Night of Skótos

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The first night of the Festival of Renewal, the Night of Skótos is celebrated at sundown on the last day of the year and begins with the Feast of Year's End. This feast is a time remember the year past, considering both the troubles and the triumphs in equal parts, as both good and bad have their parts in shaping the future.   While this feast is shared with friends and family, it as also traditional to take in an unknown traveler or two. This is done because, according to legend, the High Divine Marr The Pilgrim wanders the World of Grae in the form of any unassuming persons to view his creation and appreciate it from the perspective of those whom he created it for, and as a result one can never be too sure if the stranger that they are entertaining for the evening is actually the High Divine, himself.   At the close of the Feast of Year's End, it is customary to offer a valedictory toast to honor those loved ones who had passed on from life to death over the past year. Often, this toast is considered a sort of final farewell to the fallen and in some cultures it is believed that the dead may not actually rest until this symbolic toast is offered in their names.   Once the feast is concluded, it is tradition for all form of lighting to be snuffed out, plunging all settlements of Grae into darkness, symbolizing the black of the timeless void that Marr had spent several eternities traversing after the fall of the World that was Before. This practice is known as Embracing the Void. Traditionally, as the world of Grae enters this blackest night, prayers are offered in supplication to Marr, pleading that the Creator-god will once again bring the sun to a new year, and with it the life giving light that he had brought to Grae so many years ago.   The Night of Skótos officially ends at sunrise on the first day of the year, just as the light penetrates the dark of night.   Wanderer be Praised.

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