Regional Variations in Holiday Celebratory Rituals

     Faerieland

     You may be wondering what the holidays are like in Faerieland. While it’s true that they put up dazzling displays of lights and festive furnishings, there isn’t actually that much celebration that occurs in Faerieland proper. As a majority of the residents of Faerieland are winged Faerie Neopets and faeries themselves, it’s easy for them to travel. Similarly, I’m told Faerieland is very economically prosperous as well, due to a certain invisible tower that may or may not sell luxury goods. What this all means is that Faerieland residents typically choose to use the Month of Celebrating to engage in tourism across Neopia and partake in the celebrations of the various Neopian lands they visit. No matter where you are, you’ll find faeries: water faeries in Mystery Island, Fire Faeries in Moltara, the list goes on. I’ve even heard that their good moods leads to more faerie quests being given out, although you didn’t hear it from me. ;)

     Haunted Woods

     It may be surprising to some that a land like the Haunted Woods even celebrates during this month, but I assure you they do! It’s true that they’re best known for their celebration at the end of the Month of Collecting, but they’re no slackers when it comes to the Month of Celebrating. One unique holiday tradition they have is hiding and scaring others before handing them a gift. It’s not uncommon to hear a loud shriek of fear, that quickly morphs into one of delight. Their food culture during the holidays is much the same: decorative (hopefully) eyeballs, tongues, and worms, among many other creepy foods, line the shelves, and the trees! They even redecorate the Haunted Fairground, creating a wonderfully festive, yet macabre, atmosphere. If you love a good shock, I highly recommend paying this land a visit.

     Krawk Island and Mystery Island*

     *Due to the author being forcibly chased off of Mystery Island by an unreasonably large Ghost Hissi, there is no data on its celebratory customs. Similarly, the author was tied up and tossed off a gangplank upon visiting Krawk Island, preventing any data collection. While these lands are surely wonderful places to visit for the holidays, please do exercise caution. The Neopian Times is NOT responsible for any injury or loss.

     Maraqua

     The unique geography of Maraqua, primarily the fact that it is completely underwater, provides unique deterrents to using typical Terror Mountain-style celebration rituals. Typical trees are far too buoyant and just float far away, and the last time King Kelpbeard tried to import Borovan for the holidays, it led to a massive spill on the outskirts of the city which took weeks to clean up. Instead, Maraquan residents typically decorate using naturally abundant coral and kelp, as well as multicoloured shells. For food, they often eat the very kelp they decorate with! There’s no more convenient snack, I’m told. And instead of singing (as sound doesn’t travel too well through water), they perform synchronised swimming performances to celebrate the holidays. Visit during this month and I’m sure you’ll be able to catch a performance or two right outside the palace.

     Shenkuu

     Shenkuu is well-known for its elegant designs and artfully crafted creations, and it’s no different during the Month of Celebrating. Much like Altador and Tyrannia, the climate is far too temperate to allow for any sort of snow. Moreover, the mountains are spaced so far apart in some areas that travel becomes prohibitively difficult. This is why the primary celebration ritual in Shenkuu involves eating copious amounts of food together and lighting massive fireworks displays. Delicious specialities like sushi boats and hand rolls reach an all-time high consumption during this month. There’s even the tradition of eating a number of different foods each day matching the date, from eating 1 food all day on the first day to feasting on 31 different dishes on the last. The fireworks displays are grand and are held every evening of the month, with dazzling patterns and colours that can be seen all across the land. If you visit, it’s not uncommon for a generous family to invite you to eat with them. Eating, having a good time, and enjoying the beautiful fireworks together; it’ll make an unforgettable memory.

     Kreludor and the Virtupets Space Station

     While Kreludor and the Virtupets Space Station can hardly be called geographically close (since they are, you know, very far away and separated by like…so much space), they do share many celebratory customs as a result of their shared majority-Grundo population, as well as their interstellar geography. Being in space brings its unique set of challenges: organic resources (such as trees) are incredibly scarce, importing foods is time-consuming and costly, and gravity is in short supply. These factors all contributed to their current customs of decorating with 100% metal trees, eating speciality dehydrated foods, and gifting each other blasters. The metal trees are a perfect substitute for the normal green, organic kind. They also have the benefit of being extremely heavy – these trees won’t be floating away anytime soon! Typically hard to resource foods like cookies and hot chocolate are instead replaced with economically sourced dehydrated food powders. All a Neopian has to do is dump the powder in their mouth and it will absorb all of their salivae to reconstitute the food. The power of science is so amazing! And the custom of gifting each other blasters arose from their shared history in defending against Dr. Sloth’s plans way back in Y2. There’s truly nothing worth celebrating more than freedom!

     I hope you've all enjoyed this glimpse of different Neopian celebratory customs! Perhaps you feel newly inspired, and will decorate your Neohome differently this year, or practice a new dance? Or maybe you'll try whipping up some of the delicious regional foods I mentioned? In any case, enjoy the festivities, and happy holidays to you all!