Hallowtide

Hallowtide is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Eliyahu, observed commonly on the 25th of December. Although it originated as a religious celebration, Hallowtide has also taken on a cultural aspect in many historically Hosian nations around the world. In the Hosian Churches, the liturgical festival is also referred to as Hallownight, while Hallowtide denotes the festive season surrounding Hallownight in the liturgical calendar. Many nations in Terra celebrate Hallowtide as a holiday.

Although it seems unlikely that Eliyahu was actually born on the 25th of December (modern Biblical scholarship has pointed out several reasons the date is unlikely), it is thought that the Hosian churches celebrate Hallowtide as a midwinter festival. In this account of the date's origins, Hallowtide was deliberately placed on the 25th of December to eclipse pagan celebrations. In addition it is pointed out that the octave of Hallownight is New Year's Day, at which the symbolically important Solemnity of the Incarnation of the Lord is celebrated.

Symbols associated with Hallowtide are both religious and cultural in nature. St. Angelicus of Subasium is credited with the invention of the Hallownight Manger, a depiction of the Biblical scene of Eliyahu's birth. More commonly associated with Hallowtide are evergreen trees like dens, lights, candles and bells. In many nations, a holiday figure who is often identified with St. Quirinus but is in fact the expression of an older pagan gift-giving tradition, often called Saint Quinn, Father Hallowtide or Father Winter, brings presence on Hallownight.