Hallow Festival

The Hallow Festival is an annual holiday celebrating the blue moon, an astrological event during which the moon stays full and turns blue during the last three days of Crescober.
Its most notable celebrators reside in Samhain Outpost, a city whose hallmark is its vast, extravagant festivities on the nights of the Hallow Festival.
== History ==
Originally started by followers of Divakara and Medlayla, this festival quickly spread to followers of other deities. Many consider the moon to be a link between all five inner gods—it accompanies the stars (Ora), it influences the tides (Kuldata), it lives in the sky (Avani), it appears at night (Medlayla), and it is frequently associated with symbols of darkness and death (Divakara). As such, the blue moon is considered very sacred and something worth celebrating.
While this event was originally related to the gods, like many other things it has developed beyond religious connections and is now celebrated by most people, with or without faith. Of course, like any holiday, not everyone celebrates it. 
Because this lunar event is out of the ordinary and strange, the festival was designed with strangeness in mind. It is deliberately meant to celebrate darkness and death—things that are creepy and taboo or otherwise forbidden. 
== Traditions ==
Hallow Festival traditions include: 
* Dressing up as things that are disturbing (e.g. eldritch creatures), nature-related (fey and animals), scary (various monsters and animals), and/or moon-related (e.g. werewolves). If a person doesn't want to wear a costume, it is considered normal to dress up very extravagantly for the Hallow Festival: the best dress, the most expensive jewelry, and a mask if it can be managed. 
* Staying out all night, outdoors, under the moon. The later you stay up, the better. Hardcore practitioners won't come out of their house during the day. 
* Lots of dancing, usually accompanied by very big bonfires. 
* Getting incredibly drunk. 
* Shows and performances. Many moon- and spook-related plays are performed during the festival, often late at night in makeshift outdoor theaters. Bards and storytellers will group up to do public performances in the streets. 
* Carnivals. Many cities will put on a carnival for the Hallow Festival. There are games of risk and chance, funhouses, and magician performances. (As magic is real in this universe, non-magical illusions are considered very cool.)
* Sexual promiscuity is also traditionally common during the Hallow Festival. For some families and cultures, the Hallow Festival is considered a time to freely explore sexuality and have new experiences. (Hardcore practitioners will expect a person who has come of age to lose their virginity during the festival.) Because the festival is about strangeness, some people will use it as an opportunity to hook up with someone of a gender that they normally aren't interested in. Three-night "Festival flings" are very common. 
Category:Events