In this time of festive celebration, many celebrate based on traditions passed to them by their parents that blended into unique family celebrations. As each family has their own traditions, dishes and treats that are special, or games and activities that they do, so each culture also has its own traditions and practices.
Traditions can provide a wealth of writing ideas, particularly for fantasy tribes and worlds, and can tell the reader a great deal about the people portrayed in the story. Holiday traditions are particularly fascinating for this reason.
Origin of a Holiday:
Today’s English word “Holiday” is a shortening of an older English term “holy day.” Sourced largely from Roman and Greek cultures, that had no concept of weeks or months off school for the summer or anything like that. Instead, their cultures had many “holy days” scattered throughout the yearly calendar which served the purpose for rest and relaxation. The same is true of the later Catholic traditions, which had saint’s days and many other traditional “holy days” into the standard calendar.
The biggest festival of our year, Christmas, has its origin back in old Roman, Germanic, and even Gaelic customs. The decorations, colors, and symbols can trace many roots back to these practices. Most of the publicly accepted holidays have similar roots. 
Many of today’s holiday roots can be traced back to solar based superstition. In writing, this is important. What type of calendar does your people group, fantasy or otherwise, follow, solar or lunar?
Lunar festivals either end up moving through the seasons, or need a leap month added to account for the shorter months and keep them on track. Basing things on a solar calendar usually has festivals near the shortest day of the year, and at the longest, with possibly a few others thrown in for seasons.
If your people are agrarian based, maybe they keep harvest and planting festivals rather than midsummer and midwinter festivals. While if they are largely hunters, they may not care for planting or harvest.
Festivals, and how they are observed, can tell the reader a great deal about the people group. Borrowing from earth cultures to inform on alien or fantasy cultures can be a fun exercise too.
A Look at Differences:
Scotland and England had very different ways of celebrating Christmas in their time. The Scots, by and large, did not keep Christmas instead keeping the new year or “Hogmany.” This festival combined some level of sweeping away the old year and welcoming the new, along with the practice of giving out oatcakes to the kids who came knocking at the door. A practice more than slightly reminiscent of our current Halloween practices.
Meanwhile in England, Christmas was largely kept with high festivities, church festivities, and lots of food. One of the practices included the “Wassail” where groups of “carolers” went house to house singing and being given ale in exchange. A look at secular Old English Christmas carols will explain some of the festive practices. A few good songs to look up include “the wassail song” and “the boar’s head carol.”
Scotland and England, while formerly separate countries were still connected by their long land-based border, yet, their festive practices were very different. What other similar, yet different, cultural traditions might be pulled into a story to portray cultural values?
Cultural Traditions for Characterization:
A very interesting way to help with characterization is to portray the character in the midst of a culturally approved, and accepted, festival. Then, start asking them questions such as:
What does the character think of the festival and observations?
Are they for it, against the festival, and why?
Do they value traditions, or do they think they should be replaced?
I am reminded here, of a situation in one of Steven Lawhead’s books, Taliesin from The Pendragon Cycle. In this book, Taliesin raises again a druidic standing stone and realizes that he is being asked to renew the sacrifice at that place. Knowing that tradition is wrong, he drops the standing stone back down to prevent the shedding of innocent blood. That short scene shows that Taliesin not only broke with druidic traditions, but gives his reasons for it and raises his character in the reader’s estimation.
This character reveal is one very good reason to include some festive observance in a longer story, particularly fantasy. While I enjoy fantasy that has a good battle-based plotline, festivals can provide a character development opportunity as well as a short break from incessant action.
Plot Complications:
Traditions, particularly those involving large festivals and lots of people gathering together can offer a huge plot bonus to the writer. Large numbers of people means that your character’s presence is masked and unremarkable. It also means that there are more people around to keep an eye on of course.
Lots of people, a break in work, and everyone in holiday mode means that a traditional festival is the perfect diversion. This can create awesome opportunities for assassins to show up, kidnappings to take place, and other and sundry plot complications to happen.
One good plot complication is the “old friend recognition” which can happen at any time, but is particularly inopportune in the middle of a huge crowd of potential enemies. Another one is the “kidnapping” either being carried out by your characters, or being perpetrated on your characters. Of course, if you want to assassinate a prelate or other high official, their coming out in a festival procession provides the perfect opportunity as well, since the crowds offer a good chance of avoiding detection.
Of course, thinking as a fantasy and adventure writer here, there are also many other ways that festivals could feature well in other genres. Romances can use festivals and traditions for throwing together people who would otherwise never meet. Drama can use traditions as sources of conflict, while comedy can show what happens when every tradition decides to go awry at the wrong moment.
Back To You:
Holidays, and festive traditions are rich and fertile ground for writer’s imaginations. How would you use a festival, tradition, or holiday in your writing? What other ways could a holiday or tradition add depth and richness to your writing?
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