Christmas

**Christmas** is a festival observed on December 25 in most of the world, or on January 7 in Orthodox churches. It commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, the central figure of the Christian religion.

### Religious

* Midnight Mass - a prayer at midnight to pray to Jesus
* prayers
* church sermons to celebrate the birth of Jesus
* carol singing

### Secular/Traditional

* decorating trees with tinsel, electric lights, baubles, and other ornaments
* tinsel
* cookies, gingerbread
* colourful cards.
* a burning log
* giving gifts
* candy canes
* red and green
* Santa Claus and his flying sleigh of eight reindeer
* wreaths
* poinsettia flowers

## In the *Rinnarverse*

In some parts of the Galaxy, Christians celebrate Jesus' birth on June 17, as this was the supposed date according to astronomical calculations. They intended to replace Christmas with this date and simple ceremonies to worship Jesus, but due to widespread outcry, June 17 became a separate Thanksgiving Day.

Due to the growing numbers of followers of the Norse religion, Christmas and Yule (which the Norse Asatruar celebrate) are now considered separate festivals. As more people wanted to show respect to both religions, they have also separated the secular "Christmas" (decorations and all) from the other two festivals for anyone to use. That did not stop people from worshipping Jesus or Odin at one moment, and then partying with their neighbours in the next.

### Customs by region

One Bigtonian tradition was to use plain red cups to celebrate Christmas. Some Christians also join in as a festive custom, but a few refused, as the cups resembled an ancient controversy that insulted their God. Still other Christians added to this custom by simply drawing religious images into *their* cups, and people of other religions did it on theirs too!

To the Bigtonian Christians, the use of the red cup represents breaking away from the extremist churches of their ancestral homeland. It is freeing Bigton from the sins of history, and welcoming a brighter future under the wisdom of God.

Another Bigtonian tradition is to donate clothes, food, and school and medical supplies to poorer people in other countries; and a third was to wear red bishop's robes. These represent St. Nicholas, who became popular enough to become the patron saint of Bigton.

### Rinnarit Christmas

On Thanksgiving Day on June 17, Christian Rinnarits go outside and bow down to the sky to thank Jesus. Some Rinnarits beat drums and fly kites, which represent their prayers being sent to Heaven.

Christian Rinnarits pray at church. Even though the Rinnarit state church practices customs similar to those of the Orthodox Church, its date of Christmas is the same as that in Western countries, on December 25. Some Rinnarits also include eating coconut cakes and setting up palm fronds on Christmas to honour Jesus.

This is sometimes called "Rinnarit Christmas" or simply "Christmas" or "Thanksgiving"; as opposed to the Christmas in December, known as Christougenna after the Greek name. Greek is used in the Rinnarit Republic as a replacement for Latin.

### Black Holidays

The Christmas season in the Rinnarit Republic is from November 1 to January 31. The extra days after January 6 are the Days of Solace, to help the local Christians relax or reconcile with their pagan neighbours. It is considered offensive to display Christmas decorations or play Christmas music outside the festive season, because this was used by the police and fanatics to threaten households of Christians convicted of crimes. This usually consisted of people playing festive music outside a house, and placing snowman-like lanterns, before hanging the accused to their death on a lamppost.

This method of execution is known in Rinnarit slang as "happy holidays" or "the holidays are coming", used by the pagan majority to punish Christians for their alleged ties with the nation's enemy, the American civilisations. America is hated by the Rinnarits for its people's historical crimes, ranging from warmongering to even internet trolling and rudeness as a lifestyle. Rinnarits often accused Christians of seeking to establish an oppressive American theocracy, so as a result, Rinnarit Christians tried to localise themselves to avoid suspicion.

As the Christian and pagan communities of the Rinnarit Republic started to reconcile, the Christmas taboos were spread to the pagan majority, to the point that even Asatruar and Irkavennai do not ever play Christmas music outside the Christmas season. They also refuse to use the words "happy holidays" outside Christmas or put up snowmen facing a house out of sympathy for their friends.

## In the *Rabydosverse*

Christianity does not exist in the Rabydosverse, so the equivalents for the festival are Kolieda and Yule.

Grifajes celebrate various festivals such as Drondai (Yule) and Unowane, the latter celebrating the late winter rains. The festival of Unowane is especially popular in atheist-majority Nandegakko, observed with lavish parades displaying ancestors and divinities.

One human Igarin governor of American descent attempted to ban Unowane to force the atheist Nandegakkovians to become very secular, but the people rioted and banished him back to his homeworld.

In Bujan, Marnos, Siangwaan, and other lands, red cups were toasted to celebrate victory against the Terrans and the Americans, who formerly invaded Jerde. They were also used in other festivals, like New Year's Eve. This was ultimately derived from Nolworra after the Reorganisation War.

### Christmas in Rodnover-majority Buyan

In Bujan, the words "Christmas" and "December" are often translated as "Koljeda", after the winter festival being used as the name of the whole month in general. "Christmas decorations" (known there as Koljeda decorations) are very popular throughout the whole kingdom.

Christmas was observed by the Terrans, both Maeranoi and Tyrskans, and on different dates. Maeranoi Christmas was observed more often by Serpentians with parties and decorations, themed after Soviet propaganda; while Qyuvians rarely observed it as it was replaced by Kju-Day, the anniversary of the Qyuvian church's founding. Tyrskans mostly observed Christmas, later on January before Vodokres (observed by both them and the Bujanski Rodnovers), with prayers in their temples and burning effigies.

The town of Rongarik, mostly inhabited by Free Norths, themed itself after Christmas to represent its inhabitants' desire to be at peace with Bujan. It is also among the few places in the kingdom where Christian symbols are allowed to be displayed in public, as the locals voted and declared that in their town, it also represents renunciation of colonial rule. Some temples to the Free Norths' God are known for crosses on onion domes.

### Cross Nights

One notable tradition observed during colonial rule was lighting big symbols across borders of Terran states. Tyrskans raised huge electric lights in the shape of a number 8, their military symbol. Qyuvians, in turn, raised huge lights in the shape of Q's, their religious emblem. More commonly and iconically, some borders had huge crosses faced against each other.

During the revolution, the Free North, in turn, raised a "fence of crosses", in defiance to both Terrans. To Free Norths, it both represented the doom of their enemies (by the appearance to gravestones advancing closer to their enemies), and protection to defectors (by the Christian cross representing life).

In contrast, Bujanski revolutionaries never raised similar neon signs of their own religious symbols, to avoid disrespecting their gods. Only three attempts were recorded of some Bujanski trying to raise neon kolovrats, but the other revolutionaries tore them down and warned them that doing so was blasphemy.

## Trivia

* Christmas is the author's favourite festival, because he loves the decorations very much.
	+ Even though he converted to Hinduism on December 2020, the author still loves Christmas because of the decorations.
* The ban on Unowane was based on the "War on Christmas" controversy, in which atheist Americans are accused of trying to ban Christmas. The difference between the "War on Christmas" and the "war on Unowane" is that instead of towards Christians (who are among the rare American invaders), it was atheists trying to ban a festival from an atheistic culture. The latter culture, the Nandegakkovians, fiercely defend their love of mythology, refusing any calls for total secularisation.
* In 2016, the American preacher Joshua Feuerstein made a video where he complained that the plain red cups on Starbucks was an attempt to destroy Christianity in America. He was then mocked by an even bigger crowd for his paranoid views, even by other Christians. Back when the author was a Christian, he decided to put red cups in his stories to mock extremists like Feuerstein, becoming a seasonal tradition even after his conversion to Hinduism.
	+ In Bigton, a nation of American descendants with a Christian majority, red cups have become a traditional symbol of Christmas. The Christians of Bigton interpret the red cup as freedom from the sins of history and happiness for the future.
	+ On Jerde, red cups were stolen from American warriors as symbols of victory against them and other Terran warmongers.
	+ Another Christmas tradition the author made up is anything to do with Star Wars, in honour of The Force Awakens and the Rise of Skywalker.

## See also

* Yule
* Kolieda
* Purulli