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A Year and A Day
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The Ceremony
The Ceremony
The day after the Night of the Mothers, for the second time, grandmother asked Aifa.
Francis Rosenfeld
Aug 12
November — The Manifestation of God
November — The Manifestation of God
At the end of November, nature had finally settled into its cold season slumber. There was a chill in the air, a chill whose fingers got…
Francis Rosenfeld
Aug 6
November — All Souls’ Day
November — All Souls’ Day
“Are you coming, granddaughter?” grandmother asked, somewhat impatient. Aifa was still fiddling with her garment and time was growing…
Francis Rosenfeld
Jul 29
October — The Celebration of the Victory of Good
October — The Celebration of the Victory of Good
Aifa looked out the window, a little worried about a couple of leaden clouds that had started gathering over the horizon. The feast of the…
Francis Rosenfeld
Jul 22
October — The Blessing of Animals and Nature
October — The Blessing of Animals and Nature
Everybody loved the Blessing of Animals and Nature, especially the children, of course, who had waited all year to bring their pets to the…
Francis Rosenfeld
Jul 15
September — The Feast of Trumpets
September — The Feast of Trumpets
The sun set slowly in the sound of the trumpets, falling like a large orange ball into the sea. The trumpets kept calling as the light…
Francis Rosenfeld
Jul 8
September — The Celebration of Harvest
September — The Celebration of Harvest
There weren’t many times when the Hearth was bare, but the Celebration of Harvest was one of them. People were scattered around the city…
Francis Rosenfeld
Jul 2
August — The Snake Ceremony
August — The Snake Ceremony
Aifa, her grandmother and the rest of the Caretakers had been working hard all morning, braiding bunches of colorful ribbons into rainbows…
Francis Rosenfeld
Jun 24
August — Ancestors’ Day
August — Ancestors’ Day
“Hurry up, granddaughter, we wouldn’t want our guests to find us unprepared,” Aifa’s grandmother commented, more to assuage her own…
Francis Rosenfeld
Jun 17
July — The Day of Abundance
July — The Day of Abundance
“Knead joyfully, granddaughter, you don’t want that bread to be heavier than a rock,” grandmother teased.
Francis Rosenfeld
Jun 11
July — The Festival of the Chariots
July — The Festival of the Chariots
The middle of July brought with it an abundance of early harvest, but the Caretakers were so busy, they didn’t even notice the buoyant…
Francis Rosenfeld
Jun 3
June — Bonfire Day
June — Bonfire Day
For the second time that year, the community took their trip down the side of the mountain, down to the sea. It was the middle of June…
Francis Rosenfeld
May 27
June — The Gifts of the Spirit
June — The Gifts of the Spirit
“Are you nervous, granddaughter?” grandmother asked.
Francis Rosenfeld
May 20
May — The Day of Englightenment
May — The Day of Englightenment
The Great Hall was filled with light and flowers, there were so many flowers, so many candles, the whole floor was covered in them. It…
Francis Rosenfeld
May 13
May — The Night of Power
May — The Night of Power
“Aifa,” grandmother whispered, although nobody in the house was sleeping. “Are you ready, granddaughter? It is time to go to the Hearth.”
Francis Rosenfeld
May 6
April — The Return of the Thunderbirds
April — The Return of the Thunderbirds
There had never been a more beautiful spring. The forests and the valleys were bursting with flowers, with all the enthusiasm of nature…
Francis Rosenfeld
Apr 29
April — The Feast of Returning to Life
April — The Feast of Returning to Life
From the moment the Twins arrived, poor Aifa hadn’t experienced a moment’s rest. They were five year old now, constantly moving around and…
Francis Rosenfeld
Apr 22
March — The Blessing of Flowers and Seeds
March — The Blessing of Flowers and Seeds
The closer it got to the spring equinox, the more animated the Grand Hall of the Hearth became, engulfed in a flurry of activities related…
Francis Rosenfeld
Apr 15
March — The Reading of Blessings
March — The Reading of Blessings
The Day of the Blessings usually started early in Aifa’s household. Aifa and her siblings were already dressed up in their costumes by the…
Francis Rosenfeld
Apr 8
February — The Feast of the Blue Green Dragon
February — The Feast of the Blue Green Dragon
Towards the end of February winter started easing its grasp on the mountain springs, allowing them to come back to life, almost suddenly…
Francis Rosenfeld
Apr 2
February — The Festival of Candles
February — The Festival of Candles
If you were born in Cré at the beginning of February, you would be among the youngest people to enter the Hearth. It was the yearly…
Francis Rosenfeld
Mar 27
January — The Spirit of Awakening
January — The Spirit of Awakening
“Wake up, granddaughter,” Aifa’s grandmother shook her gently, so she wouldn’t be startled out of her deep sleep. “We need to go to the…
Francis Rosenfeld
Mar 18
January — The Blessing of the Waters
January — The Blessing of the Waters
Aifa had always asked herself, ever since she was a little child, why would a community decide to perform a ceremony that featured water…
Francis Rosenfeld
Mar 13
December — The Birth of Life Itself
December — The Birth of Life Itself
It was the week before the feast of the Birth of Life, a time when the city of Cré was usually bustling with activity. Everybody rushed to…
Francis Rosenfeld
Mar 6
December — The Night of the Mothers
December — The Night of the Mothers
On the longest night of the year, the women of Cré gather quietly, dressed in their festive garments, whiter than snow, to walk the gentle…
Francis Rosenfeld
Feb 28
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