Happy birthday to… everyone! Even if it isn’t today, each one of you deserves to be celebrated. Aaaand deserves a party. But what’s better than just a party? An entire festival! Unless of course you don’t like being around lots of people. Like an entire town’s worth. But you could still have a small festival if you wanted. Lik 3-5 people tops. A nice calm quiet get together. Playing board games or watching movies or- oh wait that’s a topic for another day. Today we are talking about a delightful festival. The Namesake Festival!

Okay so the origins of this is a little bit depressing. But don’t worry! They get better! It started in a kingdom that had a bit of a tough start. The land wasn’t exactly hospitable, the ground was toxic, the plants that grew from it were toxic, and the animal that ate the plants were, guess what, toxic. Death was common among the more vulnerable. But! They didn’t just accept their fate! They banded together. When a new child was born they did everything they could to ensure the child and mother made it through the first few days. Wait, no that makes it sounds like they stopped caring after a few days. No seriously they did keep caring. It was just the first few were the scariest and they believed if they made it to day three then that was an auspicious start and they would be fine! They’d do things like gather up the safest food, take care of the cooking, the cleaning, and come together as a community to support the new family. It just started out as helping their neighbors out. But now! It’s a full on festival!

Every settlement in the kingdom celebrates the birthday of the first child that was born in that settlement. Yes this does mean that each city or town or village celebrates on a different day. Not only that but they are celebrating completely different individuals and it does make the celebrations a bit different from one another. But there are still some similarities:

• A grave in the town square is dedicated to the first born. Their body isn’t necessarily buried there.
• A ledger of their achievements (good or bad) is kept at the town hall.
• Twins, triplets, and so on are all considered the ‘first child’ and are all given the same honors. Yes, some families have named all three children the same thing and YES IT GES CONFUSING.
• A child who lived a reputable life has their name become one of honor. It is considered disrespectful to name a child their name on a day other than their birthday. On their birthday it is considered an omen of good luck to name your child after then.
• A child who lived an infamous name has their name become one of ill omen. No children are named after them on any day. The town does also earn a reputation for being cursed or haunted by the ill deeds of the first born.

Festival day one, the birthday itself:

• Public recounting of the first born’s life are held. Either as a paragon to be aspired to, or a troublemaker to learn from their mistakes.
• Families spend time with one another all day. No one is to work unless the work is a necessity.

Festival day two:

• If a new child was born on day one, children 10 and under write wishes for the future of the new child and then present them to the new family. Children over 10 clean the house and cook a meal for the family.
• Once the sun goes down the silent revelry begins! Away from the home of any new parents, the town comes together to take part in silent games and presentations. Charades, plays, art presentations galore! It’s to make sure the night is filled with joy and peace all at once.

It sounds like a great time! Imagine walking into a town you’ve never been to before on a day they are celebrating your name! I think it would be a fantastic little surprised. I bet people would be really excited to see you. Not to mention that I find festival days are the best days to visit a new place. Everyone is always so excited and the whole place is filled with life and energy.

Until next time,

Onwards to adventure!

• CozyPandaDragon