vivalaethernet | 甲辰 003: 冬至

[video transmission]

Greetings, Crimson Corsairs.

[As usual, the elegant woman appears with a beaming smile amidst the warm steam rising from bowls of... something or other in her kitchen.]

I understand you come from many winter traditions, both in this land and in your homes. If you would allow me a brief intrusion... In Yan, it is customary to celebrate the Winter Solstice, the 'dong zhi.' As it is the longest night of the year, we give thanks that the light will return and the days will soon grow long once more. In the depths of midwinter, it is a reminder that balance and yang will be restored, no matter how dark the nights may seem. For those of us in agrarian communities, we give thanks also to the animals who have brought us through the hard times.

[A mischievous glimmer shines in her eyes.]

Of course, it is also the day that the venerable master of the stove, Zao Jun, reports to Tian on whether or not your house hold has been 'naughty' or 'nice,' which I understand is a part of some other traditions as well.

Please allow me to offer prayers to Tian on your behalf. What is it that you hope for when the sun returns in its full splendor?

[in person, all around]

[Shu appears at your door on this cold, long winter evening, knocking politely and awaiting an answer. Whether she sought you out specifically or whether she's never met you at all, she stands and waits in her warm coat holding an extraordinarily large soup bowl in her hands. Somehow, it does not seem to trouble her.]

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[He settles in his seat, his good eye glancing up as he sorts what he knew]

Certainly - well, an abbreviated version, as said it is quite an old custom where I am from. You are correct that exchanging gifts is one of the major components of the holiday. It had started as a religious holiday celebrating birth of the founder of it, by co-opting other festivals but has become more secular.

As you said, gift-giving is the central way of celebrating, generally the idea is focusing on giving presents to children, then loved ones, usually under a tree brought inside and decorate... and the sock - or stockings are to be filled with candy.

[He gives a thoughtful pause]

One of my former crew mention they put presents in shoes where he's from.

...But why the unusual focus on footwear?

[shu is learning that christmas was made by foot fetishists]

It is a religious holiday? How odd. I wonder how it is that we have the same celebration. Or perhaps it is a shared word with a different meaning. I don't know what 'Christmas' means in its native language, but I assumed it was a Victorian word.

The stockings I believe is because they used to be hung by the fireplace or a bedpost to dry. The patron saint of the holiday overheard a poor family unable to afford a dowry for their daughters, and he threw money in their window, which happened to land in their drying stockings.

[He stirs the cinnamon stick in his drink]

The shoes... I didn't really understand it, only that involved a camel? As for 'Christmas' well, 'Mas' or 'Mass' is a kind of religious service, so Christmas is Christ's Mass, for those who still practice it as a religion, people go to church services that night.

Oh -- yes, I think I am familiar with that term. 'Mass.' The means by which simple events become religious observations are truly fascinating. In my country, a simple farmer became revered as a god after a thousand years of faded memory simply for trying to feed her people.

But what -- who is Christ?

[He lets out a long sigh as he raised a single finger]

That question... has sparked a lot of very bitter arguments. But let's see, the simple version is that he's the son of a god, or rather The God, who preached peace, mercy, and caring for others until he was crucified.

Then supposedly was resurrected three days after he died.

Oh?

[This... does not sound even remotely like anything she has ever heard of in Terra. Dossoles had the statue of their Savior Perro, Feist the Retriever, but that was just about how the Feist figure had warned the populace of a Catastrophe in time to save their lives.]

I am stymied as to what our Christmas might be referring to.

I gather you do not believe in this story?

Well, I do believe there was a very charismatic man preaching some actually sound ideas around three thousand years ago, but I really don't believe in the divine.

[He sets the mug down]

I know fate exists, but the idea there is a conscious godly thing setting things in motion? that is what I don't believe.

You know fate exists?

[She smiles in faint amusement, though it is not a malicious expression.]

Some might say that is as outrageous as the idea of godly things. In my world, you know... if the word 'god' refers to a greater being beyond mere people with unfathomable power, we know there are gods. Many, in fact. They dwell among us still.

[His eye creases slightly, something sphinx-like crept into his features]

Let's say, I have some experience that told me as much - life is not completely laid out in stone, but there are certain people you are meant to meet, places you are supposed to be at - but it your actions at those key points that determines your life.

[Her smile broadens.]

How curious that we have opposite experiences. I wish to deny the existence of fate altogether, you see. Even though there be gods and great spirits, not even they can determine the path of our lives. It is our path to create and our path to follow.

A single choice can snowball into a thousand unforetold events.

Or a thousand worlds if some theorists are right.

I don't believe in the kind of fate where one's actions is always preordained, or that one's future is set in stone - just some things will happen, but what you make of it is your own choice.

Indeed, I understand. It is simply that I hope that this is not the case. I hope there are not fixed points in time that cannot be avoided. I hope that we have the power to make our own destinies, that we can diverge as far from possible from the outcome that seems sure to be. Otherwise...

[There is, perhaps as expected, a wistful melancholy to her tone.]

Otherwise I fear for what might be.

[His expression sombers up, sensing the shift, but he doesn't pry into the specifics of what she is worried about]

The future is always uncertain... and let us hope the what might be doesn't come to pass.

[Then wryly, he shook his head]

We've seemed to have gotten into a rather somber mood.

That is quite alright.

[Shu shakes her head, a soft smile returning.]

On the Winter Solstice, it is the darkest and longest night of the year. It is only natural that some darkness will seep into our spirits. The important thing is that we look beyond it towards the coming of the sun.

I do not mind such conversation. Indeed, I am fascinated by the phenomenology of your world.

甲辰 003: 冬至

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