Elandria's Feast Of Fire

Happy New Year!

I have big plans to start blogging consistently this year, but I always struggle with what to write. I have a few ideas, though, so hopefully you’ll join me in this writing adventure.

New Year’s seems like a perfect time to dive into my favorite Elandrian holiday.

The Feast of Fire in my Scholars of Elandria series marks the end of a year. It also coincides with the solstice or longest night of the year. Elandria operates on a different calendar than our world. (Hmm, maybe that’s fuel for a future blog post.)

Here’s a bit about the Feast of Fire from The Sage’s Consort:

Though the Feast of Fire was a holiday of death and grief, everyone was cheerful. The holiday was cleansing, drawing the year to a close and helping to release each person of their burdens. Tomorrow, a new year would begin.

The traditions involve a feast of wintry comfort foods and plenty of firewine. That’s basically a spicy mulled wine with lots of cinnamon and clove. Elandrians love their symbolism. The Deyoni dance and do fire-eating or fire-spinning.

And the most important part of the Feast of Fire is, well, the fire. If it’s a grand party—something else Elandrians love—there’s usually a large bonfire. But it can also be celebrated with a small fire at home with your loved ones. Then you toss a chrysanthemum into the fire and name your griefs, whether silently or out loud. The fire burns them away.

Why Chrysanthemums?

The simple answer is: I love chrysanthemums. The reds and oranges and golds look like little balls of fire. But I’m a writer, so naturally, I went digging for some symbolism.

Chrysanthemums have a myriad of meanings across the world. But in Belgium and Austria, they are used as funerary flowers. I use this meaning in Elandria, which we see later in the first book.

I also decided to turn colors of grief on its head. Black is the most common color of mourning in our world. Countries like Asia use white. But in Elandria, the color of mourning is red.

Red is vibrant. And Elandrians believe in celebrating life. Red is also the color of fire, and fire is cleansing.

Sitting With Grief

Grief isn’t just about death. We grieve various losses in our lives—losses of relationships, opportunities, and parts of ourselves. And when we refuse to honor that grief as valid (because no one died, after all, so it’s not that bad, right?), we do a disservice to ourselves.

Grief is messy and complicated. It’s not just an easy cycle where we can check off which stage we’re on then move on. There is value in taking time to grieve and be sad. And you can grieve while also feeling hopeful about the future. That’s what the Feast of Fire is all about.

Grief brings with it memories and thoughts of the future. There is power in naming our grief. And the symbolism of burning them to cleanse our spirits and release ourselves from the burden is not something unique to Elandria.

Does the sadness or anger immediately go away? No. But holidays are about hope. And a new year is about new beginnings.

I hope you were able to leave some grief behind in 2019. I know I did. If you’re still struggling with some heavy burdens, I encourage you to name them. Sit with them. Honor the dark feelings.

Then let them burn.