Gorean X-mas, the Waiting hand.

[roman]

Actually, on Gor this would be the month of:
Se'Var (Winter solstice/Tenth Month)

Not the month of the Passage hand, which is the 12th month. However, I think that years on online Gor pass by faster than RL years, so it might be interesting to roleplay out the Carnival of the Twelfth month, as well as the solemn time of the Waiting hand.

The Twelfth Passage Hand is followed by the Waiting Hand, a five-day period prior to the vernal equinox, which marks the New Year. The Waiting Hand is a solemn time when little business is done and many Goreans stay home. It is a time of fasting, meditation and mourning. The doors of many homes are painted white, sealed with pitch and branches of the brak bush are fastened to them. The brak bush is meant to keep bad luck away. On the dawn of the vernal equinox, a ceremonial greeting of the sun takes place within the city. The end of this greeting is signified by the ringing of great bars suspended above the city. The people then exit their houses, washing the pitch away and burning the brak bush. The festivities will last for the first ten days of the month. The Initiates do not make much of the Waiting Hand in their ceremonies and preachments so it is unlikely of much religious significance.

[roman]

If anyone wants to roleplay in the week before New Years Eve, this might be a fun thing to Roleplay out. I have never seen it being roleplayed before. It would be a fun festival to have!

[roman]

Here are all the months:

Gorean Calendar (Not all the months were named in the books)

En'Kara (Vernal equinox/First month)

First Passage Hand

Second Month (Known as Hesius in Ar)

Second Passage Hand

Third Month (Known as Camerius in Ar and Selnar in Ko-ro-ba)

Third Passage Hand

En'Var (Summer solstice/Fourth Month)

Fourth Passage Hand

Fifth Month

Fifth Passage Hand (Love Feast)

Sixth Month

Sixth Passage Hand

Se-Kara (Fall equinox/Seventh Month)

Seventh Passage Hand

Eighth Month

Eighth Passage Hand

Ninth Month

Ninth Passage Hand

Se'Var (Winter solstice/Tenth Month)

Tenth Passage Hand

Eleventh Month

Eleventh Passage Hand

Twelfth Month

Twelfth Passage Hand (Carnival time)

Waiting Hand

[roman]

So technically, this would be the Gorean month of:
Se'Var (Winter solstice/Tenth Month).

The winter solstice is today, December 21st.

However, Gor is the 'counter Earth'. The planet Gor shares the same orbit as Earth around the sun but is always hidden behind the sun. Of course this means that the seasons on Gor would probably be the opposite of what they are on Earth. Then again December is considered the 'summer solstice' in the southern Hemisphere.

-I'm not certain if there is a Gorean celebration or not on the winter month of Se'Var. Most likely the seas of the Thassa are too hazardous to travel on, and will not be suitable until the month of En'Kara, after the solemn 'Waiting hand'.

I am going to assume that the passage of a Gorean Month IC would be similar to the passage of a week IRL. This means that the wedding feast might still occur in the time before, or after the 'Waiting hand'.

There is of course also the possibility that the Wedding feast would take place in the fifth passage hand, the so called 'Love feast' which occurs in the summer.

What do other people think?