Festival of Lanterns

The festival of lanterns is a Blazeological tradition which is intended to usher in the spring of the New Year in the Blazennian calendar. It is one of the Three Winter Festivals in which Blazeologist adherants pay homage to their chief deity Salamandrake, in defiance of the evil god Njolfrost, for whom winter is the traditional domain. Of these three festivals, the Festival of Lanterns is, if not the largest, than certainly the most joyous, for it heralds the beginning of spring and the end of Njolfrost's reign.

Over the years, the festival has taken on an aura of new life in general, and it is often believed by Blazennians that this is the best time to begin a new relationship, and children born on this day are considered especially blessed. Very often, this date marks the beginning of the planting season for early crops, though depending on how the year lines up in reality it may be many weeks before any real cultivation begins. Nonetheless, farmers will always plant at least one or two handfuls of seeds, for luck.

The actual festival itself sees paper lanterns filled with fire released into the sky in droves, despite expense. The poorest among Blazeologists may not actually be able to afford these lanterns, but will light a candle instead in order to show their piety and spirit. This tradition is also repeated when on campaign (for the military), as it is particularly unwise to hold such an in-depth festival on the march. Each year, a great lantern in the shape of a salamander is released from the Ember Springs, the holiest place in Blazeology. While this location was under occupation by the Ljubidar Domina, the highest priests of Blazeology instead congregated along the shores of Lake Linoren to pray.

In addition to lanterns and candles, the modern festival also includes magical fireworks, with some of these being in the shape of salamanders or other holy symbols, though this is a more modern addition and was not present during the early years of the tradition. The festival has been in existance for well over a thousand years, perhaps as far back as the when the Blazeologists discovered the Ember Springs. However, records definitively state that extravagent displays of fireworks and lanterns did not emerge until much later, and the festival was certainly not followed in a standardized manner until after the advent of the High Temple of Cayunth.