>For Heortlings it obviously isn't a very important day, or we'd have
>read about it by now ;-)
>
>But it seems to me that maybe that would be a day that you private
>devotions to the ancestors. After all, that was the day your soul
>left their ranks to be incarnated in a new baby, and no doubt they
>have a lot to do with that happening succesfully. So it would seem
>appropriate to me that perhaps you'd make small sacrifices to the
>ancestors (well, depending on your rank. Clan chiefs might make
>quite ostentatious sacrifices).
Perhaps what is celebrated is the "naming day", not the actual birthday? That would be a ritual where the recently-born child is introduced to its kin (both living and dead), acknowledged by them, given a name, and formally welcomed into the clan. The naming day would take place a number of days after the actual birth - perhaps on the next holy day, or a day with special significance to the parents.
For one thing, this has the benefit of concealing the actual date of birth, which might be important if this makes the child magically vulnerable.
It also shifts the social and religious emphasis away from the physical act of giving birth onto the presentation of the child to the community by both parents - something I'm sure Ernaldans will dislike and Orlanthi rejoice in...
It echoes real-world customs of secluding the mother and child for a time after the birth.
Finally, from a pragmatic point of view, it allows a few days to ensure the child is healthy enough to survive outside the womb.
Stephen
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