Holidays and festivals

Lem does not need a festival to celebrate, but it sure helps.

See also: Calendar

Countless holidays and festivals are celebrated throughout Golarion. They commemorate a famous occurrence in local history, honor a god or goddess, celebrate a change in seasons, or are so incredibly old that everyone has forgotten their origin. Below is a short listing of the most famous festivals organized by the month of the year in which they occur. Some happen on a specific calendar day each year, while others are a bit more flexible. If the holiday is only celebrated in a certain part of the world, or dedicated to a particular deity, that is listed as well in brackets. If there is no geographical indicator, it means that it is observed more widely.

When the dates below rely on solstices, equinoxes, and other phenomena dependent on hemisphere, this list assumes the northern hemisphere unless otherwise noted.

Abadius

First New Moon

Eternal Kiss (Zon-Kuthon)

This 11-day festival culminates on the first new moon of the new year. It involves soothsaying using the entrails of a sacrificial victim.

Full Moon

Longnight

All-night festival in which revelers defy the darkness of winter and stay up to greet the dawn. In chilly Irrisen, entire communities gather for annual dances on this night.

1

New Year

Foundation Day (Absalom, Milani)

A civil holiday celebrating the foundation of the city by the god Aroden. Milanites observe a minute of silence in honor of Aroden saluting Milani.

Pjallarane Day (Irrisen)

This Irrisen New Year celebration commemorates the one-day rebellion launched by Queen Pjallarane against her mother, Baba Yaga.

6

Vault Day (Abadar)

20

Ruby Prince's Birthday (Osirion)

A national holiday in honor of the birthday of Khemet III, the Ruby Prince.

Calistril

2

Merrymead (Druma, Cayden Cailean)

During this holiday in celebration of the approaching Spring, the previous year's alcohol is consumed.

16

King Eodred II's Birthday (Korvosa)

A probably now defunct holiday honoring King Eodred (given the King's death in 4708 AR) on the occasion of his birthday.

19

Loyalty Day (Cheliax, Asmodeus)

This national holiday commemorates the signing of the Treaty of Egorian which ended Cheliax's civil war and installed the diabolic House Thrune on the throne.

29

Leap Day

Every eight years an extra day is added to the end of the month of Calistril, in order to keep calendars accurate. The next leap year will take place in 4720 AR.

Fateless Day

Followers of Mahathallah mark each leap day as Fateless Day, when the River of Souls temporarily stops and souls can escape Pharasma's judgment. They perform many sacrificial and suicidal rituals on Fateless Day.

Last Oathday

Batul al-Alim (Qadira)

This holiday commemorates the birth of the romantic Qadiran poet Batul al-Alim.

Pharast

First Sunday

Golemwalk Parade (Magnimar, Varisia)

A parade of golems made by amateurs hoping to win a monetary grant from the Golemworks. At the end of the parade, the constructs are judged.

1-15

Vernal Carpentry Court (Andoran)

5

Day of Bones (Pharasma)

Priests and worshipers of the Lady of Graves parade the bodies of the recently dead on this holiday, holding free burials afterwards.

6

Sable Company Founding Day (Korvosa)

A military holiday marked by parades, celebrating the founding of the Sable Company in 4409 AR.

7

Night of Tears (Solku)

A solemn vigil commemorating those lost in the Battle of Red Hail in 4701 AR.

13

Kaliashahrim (Qadira)

This national holiday celebrates the Padishah Emperor and Qadira's allegiance to him.

26

Conquest Day (Nex)

A national holiday in which citizens of Nex renew their pledge to conquer their eternal enemy, Geb.

Vernal Equinox

Days of Wrath (Cheliax, Asmodeus)

Contests and blood sports are held to honor and elevate those who are superior.

Firstbloom (Gozreh)

Fertility dances celebrate the coming of spring.

First Cut (Falcon's Hollow)

This start of spring celebration marks the start of work in the woods.

Planting Week (Erastil)

This holy week to the god Erastil is a time of heavy work in the fields for farmers.

Gozran

7

Currentseve (Gozreh)

On this religious holiday, all who travel on the water make offerings to Gozreh in the hopes of safe passage for the coming year.

15

Taxfest (Abadar, Brigh)

Priests of the Abadar accompany tax collectors on this holiday. After completing their duties, the church sponsors large (and free) public celebrations to help mend relations with common folk. Brigh's faithful help to confirm that the tax calculations are correct.

16-30

Wrights of Augustana (Andoran, Brigh)

This local festival in the Andoran port city of Augustana is held to honor and celebrate the local shipbuilding industry as well as the navy. The mathematics and engineering required for the building of the ships is praised by Brigh's faithful.

27

Gala of Sails (Absalom)

One of two local festivals where kite-battlers compete.

Desnus

Full Moon

Remembrance Moon (Iomedae, Lastwall, Ustalav)

A national holiday to commemorate those who died in the Shining Crusade against the Whispering Tyrant. Although not strictly a religious holiday, Iomedae's name is heavily invoked, due to her many military accomplishments during the war.

2

Ascendance Night (Norgorber)

Day marking the apotheosis of the Reaper of Reputation.

3

Azvadeva Dejal (Gruhastha)

Celebration of the revelation of the Azvadeva Pujila, with gifts of books, celebrations of knowledge, blessing of animals, and a vegetarian feast. See also #Azvadeva Dejal (Niswan).

13

Old-Mage Day (Nantambu, Mwangi Expanse)

Holiday celebrating Old-Mage Jatembe, the father of Garundi magic.

31

Angel Day (Magnimar, Varisia)

A day of masquerades acting as a celebration to the Empyreal Lords

Last Sunday

Goblin Flea Market (Andoran)

A market day that focuses on unusual crafts and offers games to children who dress up for the occasion.

Breaching Festival (Korvosa)

Yearly festival in which contestants try to break through the magical wards protecting the Academae.

Sarenith

First Day of Summer

First day of summer (Sarenrae)

The church of the Dawnflower reveres this as a holiday.

Wanderer's Escape (Apsu)

The first day of a week of travel in the wilderness and through unknown lands.

3

Day of Destiny Festival (Korvosa)

This day celebrates the day the emperor of Cheliax signed the charter for the founding of the city of Korvosa.

Liberty Day (Andoran, Milani)

Holiday celebrating Andoran's independence. Milanites celebrate that very little violence occurred.

10

Burning Blades (Sarenrae)

The holy, month-long festival ends on this day, featuring dances with flaming blades.

21

Talon Tag (Andoran)

The Eagle Knights perform aerial displays in Almas on this day.

22

Riverwind Festival (Korvosa)

An early summer holiday that honors a cooling shift in the winds, celebrated with much drinking.

Last Sunday

Goblin Flea Market (Andoran)

Week preceding Summer Solstice

Blossom Days (Jolizpan, Xopatl)

A week-long festival celebrating the birth of the City of Flowers after Earthfall.

Summer Solstice

Days of Wrath (Cheliax, Asmodeus)

Contests and blood sports are held to honor and elevate those who are superior.

Festival of the Ruling Sun (Shizuru)

Celebrates the longest day.

Founder's Folly (Ular Kel)

Adventurers and children follow a hallucinatory red stripe along zigzagging paths, amusing residents.

Harvest Bounty Festival (Segada)

Marking the beginning of the harvest season, this festival involves sporting tournaments, dancing, storytelling, and feasts. Celebrants give thanks and eliminate grudges.

Longwalk (Grandmother Spider, Nurvatcha; southern hemisphere winter solstice)

Celebrates the escape of Nurvatcha's anadi people from bondage, in part thanks to Grandmother Spider lengthening their cover of darkness in their escape.

Ritual of Stardust (Desna)

Festival held in the evening and through the night, where Desna's faithful sing songs and throw sand and powdered gems into bonfires.

Runefeast (Magrim)

Day marking the day dwarves learnt the first runes and the proper way to pray.

Sunwrought Festival (Sarenrae, Brigh)

Day commemorating the defeat of Rovagug by Sarenrae, celebrated with the flying of kites, fireworks, and gift giving.

Erastus

3

Archer's Day or Archerfeast (Erastil)

Holy day celebrated with archery contests, bartering for livestock, and the courting of women.

14

Founding Festival (Korvosa)

An all-night party filled with fireworks and alcohol commemorating the founding of the city in 4407 AR.

17

Burning Night (Razmiran)

Items or people who have transgressed against the god-king of Razmiran are burned on this day.

15-21

Kianidi Festival (Garundi)

Celebration where tribal ties are honored and stories of travels are shared.

Last Sunday

Goblin Flea Market (Andoran)

Arodus

1

Inheritor's Ascendance (Iomedae)

6

Crusader Memorial Day (First Crusader Day, Mendev)

Holiday in celebration of the continuing crusade against the demons of the Worldwound.

9

Day of Silenced Whispers (Ustalav)

Holiday celebrating the defeat of the Whispering Tyrant and the freeing of Ustalav.

10

Founding Day (Ilsurian, Varisia)

Festival celebrating the founding by Ilsur of the town of Ilsurian in 4631 AR.

16

Armasse (Aroden, Iomedae, Milani)

Holy day where commoners are trained to fight and historical tales are told with the hope that someone will learn from them.

31

Saint Alika's Birthday (Korvosa)

Quiet holiday honoring the birth of Saint Alika the Martyr.

Last Day of Summer

Last day of summer (Sarenrae)

The church of the Dawnflower reveres this as a holiday.

Last Sunday

Silverglazer Sunday (Andoran)

Two-part fishing festival celebrated with swimming contests and enormous puppets.

Rova

Early Autumn

First Brewing (Cayden Cailean)

The date of this religious holiday changes from year to year, but usually occurs about a month after the harvest of crops used for alcoholic beverages. Cayden's priests use this holiday to bless the harvest and reflect on the hard work of the Accidental God's devotees.

Market's Door

Market's Door (Abadar)

Held on a different day every year in early autumn, during the Market's Door festival, Abadaran priests bless the markets where the first of the fall harvest is being sold.

First Sunday

Silverglazer Sunday (Andoran)

Second part of a two-part festival (see above).

Second Oathday

Signing Day (Andoran, Cheliax, Galt, Isger)

Festival marking the day these nations gained their independence from Taldor.

First Wealday

Crabfest (Korvosa)

Fall is crab season on Conqueror's Bay, and this feast day is filled with the eating of them.

6

Start of Classes (Acadamae, Arcanamirium, College of Mysteries, Clockwork Cathedral)

16-30

Autumnal Carpentry Court (Andoran)

19

Day of the Inheritor (Iomedae)

Holiday commemorating the church of Iomedae's adoption of the forlorn faithful of the dead god Aroden into their midst.

26

Feast of Szurpade (Irrisen)

This "celebration of plenty" festival mocks the traditional harvest festivals celebrated in the region before Baba Yaga and her eternal winter descended upon the land.

29

Day of Sundering (Ydersius)

Once many holidays were celebrated by the faith of Ydersius, but today only this date has much significance.

Autumnal Equinox

Days of Wrath (Cheliax, Asmodeus)

Contests and blood sports are held to honor and elevate those who are superior.

Festival of Night's Return (Nidal)

Celebrated throughout Nidal, this holiday involves the burning of effigies and self-flagellation.

Swallowtail Festival (Desna)

Holiday celebrated with storytelling, feasting, and the release of butterflies.

Waning Light Festival (Segada)

Also called Blessing of the Sun and Night of Spirits, participants bid farewell to the long days of sunshine with feasting, dancing, and music.

Lamashan

First Full Moon

Admani Upastuti (Jalmeray, Vudra)

Holiday marking the founding of Jalmeray.

6

Ascendance Day (Iomedae)

Holiday marking the ascension of the goddess Iomedae after taking the Test of the Starstone.

15

Kraken Carnival (Absalom)

The second of two local festivals where kite-battlers compete.

19-20

Bastion Day (Solku)

A festival honoring the founding of the town of Solku.

27

Jestercap (Andoran, Druma, Taldor)

Holiday marked by the playing of many practical jokes; particularly popular among gnomes.

30

Allbirth (Lamashtu)

A Lamashtan occult celebration of monsters. In Katapesh, and increasingly elsewhere, it is celebrated more broadly as a gruesome masquerade popular among dromaars and goblins.

Festival of the Witch (Irrisen)

Festival celebrating witchcraft and the central part it plays in Irriseni culture.

Third Moonday

The Feast of the Survivors (Zon-Kuthon, Nidal)

A harvest festival signifying the centuries of Nidalese ancestors protected by Zon-Kuthon. The ceremonial tables are made of human bones of community members from past generations.

Neth

Azvadeva Dejal (Niswan)

Azvadeva Dejal (Gruhastha)

Celebration of the revelation of the Azvadeva Pujila as held in Niswan, featuring contests of esoteric knowledge and exhibitions of research, invention, and storytelling. See also #Azvadeva Dejal.

5

Independence Day (Galt)

Marks the beginning of the Red Revolution.

7

Seven Veils (Sivanah)

Most common date for the celebration of unity across ancestries and the diversity of human, elf, halfling, gnome, aranea, and naga traditions, in honor of Sivanah's veils. This is a day of entertainment with comic performances, jokes, illusions, and masquerade balls.

8

Abjurant Day (Nethys)

Day of communal strengthening of defenses and the teaching of magic to children.

13

Great Fire Remembrance (Korvosa)

Holiday commemorates the dead of the Great Fire of 4429 AR.

14

Even-Tongued Day (Cheliax, Asmodeus, Milani)

Day that celebrates when Andoran, Galt, and Isger were put under Chelaxian control. Milanites celebrate the freedom from Taldor.

18

Evoking Day (Nethys)

Holiday marked by displays of fireworks and magical duels (both mock and real).

24-30

Baptism of Ice (Irrisen)

A fertility festival where the children born in the previous year are paraded through the towns.

28

Transmutatum (Nethys)

Festival promoting self-improvement.

Kuthona

First Day of Winter

Time of Reminiscence (Apsu)

A day of solitude, remembering past events, allies, and lovers.

Second Week (Sunday to Starday)

Winter Week

Traditional feast; time for courting and spending time with friends.

1

The Shadowchaining (Zon-Kuthon, Nidal)

Commemorating the Midnight Lord's gift of shadow animals.

7

Pseudodragon Festival (Korvosa)

Holiday marking the return of the wild pseudodragons to Conqueror's Bay.

11

Ascension Day (Cayden Cailean)

Holiday celebrating Cayden's divine ascension after taking the Test of the Starstone.

15

Winterbloom (Naderi)

Holiday celebrating Naderi's ascension. Celebrations are typically understated but include readings of The Lay of Arden and Lysena.

31

The Final Day (Groetus)

Cultists of Groetus perform an hour's silence at dusk on the last day of the year and seek guidance from their god about the End Time.

Night of the Pale

Night of morbid revelry, as people wait indoors for the ghosts of last year's dead to pass by their homes.

Turning Day (Alseta)

The changing of the year is celebrated with the forgiveness of old debts and grudges, and embracing new opportunities.

Winter Solstice

Candlemark (Sarenrae)

Holiday reminding the faithful that the Dawnflower's power to heal and redeem is always with her, even during the sun's weakest day. The day is also seen as a time to look forward to longer days.

Crystalhue (Shelyn)

Holiday marked by the creation of artistic works, and the start of romantic courtships.

Days of Wrath (Cheliax, Asmodeus)

Contests and blood sports are held to honor and elevate those who are superior.

Long Dark Night (Segada)

Celebrants welcome the ascendant sun's return.

Ritual of Stardust (Desna)

Bi-annual festival held on the solstices, where the faithful of Desna sing songs through the night around bonfires.

Other holidays and festivals

Blightmother's Eve (Gyronna)

Followers make sacrifices and work rituals on the final new moon of each year in hopes of rejuvenating the bitter crone and making her more patient with her followers.

Carnival of Kurgess (Kurgess, Shackles)

Held once every two years on Widowmaker Isle, this week-long competition features gladiatorial games and contests.

Crimson Festival (Korvosa)

This week-long festival celebrates the liberation of the city from a tyrannical queen and a dark time.

Darkest Night (Tsukiyo)

At the lunar new year (the last new moon before the spring equinox), this holiday commemorates the three nights that Tsukiyo was dead.

Day of Amends (Dahak)

On a day of their choosing, the faithful try to coax a chromatic dragon to return to the worship of the Endless Destruction.

Day of Bargained Ascension (Nivi Rhombodazzle)

The day of Nivi's ascension is celebrated on the day of the new moon of Rova.

Disappearance (Norgorber)

Marking their god's ascension, followers kidnap a random person sometime in midwinter, poison them, and hide the body where it will not be found.

Evolutia (Kazutal)

Celebrated in late summer on the date that the empire originally fell after the Battle of the Bone-Splintered Heart. The faithful and visitors eat together at temple tables overflowing with food.

Festival of Flowers (Segada, Kazutal)

Held on the waxing half moon closest to the spring equinox, this is a two-week-long party with feasts, dancing, and ornate flowered sculptures.

The Festival of Sea to Sky (Hei Feng)

A riotous celebration with drinking, feasting, and fireworks, this festival falls on the final night of the Sea Dragon's zodiac sign and continues into the following day, the first of the Swallow sign.

Festival of the Sun (Varisia)

Marking the onset of autumn, celebrants give thanks for the protection that the Kodar Mountains provide the area's villagers.

Festival of Ten Thousand Flowers (Jalmeray)

A day-long celebration of the deity Arundhat featuring blossoms, floral displays, and the spontaneous fruiting of trees.

First Rain (Grandmother Spider)

The first rain of each summer is celebrated indoors.

Gaol Parade (Katapesh)

Once a year Massein Aktep is taken out of his cell and paraded through the city, to remind the citizens that nobody is allowed to break the law. Locals celebrate with puppets, "gaol rations" and reenactments of his sentencing.

Grand Day of Exaltation (Taldor)

An annual celebration that culminates with the Grand Prince elevating an extraordinary commoner to the ranks of nobility.

Hanspur's death (Hanspur)

Each sect devotes its own day to his death and celebrates it as a momentous accomplishment.

Hanspur's resurrection (Hanspur)

Each sect devotes its own day to his resurrection and honors it with song and contemplative retrospection.

Harmattan Revel (Besmara)

This celebrates the abatement of attacks by sedacthys at the start of winter.

Harvest Feast

Harvest celebration marking the end of many agricultural activities with the coming of winter.

Heaven's Beneficence (Shizuru)

The first day of the Sky Dragon's month is a day for self-improvement and new beginnings.

Holdfast (Trunau)

A festival celebrating the town's first victory over the orcs.

Joymaking (Zon-Kuthon)

Privileged and wealthy followers undergo both pain and pleasure by having their extremities and excess flesh removed.

Last Breath (Caliphas)

A cross-medium competition where connoisseurs judge experiences to award a champion with the label "worth dying for".

Lastday (Rovagug)

Usually, but not always, in autumn, the Rough Beast's followers work to weaken the bonds of the Great Prison.

Linnorm hunt (Kalsgard)

A mock "Linnorm Hunt" festival where children search for gnomes dressed in costumes of linnorms.

Mercylight (Rosehaven)

An annual festival celebrated every autumn in the small Galtan village of Rosehaven. It commemorates the defeat of a coven of Gyronna-worshipers several decades ago.

The Mirror Poet's Farewell (Hei Feng)

This holiday five days after the autumnal equinox marks the date on which Lady Jingxi left Hei Feng.

Moonmelon festival (Carpenden)

Occurring in summer, this five-day festival celebrates the passing of another year and culminates with a citywide food fight.

Mosquito Witch festival (Shimmerford)

An annual festival capitalizing on the town's connection to the cryptid Mosquito Witch.

Passion of the First Siege of Absalom (Absalom)

An annual celebration of the city's first military victory and its freedom.

Procession of Unforgotten Souls (Pharasma)

Occurs nightly before the Harvest Feast.

Reclamation (Ketephys)

A day in memory of the elves' return from Sovyrian.

Reefclaw Moon (Besmara)

A holiday celebrated on the second full moon of summer due to the migrating reefclaws preventing pirate raids.

The Release (Dahak)

Once every millennia, followers turn on everyone in a day of unending ruin.

Ritual of the Whip Sting (Calistria)

A day of mediation and public vengeance.

Running of the Raptors (Kurgess, Oppara)

In the streets of Lionsgate, participants choose to race through the streets while being chased by raptors.

Sinking of Lost Souls (Zyphus}

During the Procession of Unforgotten Souls, cultists attempt to drown a priest of Pharasma.

Skylost

Dwarven communities with ancestral ties to a Sky Citadel mourn the date it was lost. This varies by community due to the different days each citadel's founders fled.

Stump Festival

An annual two-week celebration of the lumber industry in Turpin Rowe, during which lumberers from the town compete for the title of Top Stumper.

Tithe (Droskar)

Spanning the last week of the hryngar calendar, this celebrates the skills and crafts. Slaves are allowed to compete in games to potentially win their emancipation.

Waking (Rovagug)

Orc shamans commemorate the Rough Beast's stirring and perform ceremonies of humanoid sacrifice, scarification, and blood, and rally their followers for war.

Yolarati

The traditional Vudrani Festival of Colors is a celebration with multi-hued powders, dyed water, rainbow illusions, and loud joyful blessings.