St. Hollyberry's Day

St. Hollyberry's Day is the saint's day of Hollyberry or Halibelu, the Idiri disciple and companion of St. Loomis. It is celebrated on the twentieth day of Ilvius, with additional celebrations on Holly Eve.

Background

St. Hollyberry's Day is a minor but cherished holiday throughout Ruvera, with the holiday taking on special significance for the kingdom of Ensor where Hollyberry studied with St. Loomis. The day before the holiday, Holly Eve, unofficially marks the beginning of the holiest days of the Kalentic calendar. Often called the Days of Pine and Holly, these are chiefly focused on observing the death and rebirth of Kalen Phoinikos. Although St. Hollyberry's Day is unrelated to those events, the occasion has been embraced by the church and its faithful as a reminder of hope, and also of the inevitable mortal cycle through both hope and despair, light and darkness.

Unlike most saints, St. Hollyberry not only died in lands so distant they were unknown to the Kalentic Church, but also with no account of the manner of her death. However, thanks to a miracle which occurred at Windhaven Monastery the day of her death was made known to the monks there. St. Loomis had planted a holly bush on the monastery grounds in memory of his most beloved disciple, and this had grown into a small and vigorous tree in the years since her return to the land of Blessed-Be. Besides being a bright spot of green even in the dead of the year, every winter it had borne the most beautiful bright red berries of any holly in the world. But on the twentieth day of Ilvius the gardener monk Luthan came out to tend the tree with his habitual care, only to find that every single berry on it had turned as pure a white as new-fallen snow. By this sign the elderly monk, alone left of those who had traveled with Hollyberry and stayed on in Ensor after her departure, knew that his queen and friend had at last found her rest with God.

Customs

St. Hollyberry's Day is a day of good cheer and of hope, meant to bolster the spirits in advance of the solemn time of Vigils that lies just ahead. It is customary for people to deck their windows and doors with garlands of holly and crag pine by Ilvius 19th, Holly Eve. On this day neighbors and friends commonly visit one another, bearing sprigs of holly to give as gifts with the words, "Holly for hope, berries for cheer!" Often hot posset is served, in the home or at local pubs, to fortify both the humors and the spirit. On St. Hollyberry's Day itself, the bells of local churches are rung to a particular melody, the Canticle of St. Hollyberry, or as it is more simply known, Hollysong. Some priests give a special sermon related to St. Hollyberry herself, while others focus more on the upcoming events related to Kalen's sacrifice.

In the town of St. Loomis in Ensor, the place in which St. Hollyberry spent much of her time and where she remains an important part of local folklore, the holiday takes on a more special significance. Here the bells of the Hollybelly Carillon at the Cathedral of the Blessed Wayfarer are rung to a variety of tunes throughout the entire day, with Hollysong itself rung at the chief hours of prayer. A special evening sermon is always delivered in honor of the occasion, and the Canticle is sung in its entirety during the service. After the service, a covered bowl is passed around among the women of childbearing age, each of whom plucks a holly berry from it sight unseen, which she then holds closed in her hand until the deacon rings a small handbell. At this point each woman opens her hand to reveal the berry she has plucked, and the one who finds the single white berry in her palm is named the Holly Queen. With this honor, she is allowed to receive the first candle from the Archbiscop with which to light the rest on the Day of Ashes, and may pass back to the Archbiscop the candle that lights the bonfire on the first day of Kindlemass.