NEW MERCY – On 1 September, the Duchess of Bellevue, Minister for Culture, approved the addition of 34 holidays and observances to Überstadt’s official holiday list. 16 cultural holidays were recognized, some new and some already widely practiced in the Kingdom, while 18 public observances joined the national calendar.
Recognized cultural holidays include significant days in Buddhism, Christianity, and Judaism, reflecting the diversity of citizens’ religious practice. Five secular holidays were listed as having national cultural significance, including the Winter Solstice, LGBTQ+ Pride Day, and two new holidays created based on citizen suggestions: Day of Rest and Knowledge Day. Raspberry Day was listed as significant in Rosewood, where raspberries are the dominant crop and an important aspect of local culture.
Some of the18 codified public observances are internationally-recognized days, like Indigenous Peoples Day and World Water Day. Others are specific to Überstadt, including Victory over Fire Day, which dates to the country’s oldest holiday laws as a commemoration of the 2009 fire that devastated Edmount Island, the first land Überstadt claimed.
After April 2021’s Renewal Act repealed all existing Überstadti legislation, the Kingdom had no legal holidays until Parliament passed the Holidays and Observances Act this March. The act listed six state holidays and authorized the culture minister to publish official lists of cultural holidays, defined as those “culturally significant to Überstadt as a whole or to specific cultural groups within Überstadti society,” and public observances, “designated for general remembrance…but not classified as state or cultural holidays.”
The Occidental Chronicle 