Feast Day of St. Lucia

First Day

The festival begins with a solemn gathering at Lucian temples, often accompanied by song, prayer, and sermons on the life and trials of St. Lucia. Priests and acolytes offer traveling services to outlying towns and villages, where they conduct blessings, distribute talismanic charms (sold for donations to fund the faith's missions), and perform traditional hymns like "Praise, O Lucia."   Families who once made pacts with Dium may hang lanterns or spirit banners outside their homes—a practice rooted in antiquity that symbolizes openness to the spirit world. Though now less common in cities, it remains a staple of rural life.  

Week-Long Celebration

Throughout the week, farming communities begin their harvest, inviting both young and old to participate. It is considered a duty, especially for children, to contribute to the labor, both as a rite of passage and as an offering to the spirits.   Families prepare communal meals, crafting altars to St. Lucia adorned with flowers, food, and handwritten prayer-wishes. These altars vary from household to household, with some being as simple as an artpiece of St, Lucia or an emblem of the Lucian Faith to whole rooms in the house with dining tables, imagery, and busts of saints. During this time, more than any point in the year, the Houses of Lucian Worship open their doors to the poor, elderly, and infirm, serving hot meals and distributing donated bread and stew. This represents the balance of good and the generosity Lucia brought to her followers upon her return.   Families during this week consume great feasts and prepare food and mealstuff for the coming winter, as well as getting rid of any summer harvests that may spoil or not last through the coming winter. A curious and sacred practice forbids the consumption of any food scraps from these feasts. Leftovers are considered “owed” to the spirits and are believed to carry the echo of mortal desire. To eat them is to steal from the Dium—a sin that invites nightmares and spiritual unrest. Children are warned that eating these leftovers will cause the spirits to eat their dreams, leaving only nightmares. Each night, Lucian priests travel door-to-door or accept offerings left on thresholds. These leftovers are brought to forest shrines or sacred altars, where they are buried or burned in reverent offerings to the land and spirits.  

Local Variants

"That we, unlike the spirits, are given the choice to change. That change must be thoughtful. Grateful. Balanced."

— Book of Wisdoms

Sereneaux Peninsula

In the port cities of Sereneaux, the Feast is loud and theatrical. During the day, Ports and Markets have people donning carved wooden masks of Daemons and parade through the streets, enacting exaggerated hauntings. Crowds pelt them with rotten fruit and vegetables, laughing and shouting. This symbolic act wards away malevolent spirits and ensures that only fresh, sacred food is offered to the true Dium.
 

Adrausii Plains

In the vast plains of Adraus, the final night of the week is marked with ritual field-burnings—an act known as The Dance of Fire and Feast. Families and village circles light bonfires or controlled crop fires, honoring the Phoenix spirits and returning nutrients to the soil.

The fire is seen as both destruction and renewal, a symbol of the changing seasons and humanity’s place in the Great Balance.

Mesegña

In the spiritual heart of Mesegña, at the Fountain d’Tammuz, a priestess dressed in an ancient Kadian Tukalum emerges from a hidden chamber below the fountain, portraying Lucia’s divine return. She grants wishes and blessings, especially to children, while throwing sweet confections into the crowd. Her presence is considered a direct reenactment of Lucia’s first walk among mortals after her ascension. This event draws thousands each year and marks one of the holiest nights in the Mesegñean calendar.