Eternity Day

**Eternity Day** (Zergonian: Xawlcîz Den, "Day of No Death") is a festival observed in the Republic of Bigton on 30 September. It is also the Zergonian New Year.

## Observances

It is observed with prayers, weddings, making wishes, and scaring people with eternity-themed monsters, as this day was considered to be the date of the Last Judgment in Zergonian folklore. Much of these customs are related to hopes for something that endures, or attempts to forestall impending doom.

As they also believe that the world was created on 1 September, the entire month of September is a sacred month in their culture.

Furthermore, according to Zergonian belief, it will always be September and autumn in Heaven, whereas it will always be March and spring (its opposite) in Hell.

Decorations for Eternity Day (or September) consist of blue-black-and-white banners and streamers, and stickers resembling infinity-shaped eyes that stare at visitors from everywhere, even inside someone's room! Other decorations include hourglasses, clocks, and images of the Grim Reaper or Father Time. Popular songs used at Eternity Day include "Auld Lang Syne" and "My Grandfather's Clock".

As a result, it becomes a mixture of Valentine's Day, New Year's Eve and Halloween.

Two characters were used on Eternity Day and the rest of September: Eyes of Eternity and Stephen the Bear.

### Eyes of Eternity

The Eyes of Eternity are a calendar page for September with all the dates replaced by infinity signs. Their constant glare are a constant reminder that life and death are unpredictable, and death (and therefore eternity) is one step away.

That led to Zergonians using infinity signs with eyes to symbolise death, funerals, and permanent farewells, as they are related to the "permanent" departure of a person from this existence into the next. Other monsters related to eternity and time include mites and worms that eat a person's soul or years, the Grim Reaper, or slender six-legged beasts that suck the years off a being, reducing them to dust within a few minutes.

The Eyes of Eternity were also used as Halloween and New Year's Eve decorations in Bigton, as reminders to scare people into making the most out of their lives.

### Stephen the Bear

Another character that was adopted into Zergonian lore was Stephen the Bear. He was a black bear who had a habit of hibernating every September, and waking up on the frst sunrise of October or on the night of Halloween for eleven months straight without much rest. During his sleep, he cannot be awakened, although his body can be destroyed, only to reappear on the next September.

Some legends state that he died either by sleeping any time outside September, being exposed to a red candle in total darkness, or by having said red candle being blown off, only to reappear at his bed on the next September to live (and die) again. It was said to be a curse from a fairy who was angry that he broke into her sacred honeycombs, or from looking at Cronus after he devoured his children. Due to this, he can only celebrate his birthday on July and/or the last day of August, after which he drops dead and sleeps.

If anyone were to destroy his bed, Stephen will no longer reappear: he has either become one with eternity or he was taken to Heaven. The person who "liberated" him by destroying his bed pays with his freedom and life: if he ever sleeps, he will sleep in Stephen's place, waking up only on October or when the world ends.

Other legends state that he sleeps until the destruction of the Earth, or the end of the world. When that happens, he will partake in the destruction of the universe.

To honour him, Zergonians wear black bear costumes on September, dance on those costumes on Eternity Day, and burn the costumes on October 1. Some costumes are continually used before or past October:

* July or the last week of August (as himself or an American cowboy, asking people to sing a birthday song to him before he goes to sleep)
* Halloween, Oct 31 (as the Grim Reaper, accompanied by the Eyes of Eternity or other time-related monsters)
* All Saints Day, Nov 1 (as a naval officer to honour fallen soldiers)
* Odinblot, Dec 1 (as a scientist or a test subject)
* Nicholas Day, Dec 6 (as a Krampus)
* Astrosia Day, Dec 15 (as a space warrior)
* Yule/Norse New Year, Dec 21 (as a Viking warrior, or a death knight who leads the team of ghosts in contests against a team of Einherjar under Odin. Sometimes he holds a red mug or tankard to usher in Yule.)
* Christmas, Dec 25 (as a gentleman)
* New Year's Eve, Dec 31 (as a soldier who plays the bagpipes or raises the new flag)

He asks people whether have they spent their time wisely: if they answered "yes", he rewards them with a gift or a piece of candy. If they answered "no", he sticks a pair of infinity eyes to frighten the guest!

## Trivia

* Eternity Day was inspired by the Internet meme "Eternal September".
* The "Eyes of Eternity" was inspired by the Japanese yokai mokumokuren, as the author thought that a calendar page filled with infinity signs looked like a wall filled with eyes.
* Stephen the Bear was inspired by "Wake Me Up When September Ends" by Green Day, the bear from "Everyday I'm Drinking" by LittleBig, and Father Time from Narnia. He was perhaps named after Steven Universe.
* As a result, Zergonian depictions of Heaven have forests of falling orange leaves, and pumpkins have become revered by some Zergonian sects. Halloween decorations are popular in Bigton because of the Zergonian veneration of pumpkins.
	+ On the other hand, Zergonian depictions of Hell portray a burning, screaming swamp with hideous flowers waiting to tear the wicked into pieces.
* Some artistic works change Stephen the Bear's name to Stolinnos in scenes where he gets cursed by Cronos, as "Stephen" never existed in the ancient Greek language.
* In Porashon, Maha Shivaratri (the sacred day of Lord Shiva) is known as "Eternity Day" because of the god's association with eternity and endlessness.
* The infinity symbol, resembling 8, was also one of some national symbols of Zetrana, one of the Terran empires that invaded Bujan. They accidentally left behind their immortality elixir, aiding both Bujan and its arch-enemy, the Wannaenid Empire.

## See also

* Purulli, its opposite on the start of September, and the *Vozonid* New Year.