Kingdom Of Nickano (Nickanian Empire)

### Towns

New Sydney (capital city), Australo Haven, Riverhaven, Malborough, Aoraki, Kandelsstadt, Auckland, Arnhem, Amagoa, Balzers, Mastif, Athel\_Loren, Vesteria, Sanctus, South Oslo

### Allies

Tricontinental League, West Slav Confederation (Kingdom Of Zakopane, Great Britain, Republic Of Ava)

### Location

Oceania and Southern Asia, with outposts in Europe and Africa

## **Basic information**

The Kingdom Of Nickano (Nickanian Empire) is a **constitutional, Christian monarchy** created on the 4th of August 2023 by King (Formerly known as Emperor)  NickanoCrafter. The nation is located in **Oceania** and its **culture is mostly Germanic/European.**

The Kingdom Of Nickano controls parts of Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea and **dominated the whole continent for a long time**. Politically speaking, it‘s **conservative**, incorporating many **religious and monarchist elements** as well.

At peak times, the nation had 60 residents and 16 towns.

His Majesty, The King sums the nation up like this: "We are a **democratic, Christian monarchy**, we have a great **culture**, an **active community**, **lots of beautiful cities and fair and moral laws. We have unified all of Australia** (all active towns) several times, we have been the strongest nation in the whole continent for a really long time and **we are and were among the most successful, biggest, most popuolus, most active and strongest nations for a long time. God has truly blessed us and praise be to him for our success!**

We are a **beacon of Western civilization, of culture, morality and peace**! Unlike many other nations, **our goal isn't war or world domination, but creating a thriving and long-lasting civilisation**, that has an impact on the entire world **and that stands there as a light, in the midst of the power-hungry, greedy and war-torn world**."

## **History**

### **A great beginning**

On the 2nd of August 2023, the player NickanoCrafter created a town in south-eastern Australia. He named it New Sydney and the town quickly grew. On the 4th of August, he created the Nickanian Empire, a constitutional monarchy with Christianity as its state religion. New Sydney became its capital city. On the first day of the Empire, the nation allied with the nearby Custer Empire through The Treaty of New Sydney.

Soon, the two players KingHippo11 and .OpRider19511 joined the town. They shall later on rise the ranks and become some of the most influental people in the history of the Nickanian Empire. .OpRider19511 became Minister of State and KingHippo11 became Minister of Military and Defense. In the first few days, this trio built lots of great buildings in New Sydney: An impressive, huge national parliament was built, as well as beautiful houses, a nice town hall and even skyscrapers. New Sydney was and is a true success story! Not only the Emperor but also these two Ministers contributed a lot to the Empire.

The first other town besides New Sydney joined the Empire on the 5th of August 2023: It was called Fawnailand and was located on the Cape York Peninsula in northern Australia. On the same day, the Nickanian Empire (Nickano) allied with The Russian Empire, a fellow monarchy, located in Europe and Asia. The alliance was made official through the treaty of St. Petersburg.

On the 6th of August, the Nickanian Empire and the Imperial German Empire, another fellow monarchy, became allies through the treaty of Salzburg. Its leader Duckam will also later play a part in Nickanian and Oceanian history. In addition, the north-eastern Australian town of Gold Coast joined the Empire.

### **Nickano's First Heyday Era**

On the 7th of August 2023, New Sydney was not only architectually successful and beautiful (according to its own sources) but now it even became the 10th most populated town in the whole earth -and this only after five days. New Sydney attracted huge numbers of citizens, that all wanted to join this great nation.

Later, NickanoCrafter talked to more town mayors in Australia and the last remaining active towns all joined the Nickanian Empire. With this, Nickano united all of Australia and became the third most populous nation in the whole world. Australia became a united, active and successful continent once again. One of these towns was Wolfsburg (which will later be renamed to AustraloHaven). This town will be of big importance in the history of Nickano and Australia/Oceania later on.

A battle was brewing up in New Sydney: OpRider and KingHippo fought each other about

who was building the tallest skyscraper. This epic skyscraper race/battle became a funny event in the history of the town.

On the 12th of August 2023, the legendary first real news show on the whole server- Nickano News launched. KingHippo11 was the moderator and producer.

Later, the towns of Karanfaru (will later be renamed to Aoraki) and Auckland, which were both located in New Zealand, joined the Nickanian Empire.

KingHippo11 published the second episode of Nickano News on the 13th of August 2023.

On the 17th of August 2023, Liechtenstein declared war on Nickano's ally Germany. The Nickanian military quickly prepared for a war and to fight and defend its ally, however the war was lost because German leadership failed to appear at the battle, leading to an automatic surrender.

Overall, the Nickanian Empire grew in an extremely fast pace in this period of its history. It built huge, impressive and beautiful towns, it got lots of active and great citizens, it got involved in global politics and it even united all of Australia. However, soon the tables turned:

### **The First Nickanian Government Crisis and how it was resolved**

On the 18th of August 2023, all the government members except for NickanoCrafter left the Empire. The government members who left were .OpRider19511, KingHippo11 and ScriptedX1 along with some citizens. They allegedly had problems with the Emperor's style of leadership and criticized the Empire for not being democratic enough.

On the same day however, NickanoCrafter talked with all three government members that left and after intense discussions, he could convince .OpRider19511 and ScriptedX1 to join the Empire again. KingHippo11 however declined this offer and tried setting up his own town and nation in Canada, however this failed quickly.

After KingHippo11 realized that his own town failed, he tried rejoining Nickano, however this time he joined the town of Wolfsburg (that was renamed to AustraloHaven), lead by the mayor AwesomeOffices. This town was part of the Nickanian Empire, but the Emperor had less influence in its affairs.

### **The Second Nickanian Government Crisis, how it was resolved, and the creation of the new government**

Everything seemed to be fine again, even KingHippo11, .OpRider19511 and NickanoCrafter got along very well again. But then, on the 24th of August 2023 something happened, that shocked the Empire: .OpRider19511 resigned from his government position (once again) and the town of AustraloHaven, including KingHippo11 left the nation and became independent, because they wanted to create their own nation, the AustraloHaven Empire. They once again criticized the Empire for not being democratic enough. Emperor NickanoCrafter was extremely sad about this, but instead of seeking revenge, he seeked to repair diplomatic relations with AustraloHaven and both nations soon signed a non-aggression pact and became allies. They even created the ODA, the Oceanian Defensive Alliance, to create military cooperation and ensure peace in the region.

NickanoCrafter wanted to help his nation get out of this crisis: He quickly appointed a new government and he wanted to make the Nickanian Empire even stronger and even more successful then ever before! The new government consisted of him, the Minister of State Kandelmensch, the Minister of Military and Defense theeguineapig, the Minister of Building Moontjes and several mayors.

Also on that day, the Nickanian Empire hosted the talent show "RulerCraft Got Talent". The town members of AustraloHaven wanted to assassinate Emperor NickanoCrafter, a jury member, but due to problems in real life, NickanoCrafter didn’t show up.

On the 25th of August 2023 long talks between NickanoCrafter and AlleBalle33 have ended. AlleBalle33 decided to dissolve his nation Aarfura and to accept NickanoCrafter's invite of AlleBalle33 and his town (Amagoa) joining the Nickanian Empire. AlleBalle33 quickly became a very active member and climbed up the ranks: First he was Mayor of Aarfura, later he became Minister of Infrastructure. After that, he became Minister of Building and soon he became Minister of State. In these few weeks, he became the second most powerful person in the whole Empire. He showed lots of dedication and helped the Empire a lot. He helped finishing building projects in New Sydney, decorated the city, renovated buildings, advised the Emperor on important topics and much more.

### **The Post-Crisis Era**

In the next few weeks, the Nickanian Empire recovered from the crisis. More and more people joined the Empire and soon New Sydney became the second most populous town in the whole world and the Nickanian Empire became the third most populous nation in the whole world, with a population of 54 citizens, living in 15 cities.

More buildings were built and more towns were created and joined the Nickanian Empire. Even the construction of a top secret nuclear bomb has started. In this period of the Nickanian history, Nickano was once again quite successful, however one small scandal happened: Mayor of Galgona and ex-Minister of State, .OpRider19511 wanted to start a rebellion, however the Nickanian government quickly found out about his plans and kicked him and his town from the nation on the 24th of September 2023. The Emperor was very sad to kick such an old and important member of the Empire, but it was something that needed to be done in order to ensure national safety and unity.

### **Nusantara vs AustraloHaven: The first war in Oceania?**

The Nickanian ally Duckam, the previous leader of Germany soon left his nation and created a town in Indonesia, called Nusantara. His town joined AustraloHaven, but it was soon kicked out of the nation, because of allegations against Duckam. He was supected of money laundering/scamming.

Duckam tried to explain his situation but according to him, the leader of AustraloHaven, KingHippo11 ignored him and didn't listen to his defense. After Duckam was kicked out of AustraloHaven, he created his own nation (also called Nusantara), with Nusantara being its capital. Both sides got into heated arguments and soon the conflict began escalating. Both nations secretely planned declaring war against eachother. The Nickanian government was quickly informed about Duckam's plans of invading AustraloHaven. Huge discussions between Duckam, NickanoCrafter and the Minister of State AlleBalle33 started. The Empire was split: Should it help its ally AustraloHaven or should it help its ally Nusantara (Duckam)? This situation was a dilemma, because both nations in this potential war were allies of Nickano. Later, NickanoCrafter got to know of AustraloHavian plans as well: AustraloHaven planned on attacking Nusantara.

However this conflict ended with AustraloHaven becoming extremely inactive and Duckam slowly quitting the server. A few days later, KingHippo11 rejoined the Nickanian Empire.

### **The Second Nickanian Heyday Era**

On the 1st of October 2023 Nickano was standing at a turning point: A second heyday era started, a success never seen before: The military was growing rapidly, towns were expanding, new ideas werde introduced and a new capital city with amazing, impressive buildings was planned to be built soon, however this was cancelled and instead it was decided to upgrade the already existing capital, New Sydney. The current government consisted of:

Emperor of the Nickanian Empire and Mayor of New Sydney NickanoCrafter, Minister of State and Mayor of Aarfura AlleBalle33, Minister of Military and Defense and Mayor of Aoraki JustHaydz, Minister of Building Moontjes, Mayor of Malborough Belbo2411GHG, Minister of Intelligence and Mayor of Kandelsstadt, Kandelmensch, Co-Mayor of New Sydney KingHippo11 and Mayor of Acuria Flxqzez.

### **War against Siam**

On the 21st of October 2023, The Siamese Imperium declared war against the peaceful Nickanian Empire. The reason was that KingHippo11, a Nickanian citizen behaved rudely and Siam also wanted to cut The Nickanian Empire down to size and show the Nickanians „that they are not this „unstoppable force“ that Siam „is afraid of“.

Several Nickanian citizens showed up to the battle in the town of Amagoa and they defended their fatherland bravely. AlleBalle33, KingHippo11, Stampy\_001 and NickanoCrafter died during the fight against Siam and its allies. Later, a monument dedicated to these heroes was built in New Sydney. Nickano and Siam signed The Treaty of Amagoa, which made the nation pay a few thousand dollars, change its name to Kingdom Of Nickano, NickanoCrafter dropping the title of Emperor and becoming King and Nickano becoming a Siamese vassal for 30 days. Later, Nickano continued being a Siamese vassal voluntarily, in order to get military protection.

This meant that Nickano was still an independent nation, but it got military protection in exchange for Siam controlling parts of their diplomacy (Nickano needed permission from Siam to go to war or to make an alliance with another nation.) However, Nickano got to keep the conquered town of Amagoa. KingHippo11 left the nation after the war and moved to the British town of Rouen. Later he revolted against Britain, called the British king a dictator, left the country  and made his own nation, the Kingdom Of Normandy. Relations between Siam and Nickano began improving as well.

### **The Post War Era**

After losing the war to Siam, the Nickanians changed their policies a bit and decided to focus more on internal issues and to abstain from diplomacy and wars to the best of their extent.  They focused on upgrading the capital city New Sydney and overall improving their towns and nation.

On the 25th of October 2023,  Nickano signed the Treaty of Nyjub with the newly formed nation of Jubet, which also lies in Oceania. They signed a non-aggression pact, a border agreement and they agreed to establish embassies and good diplomatic relations.

Soon, the town of Normandy began collapsing and when KingHippo11 realized this, he asked NickanoCrafter to let him rejoin Nickano. NickanoCrafter agreed.

On the 28th of October 2023 WhiteTail, a beautiful and successful town, lead by GumdropCrazy joined the Empire through the treaty of WhiteTail.

On the 4th of November however, the Nickanian town of Whitetail declared independence. Although the mayor of Whitetail had thought about declaring independence before, because he simply likes being a leader and having his own nation, AlleBalle33 and NickanoCrafter convinced him to stay. However on this day it changed. TCGam1ngz, former leader of China said that KingHippo11 was a communist. NickanoCrafter believed this and called Hippo a communist, as a simple statement, not an insult or anything. However KingHippo saw this as an insult and talked to Whitetail‘s mayor. He asked him several times to rebel against Nickano and it worked. As previously said, WhiteTail declared independence on that day. KingHippo11, the main force behind this new independence movement was declared an enemy of the state. He has caused independence movements, wars and conflicts in the past, he has left Nickano during times where it really needed him, he and his friend ScriptedX1 even stole military equipment, but NickanoCrafter still forgave him. But now he had enough. WhiteTail and its new nation was quite successful for a few days, however later on it collapsed.

### **Third heyday era**

Nickano soon started developing very well once again. It was successful and especially its capital city New Sydney was flourishing. In a very short amount of time, a huge, beautiful cathedral, a museum for Nickanian history, a war monument, a bunker and much more has been built. The cathedral has later been used for the first Roman-Catholic mass, lead by the priest ConorMC. He ended up rejoinining Nickano on the 4th of November and later on he became Minister of Religion.

Not only he, but another friend has joined our nation: NotBonobo. He established a town, the Bonosian Islands in Tasmania and joined Nickano. However he left the nation after a few days. The main reason was him being bored of Nickano and also a controversial law that he did not like.

One day later, the conflict was fully resolved. Also, the Nickanian ally, Trangan\_Junta was dissolved.

In this time, Jubet, a pagan and left-wing nation has also cancelled all treaties with Nickano because of reasons that King NickanoCrafter calls „silly“. Secret Jubetan plans of warring Nickano were also revealed. Even after several Nickanian attempts to resolve this conflict peacefully, Jubet still remained hostile or neutral towards The Kingdom of Nickano.

On the 19th of November, the Kingdom Of Nickano claimed the island of Trangan and its beautiful buildings as an outpost. Talks with KingHippo11, that after leaving Nickano during his last rebellion, created a town in Kazakhstan, have also started: He and his friend ScriptedX1 wanted to rejoin Nickano. KingHippo11 actually joined one day and made his own town that he named New Brisbane. His declaration as an enemy of the state was removed and he promised to not start another rebellion or something like that. Several new towns and citizens have also joined Nickano and it is on the leaderboard of the most populous, biggest (sizewise) nations and of the nations with the most amount of towns once again. On that day, Moontjes and NickanoCrafter also started decorating New Sydney for Christmas. On the same day, the Kiharan citizen, Slimeyz also said something that King NickanoCrafter liked a lot. He said that NickanoCrafter was the „First person to really start dominating Australia“.

On the 28th of November, AlleBalle33 and Belbo2411GHG started to build a big naval base in Amagoa.

Also on the 28th, KingHippo11 left the nation (once again) after a fight with a citizen. That meant that his city New Brisbane, which was located between Malborough and New Sydney was independent again. There were also many new elections during these days. The Nickanian people elected four new ministers: The Minister of Infrastructure (Belbo2411GHG), the Minister of Healthcare (QinStarlight), the new Minister of Military and Defense (ConorMC) and the Minister of Environmental Protection (Stampy\_001). On the 30th of November 2023, the town of Celestrion joined the nation.

On the 1st of December, the West Slav Confederation (Zapadoslavia) and the Kingdom Of Nickano have formed a mutual defensive alliance. This alliance between these two Catholic and (culturally) European nations pledged to strengthen the two nations and the church.

On the 2nd of December, the nation of United\_Cantons, a Nickanian ally was dissolved and its capital (Balzers), that was located in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein and Brunei has joined the Kingdom Of Nickano. .OpRider19511 (ConorMC) became its mayor. The city has the biggest stadium in the entire world, a huge ice boating racetrack, and lots of beautiful buildings.

A few days later, on the 10th of December 2023, the town of Vesteria, located in Tasmania, joined the Kingdom Of Nickano. Its mayor, Villager\_Bobby also became the Minister of Publicity later on.

On the 13th of December 2023, the town of Balzers left Nickano and made its own nation called Alpinia. When ConorMC stated his reasons for leaving, the Nickanian King and Minister of State accused him of lying, breaking promises and exploiting the Kingdom Of Nickano for money and their own personal benefit. Many outsiders that commented on this conflict agreed with Nickano. Several people from all around the world and even countries (like Celtica for example) denounced ConorMC and his delcaration of independence from Nickano. EchoGamer64 became the new Minister of Military and Defense.

On that day, Nickano joined The Tri-Continental League, a military alliance formed by Siam, the Balkan Federation, Redwing, with many other member nations.

Five days later, The Emperor of The Siamese Imperium, Joe1243 resigned and made BlurrStaticz the leader of Siam, which has been now renamed to the Siamese Commonwealth. BlurrStaticz announced a more peaceful Siamese foreign policy and he also ended the military protectorship between Siam and Nickano. The Kingdom Of Nickano was no longer a Siamese military protectorate, but "only" an ally, a fellow Tri-Continental League member. After Nickano became free of its military protectorate status, it gained full control all aspects of its diplomatic policy back that was once formerly controlled by Siam.

On the 21st of December, AlleBalle33 and Belbo2411GHG started to improve and rework the city of Malborough, which has been very messy before. One day later, the town of Arnhem, located in north-eastern Australia, joined the Kingdom Of Nickano.

### **Fourth Heyday Era**

On the 24th of December 2023, a new heyday era seems to have started. Although the nation has been going well, several citizens have become quite inactive due to lots of exams in school in the last 1-2 weeks of the third heyday era. The population dropped from around 32 to 21. These wounds healed on Christmas, were two new towns and several new citizens joined and where many of the old inactive members came back. 10 Nickanians have been online on that single day, a record-breaking number. On that day, the Jubetan\_Republic, a Nickanian neighbour, fell. It was a nation that had got very bad ties with Nickano and even wanted to go to war against Nickano. The Nickanian Royal Government was very happy to see this nation fall, that they called "toxic and evil". There was lots of conflict between both countries, even ending up in Nickano opening several tickets in order to ask staff for help.

On the 27th of December, Venthari, who has been a citizen of Athel\_Loren before, left and made his own town Sanctus in western Australia and joined the Kingdom again. In this time, many new citizens joined as well, especially the town of Belbo2411 (Malborough), gained almost 10 new citizens in 3 days. A recordbreaking number. The Nickanian population skyrocketed and became really big: Around Christmas, it grew from 22 citizens (an extremely small number) to 49 in only a few days. Later, it reached 56 residents and broke its old record. On the 30th of December, the Kingdom of Nickano even became the second most populous nation worldwide.

On the 29th of December 2023, the former Nickanian town of Balzers and its mayor ConorMC rejoined Nickano. The Nickanian State and the Balzersian town government also signed a treaty. This treaty would make that day one of the most historic days in Nickanian history. Conor would bring even more influence to the Nickanian church when he became the new Minister of Religion and was welcomed back into Nickano.

On the 3rd January 2024, the town of COCONUTparadise, located in Indonesia, joined Nickano. On that day, Nickano also became the 2nd most populous nation again, after it lost the title it previously had on the 31st of December.

On the 4th of January 2024, the very historic and old town of South\_Oslo, lead by SmudgyChart519 joined the Kingdom Of Nickano. He moved his town spawn to an outpost in Australia and this outpost became the new town itsself, with the city of Oslo in Norway, becoming an outpost.

During these days, theeguineapig, former Minister of State, rejoined the nation after his town that belonged to Siam fell because of financial issues.

The Kingdom Of Nickano also became the most influential nation in the Roman Catholic Church Of RulerCraft. Through certain plans made by King NickanoCrafter, the nation saved the Christian Church from its dark ages of almost complete inactivity and 4 out of 5 papal council members were Nickanian in these days and 3 out of 5 church guilds were lead by Nickanians. The leaders of the other 2 guilds were not Nickanian, however the co-leader of both guilds was a Nickanian citizen.

Scriptedx1, a well-known old citizen and former Minister that quit RulerCraft decided to rejoin the server and Nickano.

Construction on a monastery in the west of New Sydney has also started in January 2024.

## Culture

**Backstory**

The origins of Nickanian culture trace back to Europe, a continent once riddled with war, and fragmentation. Amidst this chaos, a German visionary, NickanoCrafter, conceived a plan to unify his divided homeland. However, the complexity of regional divisions and multitude of sovereign entities led him to abandon this dream. Seeking a new, harmonious, united and prosperous homeland, NickanoCrafter embarked on a global journey, eventually finding Australia, where he established a new settlement, a town called "New Sydney" and later on his own nation, the Nickanian Empire. This community quickly grew and became a cultural mosaic, attracting not only new British and Irish settlers but also Scandinavians, each contributing their unique traditions and practices.

Primarily influenced by European, mostly Germanic cultures, this blend formed the cornerstone of Nickanian culture. When adapting to the new and different Australian environment, the settlers evolved their customs and changed certain aspects of their life and culture. This lead to the birth of new traditions. As the nation flourished, it drew people from not only Europe, but from across the world, especially from Asia, who after joining the nation, changed its cultural landscape to a certain degree, introducing new customs and practices.

The Nickanian culture is mostly a melting pot of Germanic/European (German, British and Scandinavian) cultures, however when adapting to the new, Australian environement and with more and more international, non-European citizens joining, the culture changed and new traditions were formed. The Nickanian culture is very rich and diverse and no matter the ancestry, the Nickanian people are united in their common dream of a new, prosperous homeland, their mostly European ancestry, their shared values and morals and with Christianity being the religion that most citizens follow

### **Important Cultural Festivals/Celebrations**

#### **Settler's Day**

2nd of August

The Settler's Day festival is dedicated to the arrival of the first Nickanian (European) settlers in Australia. It marks the beginning of the birth of the Nickanian culture and is generally celebrated with dancing, singing and theater plays of the Nickanian forefathers setting foot upon the new continent. Dancing is an important aspect of the Nickanian culture and of this festival. The men generally dress in traditional European clothing and the women generally wear dresses. The songs are mainly in German and English and are chants that the first Nickanian settlers brought to the continent. Theater plays displaying the arrival and journey of the first settlers are also very popular, especially among the youth, who are able to win prizes in the "Annual Nickanian Settler's Day Theater Play Competition".

#### **Nickanian National Day**

4th of August

The Nickanian National Day festival is dedicated to the founding of the Nickanian nation. On the 4th of August 2023, King (former Emperor) NickanoCrafter created the Nickanian Empire. It is generally celebrated in New Sydney, with the King himself opening the festival with a speech. After that, trips to important sites like the Museum Of Nickanian History and the Nickanian War Monument, as well as the historic "NickanoCrafter House", the first building in the nation are common. Prayer sessions and flag parades are also being held. On that day, the Nickanians celebrate their nation and its succes, remember and study its interesting history and give thanks to eachother and especially to God.

### 21st of October

The Nickanian Veteran's Day festival is dedicated to the heroic citizens, who gave their life in order to defend their homeland during the Siamese-Nickanian war on the 21st of October 2023. It is usually celebrated by visiting the Nickanian Veteran's Monument in New Sydney, the Emperor holding a speech there and the citizens putting down flowers before the monument. After that, the veterans will be honoured and the citizens visit the home of each and every brave fighter. On that day, the Nickanians celebrate these brave soldiers, that died defending the Nickanian Empire and the important change of the Nickanian foreign policy, that became even more peaceful and more humble, because of this devastating war.

#### **Nickanian Cusine Day**

22nd of December

The Nickanian Cuisine Day is dedicated to the rich and diverse cuisine of the nation. On that day, the whole nation gathers and eats traditional Nickanian food. The Nickanian cuisine has lots of meat and especially seafood/fish dishes, considering its British, Swedish and North-German heritage. However, exotic spices and new, local ingredients, that were added to the foods after the Nickanian people settled in places like Australia and traded with neighbouring nations like India, have also become a part of its cuisine. New recipes, especially coming from the Asian minority, have also created new Nickanian meals. Fish, Meat and smaller sidedishes like (baked) potatoes, bread, sweetberries and more are the main ingredients of most Nickanian dishes. On the 22nd of December, the Nickanians celebrate their cuisine and celebrate the ability to even have a cuisine, to have succesful harvests and thereby enough food.

#### **Nickanian Peace Day**

1st of January

The Nickanian Peace Day is about the nation's dedication to worldwide peace and stability. On that day, the nation gathers in front of the parliament, the King holds a speech and a small amount of weapons are being burnt as a sign against war and fighting. Not all weapons are burnt though, since the military is still important and must be respected. The nation also remembers all the rebellions, war threats, war-mongering and aggressive nations that threatened it in the course of Nickanian history and how each of these conflicts were solved peacefully. Peace and the peaceful solving of conflicts is an important part of the national culture and are celebrated during this festival. This event is celebrated at the start of the year, in order to be able to wish for (pray for) a peaceful new year on time.

#### **Christmas**

24th of December

Christmas is the festival, where the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is being celebrated. This is a very important holiday in Nickano. On that day, all Christian citizens, including the King, attend a Christmas Mass in the church and after that, there are small celebrations at home. How these celebrations look like depend on the customs, denomination and ancestral heritage of each family. The cities are usually heavily decorated and the King also holds a speech in the National Parliament.

#### **Easter**

First Sunday after the first fullmoon in spring (Depending on the year, one date between the 22nd of March - 25th of April)

Easter is the Christian celebration of Jesus' real, bodily ressurection. It reminds all Christian believers of Jesus' being killed on the cross and him rising from the dead, defeating death, of him living again three days later. It carries very important historical and theological meaning and is the oldest Christian holiday. It is also a very important Nickanian holiday. It is isually celebrated by all Christian citizens of the nation, including the King, attending a Christian mass in the church and after that, there are small celebrations at home. The King also holds a speech in the National Parliament.