December (Darshali) is an eventful month in the calendar of the Sirdabi Caliphate, with a range of festivities tied to the winter solstice and the darkest days of the year. Many of these traditions have pagan or Elestaarian origins, but have been adopted in somewhat modified form by Azadi throughout the caliphate. The Festival of the Dead has its deepest roots in the western caliphate, while the Fire Festival is observed most extravagantly in the eastern caliphate, but celebrations of both can be found in all provinces. Though the least of the major feasts, the Feast of the Flame is still one of the great festival days in the Azadi calendar.
Darshali 14-20: The Festival of the Dead
This is the chief festival in the Sirdabi Caliphate for the remembrance of the dead, including departed family and friends as well as ancestors. It takes place just before the start of the Dead Days that lie in between the winter solstice and the first day of Alkhila, a time when the boundaries between the mortal realm and the Slumberland are believed to be especially weak, and spirits may slip easily between the two. In addition to honoring and celebrating the departed, then, the Festival of the Dead is also meant to appease them in advance of these days when their souls are at their most restless.
Although there are some moments of solemnity during this time, overall it is a merry week, filled with glad reunions of family and friends who come together to remember loved ones and honor ancestors -- for after all, it is during the Festival of the Dead that an entire family or clan may be truly reunited, living and departed alike. Many people will bring an armful of palm fronds to the local burying ground to distribute around the graves, or will create thatched palm frond awnings to drape before doorways or tent flaps. It is also common to carve small trinkets from palm wood to give to the dead, either by placing them on a grave, or casting them on a fire during the subsequent Fire Festival. Besides giving gifts to them, the deceased are remembered in other ways as well, such as through the recitation of family genealogies, the telling of heroic or amusing tales featuring the deeds of an ancestor or dead loved one, or composing and performing poetry or songs in their honor.
The Festival of the Dead segues into the Fire Festival from Darshali 20-22 and the Feast of the Flame on Darshali 21.
Darshali 20-22: The Fire Festival
The Fire Festival is of Irzali origin, but has long been celebrated within the Sirdabi Caliphate as a whole. It spans the winter solstice, and for Irzali in particular has symbolic associations with the eternal battle between good and evil. Fires are lit and kept burning all through these three days, and a bit of flame from these smaller fires is often used to help light the communal bonfire that is constructed on the second day of the festival, and set ablaze with the onset of the longest night.
Overlapping the Festival of the Dead and the Feast of the Flame, the Fire Festival is a cheerful time for most people of the caliphate, regardless of their heritage or religion. Dancing and storytelling are common, both communally around the local bonfire, or among smaller groups of family and friends at home. Fire candy -- flame-shaped sugar candies flavored with cinnamon or naskiri -- is shared around freely, along with heated cups of fiery-orange sumikha, a sweet and tangy drink made with sumac, saffron, and cardamom. Most Azadi spend the first day of the Fire Festival preparing for the Feast of the Flame, the Azadi holiday that takes place on the second day of the festival.
The Irzali celebrate the Fire Festival to its fullest, and for Elestaarians its importance is rivaled only by the summer solstice festivities. Elestaarian fire magi carry out purification rituals during this time, besides often heading up the ceremonial Fire Knot dance, where participants dance in a special symbolic pattern weaving through a set of bonfires. There are also numerous other fire-centered activities -- fire eating, fire juggling, leaping over bonfires, and walking on coals, in addition to more casual dances around the celebration's many smaller fires. The Fire Festival dog races, combining bursts of speed with displays of agility, weaving between lighted torches and leaping over flames, is one of the most popular events in Irzal, and can even combine both dog and master in a sort of relay race. Perhaps unsurprisingly, healers are often in high demand at a traditional Irzali Fire Festival celebration.
Darshali 21: Feast of the Flame
The Feast of the Flame is one of the great feasts of the Azadi calendar, commemorating the start of the Sparkling Rebellion in which the Prophet al-Azad and his people aided the Irzali in overthrowing the hated Shahanshah Divyaz and his corrupt administration. This is a time to remember heroic deeds of the past, whether of physical or moral courage, which dovetails neatly with the celebrations of the Festival of the Dead. While the most radical Irzali separatists choose to see this as day more of mourning than celebration, most Irzali observe the holiday with as much gladness and piety as any other Azadi.
As part of both the feast and the Fire Festival, a great bonfire is built on this day, and collectively set alight by an entire village, neighborhood, or clan, each member of which contributes a spark or flame -- thereby symbolizing that together, many small sparks can ignite an immense blaze. Typically a whole camel, sheep, or ox is slaughtered to provide a celebratory meal for the entire community. It has also become traditional to eat the roasted meat with firebelly sauce, a sweet-and-spicy condiment made from tamarind paste, naskiri, pomegranate juice, and black pepper. In Irzal itself, and among those of Irzali heritage, it is more common to cook a communal pot of sweet-and-sour fensenjaan, a type of stew usually reserved for festive occasions.
The Feast of the Flame corresponds with the penultimate day of the Irzali Fire Festival.
Darshali 22-31: Dead Days
The Dead Days are made up of the seven days after the winter solstice, when the boundary between the mortal and spirit realms is thought to be particularly thin and permeable. It is considered an unsettled time when any strange thing might happen, particularly during the long nights. It is a prime time for retiring indoors early, and telling ghost stories and other eerie tales. Many do not dare go out at night during this time without a pair of spoons to bang together to frighten spirits away. In many towns and villages this practice has evolved into a tradition of mummery, where unmarried youths dress up in mask and costume and go around beating spoons and drums and demanding offerings for the spooks of the night.