Christ's Mass
Glory to the Newborn King!
After settling down and adjusting to life on Thanged Aleksander Vanstandtvoort tried to share as many of his personal experiences and beliefs from the Oldworld as possible. As the first Oldworlder in many centuries to arrive in Bainshaebo, he did his best to fill in gaps in Thangien understanding of Oldworlder culture, which had changed a great deal over the eons. With two children of his own, he tried to explain a yearly tradition where friends and family congregate once each year to exchange gifts to pay homage to the King of Man. But Bainshaebo has no cyclical winter, and Thanged has no pine or fir trees, and Thangiens have no such messianic figure. Ironically enough it would be Ander himself who would come to be viewed as a savior for his many heroic deeds. Perhaps because Thangiens are generous towards one another all the time, having a single day of the cycle to exchange gifts does not make much sense.
History
The birth of the King of Man is recorded as happening over two thousand years ago, a momentous event which is marked in the annals of time itself, but the actual customs associated with Christ's Mass as Ander recounted are relatively new, within the past few centuries.
"Perhaps it's all well and good Ander did not live long enough to see the modern, corporatized version of Christmas and what it has become, messages of fellowship and family lost among petty financial gain. Perhaps it is best he kept in his heart the idyllic, sort of 'Norman Rockwell-esque' version he grew up with in his youth..."
Execution
According to Ander, on the twenty-fifth of December Oldworlders celebrate the birth of the King of Man by exchanging gifts and enjoying lavish home-cooked meals with friends and family. The winter season was marked with much entertainment such as singing of carols, sledding, snowball fights, mailing of cards scrawled with messages of well-wishing, logs crackling over a fire, decorating of tall needle-laden trees, exchanging gifts, and congregating in prayer. In addition to the birth of the King of Man, Ander described a figure he referred to as "Saint Nikolaus" who embarked on an incredible voyage to deliver gifts to the good children of the world, while a sinister devilish figure named "Krampus" left coal for the naughty.
Components and tools
Sadly all of the trappings associated with such Oldworlder celebrations are nowhere to be found on Thanged. The only snow lies cloaking the Northern Ring. There are no holly bushes or mistletoe sprigs. Chamia hens-while plump, juicy, and delicious when cooked-do not compare to the large feathered fowl Ander described. There no Douglas firs or Norfolk pines, and the idea of decorating a tree for a brief few weeks then putting everything away for the next year seems almost wasteful when such virtues associated with the season should be celebrated year-round.
Participants
The only religion celebrated by Thangiens is that of the Four Queens, but there are no services held at Thananagreia the Citadel-Chapel, no masses or vigils or singing choirs. There are no priests, bishops, or other clergymen. The llaudaind serve as masters of entertainment, but try as he might, Ander could not quite get Khanphe to understand the intricacies of the Advent Season.
Spoiler Warning: Planned Content!
The Far Star Traveller"A man garbed in red...flying across the sky in a sled...pulled by eight tiny reindeer?" Khanphe remarked and wrinkled his face, puzzled as he accompanied Ander to the fireside. "I am terribly sorry Ander! Such things you speak of simply do not exist here! The only men garbed in red are the solemn coachmen who ferry the honored Dead to their final preparations. It is grim business, mind you, but a duty they carry out with great dignity!"
"Mercy sakes alive, Khanphe, surely you've seen snow! Pine trees?"
"Snow is only found at the frigid Northern Ring, and the only time it has ever snowed this far out on the Plain occurred during the Dread Winter, a perilous time fraught with hardship! ..and pine trees?"
"Yes! Tall, narrow at the top, with great boughs at the base and branches adorned with needles!" Ander hissed, exasperated. Khanphe grimaced as if he struggled to solve some great riddle.
"The only tree I can think of that appears as you speak is the Silver Tree, a tale where a mother and her young child flee certain peril." Ander blew air through his moustache. It seemed Khanphe had a story for everything else but what Ander described. "And this...'Savior' you speak of...the only such man who might fit that descriptor could be Deres, the Father of Metal who gave us the gift of knowledge...but he was a humble man, not one for ceremonies and accolades."
Observance
Thanged has no months as the Oldworld does, nor does it recognize the "Advent Season" as Ander recounted. The closest Bainshaebo got to experiencing a White Christmas ironically enough came in the midst of a outbreak of the Weeping Death, when the Ronin used their combined powers to blanket the city in snow. The following year, however, Ander's adult children were invited to participate in festivities and traveled to the Oldworld to experience what their father had spoke so often about.
“I’d almost forgotten…With everything that’s been going on, back at home it’s getting close to the Christmas season. It’s a time celebrated with fellowship and generosity, and heralds the birth of the next year and of the future…” Mia whispered sadly. “Our seasons do not change as that of Oldworld…but Ander told me often of what you speak,” Yainae sighed.
“Come now, it’s Christmas, and Ryo has graciously invited us all to the party he plans on hosting on the Argonauth’s deck. I, for one, am looking forward to it. Ander often lamented the lack of such a practice on Thanged…”-Bak Thraplek
All artwork used is self-made and belongs to me unless otherwise stated, such as kitbashes and commissions. Age of Defiance does not and will not use or feature RW/YST original artwork out of consideration for the OAS creators
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Author's Notes
Ander's appearance is loosely based off of an instructor from school I remember named Norman Engel, but I also envision him looking and sounding sort of like Sam Elliot as he appeared in the movie Prancer, a movie which-quite honestly-scared the sh** out of me when I was little...