titus Mede II rejected a Thalmor ultimatum.

Sun's Dusk
Gauntlet
Sun's Dusk 2 
In Daggerfall, this is the Summoning Day for Boethiah.

Serpent's Dance
Sun's Dusk 3 
The Serpents Dance in Satakalaam may or may not have begun as a serious religious holiday dedicated to a snake god, but in this day, it is a reason for a great street festival.

Moon Festival
Sun's Dusk 8 
On the 8  of Sun's Dusk, the Bretons of Glenumbra Moors hold the Moon Festival, a joyous holiday in honor of Secunda, goddess of the moon. Although the goddess has no active worshippers, the traditional celebration has continued through the ages as a time of feasting and merriment.

Hel Anseilak
Sun's Dusk 18 
Hel Anseilak, which means "Communion with the Saints of the Sword" in Old Redguard is the most serious of holy days for the people of Pothago. The ancient way of Hel Ansei is never practiced by modern Redguards, but its rich heritage is remembered and honored on this day.

Warriors Festival
Sun's Dusk 20 
Today is the 20  of  Sun's Dusk, the Warriors Festival in cityName. Most all the local warriors, spellswords, and rogues come to the equipment stores and blacksmiths where all weapons are half price. Unfortunately, the low prices also tempt many an untrained boy to buy his first sword and the normally quiet cityName  streets ring with amateur skirmishes. The regentTitle has pardoned most of these ruffians in the past, but has promised to be less merciful this year. In Daggerfall, this is the Summoning Day for Mehrunes Dagon.

Evening Star
North Winds Prayer
Evening Star 15 
Today is the 15  of Evening Star, a holiday reverently observed by the temples as North Wind's Prayer. It is a thanksgiving to the Gods for a good harvest and a mild winter. Some years, like this one, the harvest was not particularly good and the winter unseasonally harsh in  , but as the   is fond of saying, It could be much worse. The temples offer all their services blessing, curing, healing for half the donation usually requested.

Baranth Do
Evening Star 18 
Baranth Do is celebrated on the 18  of Evening Star by the Redguards of the Alik'r Desert. Its meaning is "Goodbye to the Beast of Last Year." Pageants featuring demonic representations of the old year are popular, and revelry to honor the new year is everywhere.
Chil'a
Evening Star 20  (1)
Evening Star 24  (2)
#Chil'a, the blessing of the new year in the barony of Kairou, is both a sacred day and a festival. The archpriest and the baroness each consecrate the ashes of the old year in solemn ceremony, then street parades, balls, and tournaments conclude the event. In Daggerfall, this is the Summoning Day for Molag Bal.
#Local Iliac Bay New Year's festival on the 24th of Evening Star. It was probably moved from its original date to correspond with the notion of the year defined in Tamriel.

Saturalia
Evening Star 25 
 

Old Life Festival
Evening Star 30 /31 
 

Unspecified Holidays
Konunleikar
 

Malacath's Vengeance Day
Malacath's Vengeance Day, is a holiday celebrated by the Orcs; this holiday is dedicated to Malacath, and vengeance. 

Red Parade
In honor of Saint Pelin's sacrifice at the Bangkorai Garrison, an annual celebration is held where the priest's sacrifice is reenacted. 

Fishing Day
Originally celebrated by Bretons of High Rock Fishing Day is holiday that is also popular among Nords of Skyrim as well as among other cultures with affinity for fishing. It is usually accompanied by feasting and meals such as Coastal Clam Chowder, Rye Crisps, Seared Nordic Barnacles and Horker's Loaf are commonly consumed.   

Serpent's Glory
A holiday  established to commemorate the date of signing the Khenarthi's Roost treaty between Maormer and Khajiit. The holiday was afforded at the expense of the people of Mistral to demonstrate peace between the parties and adherence to the treaty. On this day, Maormer dignitaries and selected guests of note are invited to the Island of Khenarthi's Roost for feasting, music, and revelry. Attendance of general festivities during Serpent's Glory was permitted to residents of the Port City of Mistral, though only  Maormer invitees and few guests approved by the Embassy could participate in the feast.  The holiday was discontinued in   when Maormer lost control over the City of Mistral. 

References