Alternate Holidays and Holiday Customs.

[Walpurgisnacht]

I've always been of the opinion that alternate festivals add a lot to the texture of a timeline, and it seems worthwhile to have a general thread to discuss them. I've been reading The English Year, an extremely comprehensive guide to the traditional English calendar, and there are a few ideas in it I think could be interesting:

• Before the Christmas tree was imported from Germany by the Hanoverians and popularised by Queen Victoria, there was actually a similar English custom called the kissing-bough: a metal globe-shaped frame, covered in holly and greenery and hung from the ceiling, with a mistletoe dangling from the bottom. This could become a lot more prominent in any TL without Germans on the British throne.
• So many English folk customs were wiped out and then revived thanks to the English Civil War--a loss for Parliament, or a continued victory for them, would radically alter the tradition. In addition, the Scottish custom of focusing on New Years Day over Christmas dates back to that time, thanks to the Scottish church sticking to a more harsh Protestantism that refused to allow Old Christmas in after the Restoration.
• Somewhat less dramatically, when the May Bank Holiday was introduced, it was seen as Labour promoting International Worker's Day, to the point where the Telegraph claimed the day should be for remembering the victims of Communism. Thatcher's government even briefly planned, once they ascended to power, to replace the day with Trafalgar Day on the 21st of October. This was opposed by business interests, who wanted a day off in sunny springtime rather than gloomy October, and was shelved, but could have been forced through--or, alternatively, the government could have remembered that the most reactionary of holidays, Oak Apple Day, is on the 29th of May...

Feel free to chime in with your own thoughts, obviously.

 

[napoleon IV]

In the Soviet Union Novy God (New Year's) was promoted as a secular alternative to Christmas (which was frowned upon by the communists), and as a result Novy God is an extremely popular holiday in Russia that has a lot of Christmas customs such as a Santa Claus-like figure, decorating trees, and giving presents. In a world where the October Revolution never happens Novy God would remain a much less important holiday without all the Christmas-like traditions.

Additionally Novy God is a controversial holiday in Israel, where it was brought over by Jews from the former Soviet Union. Many Israeli Jews consider it to be uncomfortably Christian, and view those who do celebrate it with suspicion. Obviously a world with no October Revolution could very well butterfly away Israel's existence, but if it did come into being and there was a large aliyah of Jews from Russia they wouldn't bring the tradition with them because it would be literally Christmas.

 

[Arthur_Phuxache]

There's just not enough paganism in traditional British festivals - more dragons and maypoles plz.

 

[Walpurgisnacht]

There's just not enough paganism in traditional British festivals - more dragons and maypoles plz.

Like most traditions claimed to be pagan, the maypole is probably not pagan. It first appears in the historical record in the 14th century, around 700 years after the Christianisation of the UK, so any continuity of practice is totally implausible.

 

[Lilitou]

In the Soviet Union Novy God (New Year's) was promoted as a secular alternative to Christmas (which was frowned upon by the communists), and

 

[RyanF]

• In addition, the Scottish custom of focusing on New Years Day over Christmas dates back to that time, thanks to the Scottish church sticking to a more harsh Protestantism that refused to allow Old Christmas in after the Restoration.

In the Soviet Union Novy God (New Year's) was promoted as a secular alternative to Christmas (which was frowned upon by the communists), and as a result Novy God is an extremely popular holiday in Russia that has a lot of Christmas customs such as a Santa Claus-like figure, decorating trees, and giving presents. In a world where the October Revolution never happens Novy God would remain a much less important holiday without all the Christmas-like traditions.

​

 

[Steve Brinson]

This reminds me of something I read in The Romance of American Communism yesterday:
“Brooding further into her bourbon-and-water on the bewildering complications of the Communist Party and the working class, Maggie says hotly: ‘The Party never understood the American working class. Never! For instance, take May Day. My mother was the true working class. She didn’t know from shit about May Day. Labor Day. That was her holiday. The Party simply would not understand this. And kept insisting on May Day—while the American working class ignored it and celebrated Labor Day. Sure we marched in our thousands on May Day. But there were millions out there, and they never got the May Day message.’”

 

[monroe]

​

could defo get the Jan 2nd Bank Holiday off the ground in England

 

[RyanF]

could defo get the Jan 2nd Bank Holiday off the ground in England

Could get the week's worth of bank holidays the Russians get off the ground in Scotland.

 

[Arthur_Phuxache]

Like most traditions claimed to be pagan, the maypole is probably not pagan. It first appears in the historical record in the 14th century, around 700 years after the Christianisation of the UK, so any continuity of practice is totally implausible.

By Grímnir and Thunor, I am disappointed.

 

[Charles EP M.]

Celebrations on Michaelmas aren't really a thing here anymore, but nothing probably stops it sticking around as an excuse to eat food for longer like how Bonfire Night could have gone further into decline earlier.

 

[Francisco Cojuanco]

Additionally Novy God is a controversial holiday in Israel, where it was brought over by Jews from the former Soviet Union. Many Israeli Jews consider it to be uncomfortably Christian, and view those who do celebrate it with suspicion. Obviously a world with no October Revolution could very well butterfly away Israel's existence, but if it did come into being and there was a large aliyah of Jews from Russia they wouldn't bring the tradition with them because it would be literally Christmas

Also IIRC in some parts of Western Ukraine the holiday is also controversial, partly for religious reasons (the aforementioned attempt to get rid of Christmas) and partly because it's seen as a Russian imposition.

 

[Ciclavex]

Fantastic idea for a thread, @Walpurgisnacht . It's a really good point that alternate holidays and customs are definitely a big part of the culture and society of any alternate historical world, at least one with a PoD far back enough. This is something I've thought a lot about for Fashions Made Sacred, if you'll forgive my usual jumping to that for things.

In England, Scotland and Ireland, I came up with this list of public holidays (i.e. bank holidays in OTL language):

Public Holidays in England, Scotland and Ireland (2016)
January 1: New Year's Day (exc. Scotland); Second Day of Hogmanay (Scotland)
January 4: Third Day of Hogmanay (observed) (Scotland)
February 10: Ash Wednesday (Ireland)
March 24: Maundy Thursday (exc. Scotland)
March 25: Good Friday
March 28: Easter Monday (exc. Scotland, Orange)
May 5: Ascension (Ireland, Orange)
May 16: Whit Monday (exc. Scotland)
June 23: Queen's Birthday
June 24: Midsummer Day
June 27: Day After Midsummer (observed) (Scotland)
October 10: Liberation Day (exc. Orange); Princess' Day (Orange)
November 28: National Covenant Day (observed) (Scotland)
December 26: Christmas Day (observed) (exc. Scotland)
December 27: Boxing Day (observed) (exc. Scotland, Orange)
December 30: First Day of Hogmanay (observed) (Scotland)

I think most of this is self-explanatory.

The Queen's Birthday is a moveable holiday -- by law, the monarch's birthday is observed at the day nearest a weekend or a public holiday that corresponds to their birthday, and that means that the holiday is actually being celebrated on 23 June for the first time in 2016 because through 2015 it was the King's Birthday and it was in September. The Queen was born the day before Midsummer so essentially everyone gets two days of Midsummer (and the Scots get three) for the rest of her reign, and she's in her twenties.

Liberation Day is a holiday that existed extremely briefly in OTL, which commemorated William III's invasion of England to support the Glorious Revolution. It essentially vanished once William himself died, as Anne wasn't really a fan of it any more than the Jacobites were, and the Hanoverians had no stake in keeping it. ITTL, because the House of Orange still holds the throne, it remains a major public holiday.

Scotland does not accept Christmas, or several other "overly Catholic" observances, as a public holiday ITTL, just as it didn't accept Christmas IOTL until the mid-20th century. There are plenty of Scots in the minorities who do Christmas - Episcopalians, Catholics, the more liberal Presbyterian denominations - but both Kirk and state remain firmly anti.

 

[Lilitou]

I should probably crosspost the holiday which I did for my entry to the current Wikibox Challenge. Perhaps a good case study in how holidays can appear on dates which we may associate with the polar opposite of celebration (or whatever justifies this shameless plug).

 

[frustrated progressive]

Apparently American civic holidays were matters of partisan controversy during the First Party System-the Fourth was initially seen as Federalist until the DRs successfully coopted it, and Washington's Birthday ofc remained even more firmly Federalist.
If these divisions persist, maybe we see a TL where Independence Day is less unifying-maybe where it's the Republican holiday to the Federalist celebrations of Washington's Birthday and maybe Constitution Day (which basically no one celebrates OTL)?
There are some other possibilities too-New York City and Boston celebrate their own Evacuation Days even to the present, but maybe Lexington and Concord Day/Revolution Day on April 19th could be a broader thing nationwide (especially in a US with more northern vibes, or as a neutral holiday in the scenario above)?

 

[Warthog]

This is an excellent thread, and has inspired me to plan a new concept into my Zimbabwe work:

In precolonial Zimbabwe, Thursday was the day of rest,  chisi, when no agricultural work was allowed (nor hunting I think). Trade was allowed, as were gatherings like village meetings. It survives today in most rural areas as a day when work in the field is prohibited, but not as a general day of rest due to the observance of Sundays.

In a Zimbabwe which was never colonised, chisi would likely become the official rest day, once industrialisation takes place, as Christianity would not be the state religion.

 

[Indicus]

From 1771 to 1783, Boston commemorated Massacre Day on March 5, the anniversary of the Boston Massacre, where a speaker would give a relevant oration. It was then discontinued following independence, replaced with the more joyous Independence Day. It does make me wonder, if the American Revolution was crushed, commemoration of Massacre Day might never end and (due to the importance of the Boston Massacre) spread among those unhappy about British rule as a rallying point for resistance and to mourn the lost hopes of revolution. And if the Americans do win independence at a later point, it might end up being sufficiently important enough it gets retained as a national day of mourning. That or they replace the day with something more joyful to represent independence won, by for instance having the constitution come to effect on March 5.

 

[Walpurgisnacht]

if the Americans do win independence at a later point, it might end up being sufficiently important enough it gets retained as a national day of mourning.

Given how the British remembrance day went from a specific commemoration of WW1 to a general commemoration of all war dead, one could see Massacre Day stretching to encompass all deaths from British tyranny in that scenario--or even all deaths from all tyranny if you happen to be a bit universalist.

(Cue massive controversy when an abolitionist lays a wreath on !Nat Turner's grave for Massacre Day...)

 

[JesterBL]

I feel like alt-socialist country holidays are the most likely to be boring, but the one fun one I injected into the calendar was Evacuation Day- celebrated locally in New York basically until entry into WW1 and revived in my TL as a Socialist America's slightly jingoistic 'we have always stood against the forces of capital' holiday and meant to move people away from the less plausibly secular Thanksgiving. It doesn't work, but you get fun stuff like televising beacons being lit to illuminate the British withdrawal.

 

[Lilitou]

I feel like alt-socialist country holidays are the most likely to be boring, but the one fun one I injected into the calendar was Evacuation Day- celebrated locally in New York basically until entry into WW1 and revived in my TL as a Socialist America's slightly jingoistic 'we have always stood against the forces of capital' holiday and meant to move people away from the less plausibly secular Thanksgiving. It doesn't work, but you get fun stuff like televising beacons being lit to illuminate the British withdrawal.

I think there's still fun stuff you can do with these. I know that in IVC I had October Revolution Day remain one of the most popular holidays in the surviving Soviet Union (as opposed to OTL where Victory Day and Novy God, as mentioned by @napoleon IV , overtook it), reviving in the 1980s as it just so happened that the 70th anniversary coincided with the end of the period of Andropovian austerity; so his successor, Gromyko, pours money into the anniversary to symbolise the end of the Epoha bor'by. So it gets new traditions and all-day festive programming.