Holiday Events and Festivities
Memorial Day or Day of Memories - Month of May
The Day of Memories for the Lupinossai Glade or Memorial Day in other realms is a time of happy memory of those fallen to provide protection, care and safety to all in the glade and their homelands left behind. An excerpt from a speech by First Governor Vuusoolta Wolf is enclosed.
"My fellow brothers and sisters of the Den, we are gathered today in the Soul Garden for many reasons. Reunions. Memories. Honoring. Guilt. Grief. Sorrow. Affirmation. Today is a special day. It is The Time of Sacrifice in the Old Country. A time when many young warriors would give up their youth and innocence to take up the courage to fight the various wars that had plagued our people. A time when many young apprentices embraced the first tastes of power and started the road to becoming powerful and sometimes feared mages. Many young and wise give up ambitious or wealthy family upbringings to make the world a better place.
However, given these pledges, and the nature of their courses, the day also sees the sacrifices of lives. Warriors die in battle, mages die in their thirst for knowledge and power, many healers, doctors, scholars and teachers stretch themselves thin to teach and heal the next generation and expire in the labor of love. So this time has become often clouded with grief and agony, but all is not lost. As you look around you, the souls of your loved ones and ancestors still dwell here in their soul gems.
You can still commune with them, honor them, talk with them and they can give you guidance. But, this is rapidly becoming a thing of the past, my brothers and sisters. In this realm, we have face more and more perils that have robbed us of the souls of our fallen leaving us with just their names and their memories. That is all right though for Names and memories are powerful things that continue to live on. Many of you may be feeling stricken with grief at the hole left behind by the loss of family. Many of you though are also remembering and sharing how those who have fallen have shared their love and touched the world making things better.
It is to this area of remembrance I wish to bring your attention to. Yes, grief has its place and we all grieve for as long as we wish to, but we are not alone in our losses. We do not live alone in this cross-roads of realms known as Rhydin. Many lives have been lost alongside of ours to keep us free. Many lives have been touched out there by us, or have touched us as a community. It is a regret that many cultures and races do not have the customs or capabilities to house the souls of their fallen in Soul Gardens, but they do remember their losses just as we do. They call this day, Memorial Day.
You may wonder why we have a Coat of Arms statue behind me with dog tags inscribed with thousands of names upon it? I draw you to look upon it, and read the names. For each and every name is in honor of those who have fought with us, stood with us or have helped our community in a time of need and have fallen or passed on. This is a day to remember everyone who has gone before us and sacrificed their lives doing what they do.
The soldier who died keeping us safe and free. The doctor who died bringing us the next cure, the newest breakthrough in medicine or buying us those last few precious seconds to say farewell. The teachers who died teaching the young and the old ensuring knowledge never dies. The mage who recognizes when they have great powers and that they can protect those around them or harm them but face the consequences of either action. The priest and the healer who spend more time closer to their gods than most converts, burning up their souls to preserve the souls of others. The mother, the father, the brother or sister that did what they had to do to keep the family together and safe.
The Coat of Arms behind me and the Soul Garden we are in are simple reminders to our minds and hearts when we are hurt from grief and sorrow. A reminder that loss and sacrifice, while they do hurt and tear something vital from us will surround us, hug us and protect us from the dangers that would have strangled us had they not happen. Many races and cultures use the phrase 'The Cost of Freedom is War' or 'Freedom at the Price of Violence'. These phrases ring true for our history in the Old Country and in our brief four years as a nation in Rhydin. Our Freedom was bought and paid for by the blood of those willing to chase out oppressors, willing to remove enslavement and those willing to ensure the future is always open for each generation.
I could make mention of notable heroes who have been lost in the battles past and present, but no loss of life is greater than any other. So today, I ask that we all remember the losses today, but not to fret about them. To remember them in the light of how much brighter the world has been made by them. May Canis and Lupis smile upon all of you today and may the souls, names and memories of those lost and sacrificed today be honored till the end of time.
Memorial Day or Day of Memories - Month of May
The Day of Memories for the Lupinossai Glade or Memorial Day in other realms is a time of happy memory of those fallen to provide protection, care and safety to all in the glade and their homelands left behind. An excerpt from a speech by First Governor Vuusoolta Wolf is enclosed.
"My fellow brothers and sisters of the Den, we are gathered today in the Soul Garden for many reasons. Reunions. Memories. Honoring. Guilt. Grief. Sorrow. Affirmation. Today is a special day. It is The Time of Sacrifice in the Old Country. A time when many young warriors would give up their youth and innocence to take up the courage to fight the various wars that had plagued our people. A time when many young apprentices embraced the first tastes of power and started the road to becoming powerful and sometimes feared mages. Many young and wise give up ambitious or wealthy family upbringings to make the world a better place.
However, given these pledges, and the nature of their courses, the day also sees the sacrifices of lives. Warriors die in battle, mages die in their thirst for knowledge and power, many healers, doctors, scholars and teachers stretch themselves thin to teach and heal the next generation and expire in the labor of love. So this time has become often clouded with grief and agony, but all is not lost. As you look around you, the souls of your loved ones and ancestors still dwell here in their soul gems.
You can still commune with them, honor them, talk with them and they can give you guidance. But, this is rapidly becoming a thing of the past, my brothers and sisters. In this realm, we have face more and more perils that have robbed us of the souls of our fallen leaving us with just their names and their memories. That is all right though for Names and memories are powerful things that continue to live on. Many of you may be feeling stricken with grief at the hole left behind by the loss of family. Many of you though are also remembering and sharing how those who have fallen have shared their love and touched the world making things better.
It is to this area of remembrance I wish to bring your attention to. Yes, grief has its place and we all grieve for as long as we wish to, but we are not alone in our losses. We do not live alone in this cross-roads of realms known as Rhydin. Many lives have been lost alongside of ours to keep us free. Many lives have been touched out there by us, or have touched us as a community. It is a regret that many cultures and races do not have the customs or capabilities to house the souls of their fallen in Soul Gardens, but they do remember their losses just as we do. They call this day, Memorial Day.
You may wonder why we have a Coat of Arms statue behind me with dog tags inscribed with thousands of names upon it? I draw you to look upon it, and read the names. For each and every name is in honor of those who have fought with us, stood with us or have helped our community in a time of need and have fallen or passed on. This is a day to remember everyone who has gone before us and sacrificed their lives doing what they do.
The soldier who died keeping us safe and free. The doctor who died bringing us the next cure, the newest breakthrough in medicine or buying us those last few precious seconds to say farewell. The teachers who died teaching the young and the old ensuring knowledge never dies. The mage who recognizes when they have great powers and that they can protect those around them or harm them but face the consequences of either action. The priest and the healer who spend more time closer to their gods than most converts, burning up their souls to preserve the souls of others. The mother, the father, the brother or sister that did what they had to do to keep the family together and safe.
The Coat of Arms behind me and the Soul Garden we are in are simple reminders to our minds and hearts when we are hurt from grief and sorrow. A reminder that loss and sacrifice, while they do hurt and tear something vital from us will surround us, hug us and protect us from the dangers that would have strangled us had they not happen. Many races and cultures use the phrase 'The Cost of Freedom is War' or 'Freedom at the Price of Violence'. These phrases ring true for our history in the Old Country and in our brief four years as a nation in Rhydin. Our Freedom was bought and paid for by the blood of those willing to chase out oppressors, willing to remove enslavement and those willing to ensure the future is always open for each generation.
I could make mention of notable heroes who have been lost in the battles past and present, but no loss of life is greater than any other. So today, I ask that we all remember the losses today, but not to fret about them. To remember them in the light of how much brighter the world has been made by them. May Canis and Lupis smile upon all of you today and may the souls, names and memories of those lost and sacrificed today be honored till the end of time.