Antora: Difference between revisions
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=== Scripture ===
The [[Votive Way]] scripture first was published in the mid-12th Century. It has since expanded to include many works of theology and doctrine. These works include the widely-known compilation of Votive beliefs and aspects by King Gael, 1109 ''The Spirit of Love, Community, and the World: Votive Rituals and Practices'' also known as Gael's Tome. This book is credited as being the first official compendium of Votive pracitces and is accepted as the work that brought the Votive belief system into the mainstream. Other religious literature includes Chacel's 1388 ''The Eyes of the People'', Goyisoto's 1431 ''Ruminations on the Theology of Antora'', and Lorca's 1695 ''All Things''. Antoran scripture has influenced the legal sphere due to several archaic laws based on spritiual philosophy still being enforced. These include a prohibition on [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment capital punishment] and persecution of other religions and peoples, with quotations in the law directly lifted from Gael's Tome.
While not considered by some theologists and literary scholars as doctrine, the famous 1711 work ''The Mind and Soul in Cooperation with the Spheres'' written by Juan Gamonéna is commonly considered a piece of scripture. Its subjects include the practical [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropology anthropological] relationships between belief systems and religions worldwide. In the second half of the book, Gamonéna posits that all people worship different aspects of the same deific force in theological terms, and all religions should therefore be treated as parts of a single spiritual whole. This argument has become a mainstream part of the Votive Way. Many practitioners have no exposure to the book but can detail most of its ideas.
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The Antoran culture places heavy importance on celebrating. It is seen as an acceptance of the events of life and a celebration of achievement when people gather for holidays and festivals. Certain festivals are viewed as essential to good luck, and those that do not participate are seen with varying degrees of pity and suspicion. There are nearly 130 different national holidays, each with its customs and traditions, with 60 of those also having government-mandated moratoriums on working for most, and triple overtime for essential workers. The Monarch retains the power to, on the advice of the Royal Cabinet, declare certain days to be work-free holidays on a temporary or permanent basis. The government maintains its secular policymaking stance but allows work holidays for religious groups that make up at least 1% of the population.
Many Antoran festivals are
==== La Fiesta de Santo Abrosius ====
▲The Fiesta de Santo Abrosius is the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calendar_of_saints feast day] of the patron saint of Antora and the most prominent religious holiday in the country. The festivities begin the second Friday in May and typically last until the following Monday, though certain parts of the nation can see them end on Wednesday. The holiday traditions include paper decorations either chained together or pattern-cut from long reams, as well as ringed candles, the iconography of Saint Abrosius, and incense, if affordable. The colors of Saint Abrosius are green and white and permeate almost every decoration. This has earned the holiday the appellation "''La Verde y Blanco''." The Fiesta de Santo Abrosius follows a four-day pattern that mirrors the life of the Saint. The first day involves small family gatherings and sharing stories and traditional Antoran peasant food. The second sees families travel around their neighborhoods and towns exchanging stories and handmade gifts. The third is a national celebration, with large crowds, music, communal cooking, and events held by churches. The fourth and last day is less active, a somber day dedicated to absent or dead family.
Friday will involve intimate family gatherings and the serving of typical Antoran peasant food such as ''pirta'' (lemon rice,) either ''guinzio'' (tomato and bacon soup with bread and olive oil) or ''pecuedé'' (salted fish with spinach, tomato, and blue cheese on sour bread) depending on the region, and ''paprer y yogur'' (a fruit pastry served with sweet dipping yogurt.) Older members of families will encourage children to share interesting experiences they have had in the past year and will in turn share life wisdom. This part of the festival, known as ''humilidad'', evokes the simple upbringing of the Saint.
[[File:Badge of the Order of Alcantara.svg|thumb|200x200px|The Cross of Saint Abrosius]]The Saturday events are much more communal, involving families traveling around and exchanging gifts and stories with each other. These gifts usually take the form of whatever the family can produce on its own, such as blankets or cheese or woodcarvings. While traditional for travel to take place within a single neighborhood or town, some choose to make day-long journeys to other municipalities and provinces in the spirit of the day. Saturday is a reflection of Saint Abrosius' travels as a young man spreading wisdom and facilitating exchanges of good-will and necessities between the people of Antora. It is thus known as the ''errante.''
Sunday is the most lively of the festival days, known as the ''ascensión.'' It celebrates the miracles and holy wisdom of Saint Abrosius as he, according to tradition, was empowered to heal the divisions between the nations of Antora through community and spirit. Public spaces, streets, and the outsides of houses will be decorated with colored streamers, ribbons, and flags. Churches and other religious establishments of the various Votive aspects will open their doors to the population and host celebrations in lieu of the traditional Sunday gatherings. All regardless of status or religion are welcome to these events, which often include free food, entertainment such as movies or puppet shows, and clergy reading scripture about Saint Abrosius. Varying importance on certain miracles can be seen across the country. Some communities will have celebrations in public squares with a large drinking fountain made to look like a cliff, to evoke the story of Saint Abrosius calling forth water from rock to help a town whose well dried up. Other areas place more importance upon the story of the Saint calling forth a wave that carried fish to starving coastal towns, and celebrate it by holding fishing competitions and communal seafood cooking. All festivities on Sunday involve large public dances, live music, and the singing of hymns at sunset.
Monday, in contrast, is known as the ''exilio'', and is the most somber part of the festival. It is themed after death and loss, for the exile of Saint Abrosius by an irate lord and his death on the road trying to protect a woman from highwaymen. People will hold private family gatherings to rest and recuperate from the previous day, which are contemplative and usually without much celebratory energy. Some customs include the lighting of votive candles at a shrine for missing, dead, or absent family members. ''Exilio'' decorations tend towards minimal black textiles and clothing, though white headbands are included as a reminder that the Saint is still present spiritually. The traditional dinner for this day includes the same dishes as the ''humilidad'' with the addition of spiced orange rum and smoked ham, items with which the Saint offered to share with his killers in the spirit of brotherhood.
Some families and communities continue the festival into Tuesday and Wednesday, although this falls outside of established tradition. These two days will involve ''la siesta'', the rest period of the Saint as a spirit, and the ''continuación'', which is a microcosm of the entire festival as a reflection of Saint Abrosius' influence on the living.
Elements of the Antoran diaspora also celebrate this holiday. Depending on community size, festivities can range from a floor of an apartment building, a street, or even entire sections of town. The largest Antoran community outside the nation is in Volscina, followed by Packilvania. These see moderately sized celebrations that are quite similar in scale and scope to their homeland. The Fiesta de Santo Abrosius' good cheer, inclusivity, and gift-giving contribute to the acceptance of Antoran immigrants in many nations.
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==== Festival of Honor ====
The Festival of Honor is a Votive holiday that occurs every April 12th. It is derived from the ''aspecto de todos son uno'' (all are one,) which posits that exlusivity and impermeability between different nationalities, ethnicities, species, and other demographic identifiers is essentially impossible at a basic level. The Votive belief that all things in existence emenate from a singular cosmotheological source, and thus cannot be entirely seperate, has existed since at least the 10th century. First records of ''todos son uno'' are attributed to Señora Miriam de Lísse, a community elder and spiritual leader who lived and worked in modern-day Julinazo. She is venerated as a ''Santa'' for her work in exploring the principles and applications of ''todos son uno'', including its use in relation to concepts such as nationality, gender, and commerce. Histories suggest that King Gael, author of the first definitive work on Votive practices and beliefs, met personally with Señora de Lísse in her final years during his writing of Gael's Tome. The Festival of Honor takes many ideas from these first-edition scriptures. In 1962, the festival was declared a work-free national holiday by King Benito Ares I, and sees celebrations by nearly 100% of the Antoran population, even those who do not practice any Votive customs.
==== Corric Tax Day ====
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