Wangzaah

From Substitute Holidays
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Singing traditional sea shanties in celebration of the Birth of Wang Sorenson.

Winter holiday known as Wangzaah, celebrated by followers of Wangism.


Date observed & holiday substituted for


Held during the last week of December, or the seven days culminating somewhere around December 17-23 for Orthodox Wangism.


Origins


The birth of Wang Sorenson is shrouded in a little bit of mystery. His mother, a Swedish princess by the name Ingemodh Sorenson, was rendered infertile by the Great European Earwig Infestation of 693. That she was able to conceive at all was hailed as a great miracle and people from all over Polynesia regarded Wang as a Savior.


Wang was born sometime between 699 and 670, depending on which sea shanty is describing his deeds. While his birth was most likely in the late fall, an official decree from the Holy Ingemodh Mother of Wang Cathedral moved the date to December 17-23, depending on regional traditions, in order to more easily blend in with other regional holidays. Later events attributed to Wang have stretched this holiday to a week-long celebration.


In his 33 1/3 years on earth, Wang performed a great many deeds and miracles. These miracles have only strengthened his legacy as a messiah to the believers of Wang. While adherents will stridently claim he is a prophesied messiah, no one knows which prophecy foretold Wang's coming or what Wang's role is as messiah. "That is for Wang to know and us to ponder," is one of the core beliefs of Wangism.


Traditions & rituals


Traditions and rituals for celebrating the birth of Wang are widely varied depending on individual preference, family tradition, and cultural background. In past centuries, his birth was celebrated simply with the re-telling of his exploits and miracles, along with singing sea shanties in the town square, followed by a feast. After the Miracle of Agnes VonStrupp in 1142, week-long gift giving was added by Reform Wangism in celebration of Wang's generosity.


Family togetherness is an important part of celebrating the birth of Wang. People who have no family or nowhere to go get ritually adopted by other families during the holiday. They are treated just like regular members of the family and expected to pitch in with chores, cooking the feast, and singing sea shanties. In return, they get all the love, support, and gifts they would expect if they were able to be home with their own families. This tradition of adoption has made Wangism one of the fastest-growing religions in the world among college students.


Followers wish each other a "Wonderful Wangzaah."


Traditional cuisine

There is no set "rule" about what to eat during the Wangzaah feast, as cuisine is largely determined by cultural and local preferences.


North American celebrants generally mimic the Thanksgiving feast, though it varies by country. Canadian Wangites include lots of poutine, as Wang was known to laugh upon hearing the word (Laughter is considered one of the most important aspects of Wangism). Wangites in Mexico serve traditional local and regional fare, but always with tamales in adherence with the Miracle of Tamaulipas.


In Western Europe where Wangism is more common, celebrants lean towards strudel and wurst. This is largely due to one of the legends of Wang depicting his declaration that these food items were:


"Fun to say and damn delicious."


All Wangites, regardless of denomination or place of origin, agree that tacos, some type of pie, and copious amounts of fizzy drinks are essential to the Wangzaah feast, as long as everyone celebrates safely and with designated drivers.


The Holy Ingemodh Mother of Wang Cathedral previously required that the traditional Wangzaah Night ceremony be conducted with waffle fries and kompot. However, this requirement was removed in 1853 when Bishop Snedlditetikasi wrote a lovely letter to the editor recommending against it. The Wangzaah Night ceremony is now conducted with a variety of hors d'oeuvres to accommodate individual preferences and dietary requirements.


Decorations

Most Wangites and Wangians put up some sort of decoration starting the first week of December. It is generally frowned upon to put up decorations earlier than December 1st and any follower who does so will receive the traditional rebuke from other followers. The rebuke starts with a "tsk tsk" noise, is followed by a shaking of the head, a deep sigh, and the traditional chant:


"Next year, you'll start putting up Wang decorations in July!"


Similarly, decorations must be taken down by January 2 or else the follower will receive another traditional rebuke. It is similar to the above rebuke, but with a different traditional chant and spoken in an incredulous accent:


"You aren't going to leave those decorations up until July, now are ya?"


As with the traditions and rituals, decoration varies wildly depending on individual preference, family tradition, and cultural background. Many Wangites install a large plant as the basis of their decoration. A plant is used because it represents a symbol of life, which in the Northern Hemisphere, helps to ward off the death after harvest. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is to promote bountiful life in summer. Trees are frequently chosen as the plant, with pine and ficus being the most popular. Bamboo and bonsai plants are favored in those with smaller homes, especially studio apartment dwellers. Artificial and potted plants are encouraged over cut plants and trees. The cut plants and trees generate waste outside of areas where they can be returned to nature to decompose naturally and Wangites generally do not wish to burden municipal solid waste departments. Artificial plants are reusable and do not require year-round care, which can benefit those who have bad luck keeping plants alive. Those who choose potted plants often will use the same plant until it gets too big for their home. After one last Wangzaah celebration, the family will ritually retire the plant to the back yard, forest, or golf course brush where it will live out the remainder of its life in the wild. Followers believe this is "keeping in the true spirit of Wang." This ceremony may also be performed every year and is favored among Wangites who enjoy gardening.


Trees and plants are often decorated with shiny baubles, cheerful toys, and other such ornaments that please the follower and are keeping in the true spirit of Wang. Slices of wood, plastic medallions, and glass balls decorated with sea shanties, dirty jokes, and jaunty pirate hats are popular decorations. Some superstitions say that the more arbitrary the decorations on a tree or plant, the more Wang's lucky countenance will shine down. One of the most popular decorations are wishing balls. The wishing balls are a pair of hollow glass balls with removable tops. Wishes or prayers to Wang are placed into the first ball and dirty jokes or naughty limericks are placed in the second ball to "balance it out."


In lieu of, or often with, trees and potted plants, many followers install a series of decorated candles, often hand-painted with scenes from Wang's miracles. Starting on the evening of December 24, a new Wang candle will be lit on the fireplace mantle. This practice is most popular with Reform Wangism, as it coincides with their beliefs in the Miracle of Agnes VonStrupp. As LED candles have become more readily available, Wangites are encouraged to switch to those from traditional candles, which may pose fire hazards when left burning overnight.


With the advent of electricity, colored lighting became another popular decoration in Wangite households, especially lighted decorations in unusual or geometric shapes. Many Wangites will fashion a wire frame wrapped with lights, usually in the shape of a circle, star, trapezoid, or Wang.


Gift-giving

In accordance with the Miracle of Agnes VonStrupp, starting on the evening of December 24, followers of Reform Wangism place a feathered stick on their fireplace hearth. Followers without fireplaces may place the stick on the coffee table or entertainment center. The next morning, a gift will be found next to the stick. Followers do this until the morning of December 31st. Depending on family size, financial status, and individual Wangite preference, anywhere from a single gift for one person or a gift for each family member will be found the next morning. This gift-giving tradition is to symbolize Wang's spirit returning to earth in Agnes VonStrupp's time of need.


Orthodox Wangites do not follow this tradition as they claim Agnes VonStrupp was making it all up. They follow the traditional gift-giving day of December 17-23, depending on regional customs. On each of the first six days, followers gift one other person with something intangible or charitable. This can be something as simple as a hug, a helpful suggestion, or be a larger gift such as helping another person move into a new apartment. Gifts given on the first six days must not be transactional; they cannot have been purchased or be physical objects. Exceptions are made if a follower choses to spend their day's gift on something charitable, such as providing a meal to someone who is hungry.


At the end of each of the first six days, followers identify the gift given to them that day by Wang. These gifts are also intangible and charitable by nature. Wang may gift someone with a friendly interaction between neighbors, permission to slack off, their favorite movie coming on the television, or good news about a promotion. These gifts are acknowledged as not necessarily being caused by Wang Sorenson, as Wang does not have that kind of power in death. Rather, these gifts are about acknowledging good fortune and small moments of happiness.


On the seventh day, followers give physical gifts to others. A follower should not give multiple gifts to the same person; one gift given per person is considered to be more keeping in the spirit of Wang. Physical gifts are also optional, as the seventh day of gifts was added later in an effort to blend in with the local customs of other religions.


Traditional sea shanties

(Temporarily removed until the matter of lewd lyrics in an all-ages wiki can be resolved.)


The Rather Irritating Wangzaa vs. Wangzaah Name Debate

In recent times, new evidence has been uncovered that points to Wangzaa having been misspelled all these centuries. Scholars from the Wangite School of Pharmacy in Turkey reported that there was a minor mis-translation in one of Wang's original letters to his parents. Wang's pidgin has been a topic of mostly idle curiosity, as most Wangites are fine with reading the translations provided by the Wangite School of Pharmacy. In the letter, Wang discusses his new bride and uses an ogonek while referencing persimmons. As persimmon is one of the roots of Wangzaah, the holiday's name must be updated for accurate spelling.


The report has resulted in some division. Most Wangites are okay with the name change, but strident opponents, almost entirely comprised of holiday goods suppliers and monogram services, have been vocal about not adopting the change. In their words:


"What are we going to do with all this leftover stock?"


Opponents of the name change are pushing to forget the whole matter, while the Holy Ingemodh Mother of Wang Cathedral has already declared "Wangzaah" as the proper canonical spelling unless new documents surface that retcons the whole deal.


Unsurprisingly, Wangites are more interested in the Wangzaah Name Debate than they are the revelation that Wang was married. When asked, most Wangites say:


"What's the big deal? A lot of people get married."


Most Wangites usually state that they hope the scholars at the Wangite School of Pharmacy discover her name because it's awkward to keep referring to her as "Wang's unknown, but probably quite lovely, wife."


The Not Entirely Unexpected But Briefly Disruptive Wangzaah Pronunciation Debate

Not long after the discovery of the ogonek mis-translation that changed the canonical spelling of Wangzaah, scholars at the Wangite School of Pharmacy uncovered a previously unknown cache of letters between Wang and Wang's closest friends. After forensic investigation revealed the letters to be authentic, scholars discovered these letters were a trove of information on Wang's pidgin. New words had to be translated and after years of study, scholars announced the presence of an umlaut in a passage about a local walnut festival.

Wang had not been known to use umlauts before, so this resulted in some pronunciation changes in the religion's lexicon. Most of these changes were administrative and had little bearing on daily life. However, one such change resulted in the loss of the hard "zee" of "Wangzaah" to be changed to a softer sound with added "sh," similar to the gee of "orange" or the jay of "juice." In addition, the "aah," was pronounced more like "uhh." This resulted in the new pronunciation "Wang-zshuh."

Wangites were not surprised by a pronunciation change, as many of Wang's writings did not include a pronunciation guide to his pidgin. However, many found it difficult to adapt to the change and brief, but heated arguments erupted over which was correct. When a consensus had finally been reached among Wangite scholars and community members, a bishop (who prefers anonymity) reignited the argument by asking

"Do we have to change from "aah" to "uhh" or is this a tomato-tomahto thing?"

Eventually, the Holy Ingemodh Mother of Wang Cathedral intervened and decreed that the canonical pronunciation would be "Wang-zshuh" though people may continue to use "Wang-zshah" or "Wang-zaah" as a pronunciation as they wish, because it could be impossible to determine if someone was intentionally mis-pronouncing Wangzaah or of they simply had a different type of accent. Though an addendum stated it would be nice for people to try and remember to soften the "zee" out of respect for Wang's pidgin.

Discussion about changing the spelling from Wangzaah to Wangzshuh or Wangjuh was dismissed as unnecessary. The current spelling aligns with Wang's own writings and as the difference in "aah" vs "uhh" proves, accents exist. The holiday goods suppliers and monograms servicers were relieved.



See The Index to Wang



Main Page | Holiday List | Holidays by Season | Holidays by Month | Substituted Holidays