Week of Mourning

The world as everyone knew it ended on New Year's Eve, which some found ironic, considering the Y2K scare of 20 years prior... For those who survived, date-keeping changed as the year's number was changed to reflect the times. Holidays were shifted or removed, and new dates of importance began to take form.

The people of Willowmoor found it difficult to celebrate the first New Years after, and there was barely an acknowledgement of the occasion as they turned December over to January, a trend that followed the next year... Soon, they revamped their calendar entirely so that the New Year is celebrated on March 1st, just three weeks away from the spring.

With the reorganization of the calendar, the first week of January (now called the Month of Darkness) was set aside as a Week of Mourning wherein all Willomoorans can be allowed to plumb the very depths of their darkest grief. Mourners walk the streets in dark clothing and drape black cloth over the windows of their homes. Children don't go to school and adults are expected to stay home as needed. Morose memorials are held every evening at Gulliver Hall, Willowmoor's musicians striking up ballads to stir the heartstrings. Daiyoists roam the public districts to pray over or bless those who welcome the burgeoning religion. The cemetery receives extra love and attention as mourners leave gifts at the graves of the lost; for those whose loved ones aren't buried there, a procession through town to the lake marks the end of the week, those mourners setting lanterns adrift on the water in memory of their missing dead.

A candlelight vigil is held on the morning of the 1st day of the Month of Darkness (January), officially kicking off the week with a long moment of silence to remember the lives lost going back to the world's end.