Though there are many cultures throughout the world, and each has their own traditions and customs, the following events and celebrations are noted by most.
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Alari, the festival of the midwinter moon, takes place shortly after the longest night of the year.  It is typical for communities to hold large feasts, dining on wild game, mead, and winter grapes.
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Halingsdaeg, the celebration of the ascent of St. Haling, is named for the most important saint of the Celestial Church.  Cast ashore a rocky island, he immediately set to work building a shelter.  The island had many good stones and eventually his shelter consisted of three walls topped by pine boughs.  In one corner lay a bed of dried leaves, and in the center of the dwelling, he fashioned a crude altar from a number of large branches.  The rest of his life was spent in devotion.  He ate berries and wild roots, drank fresh stream water, with the remainder of his waking hours spent giving thanks to Celeste.  After many years of this, Celeste saw in him a truly righteous man, and lifted him into heaven on a flaming white horse, first and highest of her archangels.
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Early in the history of man, after the battle between the giants and fair folk sundered the world, a black rift opened deep in the north-east.  From the rift came the unholy forces of the black plains, led by the foul sorceror Alturin, the Demon King.  Their forces overwhelmed the outlying islands, the tribal communities of men, and encircled the center lands.  It was here that the races made their stand: elf and man, giant and dwarf, goblin and ogre.  Animosities forgotten, they came together as one to fight the demonic legions.  The united army was led by the council of three: Urgast, mighties of the ogres; Haildi, the dwarven hero; and Targa, champion of the elves.  On a great plain the two armies met, and it was here that the ingenuity of the races shone through.  Volley after volley by elven and dwarven archers enraged the unholy hordes.  Charging, they came up against a massive, saw-tooth wall of pikes, spears, and halberds, the work of men.  From the rear, goblins and ogres circled to attack the flanks, while behind the walls of men, dwarves and giants rushed forward to meet the demonic challenge.  Alturin was met by the three heroes, slaying Urgast and Targa with his terrifying magics.  But with his last vestiges of strength, Haildi's blessed axe cleaved Alturin in two, and at this moment, the battle turned.  Confused and leaderless, the demons were overwhelmed by the superior tactics of the upper races.  The hordes were annihilated, and through great magics, the rift closed.  Demonstide is celebrated to commemerate this day of victory.  And on this day, it is always mentioned how, when their eldritch magics were needed the most, the fae were nowhere to be found.
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Coma, Night of Heavenly Death: little is known of this event except that it is the only one observed by the fae.  Through their oral histories, it is told that this was one of the first events that lead to the disappearance of the fair folk.  They tell of a massive comet, sheathed in a terrifying coma.  After the explosion, said to sink a thousand islands, something (and the fae remain silent on this) emerged.
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The largest battle involving the race of men fighting each other, Edelmas pit the professional armies of the Kell Empire against the spearmen of the great city of Edel.  With the fall of Edel, the Kell Empire reached its zenith, unrivalled until it abruptly disappeared from mention in a great dark age.
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As the longest night is celebrated with drinking and revelry, so too is the longest day.  Solstide is celebrated by most people in midsummer with feasts, athletic contests, and festivals, and is for many people the highlight of the year.
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Before the age of empires, in the earliest days of men, the magic of the world was believed to be stronger.  And from these early magics emerged great and terrible sorcerors, men and women, whose will was so indomitable that they were able to tame the greatest of all beasts: the dragon.  These Dragon Lords ruled by force of personality and pure draconic fear, warlords of the purest sort.  With no regard for loss of life, they threw their armies against each other, killing thousands here, tens of thousands there; and always, above the battlefields, flights of terrifying dragons.  But the Dragon Lords eventually put aside their differences.  They set their sights on elvenkind, sending their dragons to ravage the elves' mountain fortresses.  It was here where the Dragon Lords stepped too far.  Garalin, an elven king, secretly summoned representatives of the dwarves and giants, and the free men.  The greatest sorcerors of each people met together, combining their magics in a final act of self-sacrifice.  For they knew that the Dragon Lords were to meet on the northwestern island known as Far Shore.  And so, their powers combined, they caused a massive tsunami to cover the island, burying the Dragon Lords and most of the old dragons.  The magic had the intended effect: with the death of the Dragon Lords, the peoples held in thrall were finally freed.  But the magic itself was so powerful that its release killed every one of the sorcerors.  The elves, it is said, built a massive hall to honour them, but the location of this place is no longer known, and so it has passed to myth.
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Most cultures have a harvest festival of some sort, where they gather to give thanks for the year's bounty.  This is not strictly agricultural - the phenomenon is observed in fishing and nomadic cultures as well.  The celebration is known by most as Reaving, and it marks a time where families come together to put aside differences, eat well, and prepare for the long winter ahead.
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Elfenwael is a notable day.  It is celebrated by the giants, to honour their victory over the fair folk.  But for the other races, it is observed for a different reason, as it marks the end of the earliest era in world history, the era of the fair folk.  These people, the ancestors of the present-day fae, lived in a state of nature for countless millennia.  There is practically no knowledge of this age, for much of the history of the fair folk is said to be oral, and if it was ever passed on to the modern-day fae, they have never given any indication.  But it is known that the era came to an abrupt end when the fair folk came into conflict with the giants, who, lacking much of the magical skills of the fae, were able to compensate with sheer size and strength.  Ultimately, it was the giants who prevailed - the fair folk, what was left, wandered the fringes of the world in their huddled caravans, watching the history of the world unfold, never again playing a major role.
