Glowtide

Glowtide is the Neptunian celebration of light and togetherness. It centers around the mid-winter intercalary days in the Neptunian Calendar. During those long cold nights, Neptunian kelp loses its natural glow, so the natives decorate it with artificial lights and other decorations. This not only lends some cheer to the dark winter, it also helps kickstart the kelp’s photosynthetic processes, bringing the darkness to an end just that bit sooner. It has also become traditional for friends gather together under the colorful glow, cuddling together for warmth, and sometimes giving glowy trinkets and toys as an expression of togetherness and hope, to help cultivate one’s inner light against the dark.

Background

The commonly-observed glowing kelp of Neptunian habitats is usually caused by microbacteria and such: the process is driven by energy from photosynthesis. During this time of year, light is reduced enough that there isn’t enough energy for bioluminescence to occur. Bacteria go into a state of hibernation in normal circumstances; kelp lose their glow.

This tends to cause signs commonly related to Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) in natives: depression, moodiness, etc. Being empathic inclined as they are, they frequently band together in attempts to brighten oneanother’s spirits. During the darkest day of the year, it became tradition to make and exchange glowy trinkets: trip-toys, baubles, and the like- as an expression of compassion, hope, and cultivating one’s ‘inner light’ in those dark times. With a bit of engineering, glow-lights were developed, capable of emulating sunlight to a lesser extent. Tradition then grew: by hanging these lights across their kelp forests, they helped speed up the revival of kelpglow from months to a few weeks.

Modern Traditions

The current practice of !dark@glow!self&&&others*cuddle*+warmth#interval (usually styled Glowtide for voice) still follows those same aspects. In the darkest time of the year, the Neptunians band together, family and friends, and exchange toys, company, and song. Consumeristic trends are absent; gifts are not a gesture of spending money on eachother, but of plain-and-simple compassion. On the evening of the solstice, groups of Neptunians swim out to their nearest kelp-forest and hang strings of glowbeads, LEDs, and the like. It’s seen as a bit of a cause of concern to be alone on the solstice- or rather, if one sees anyone alone, stranger or friend alike, they should feel obligated to at least check up on them, or invite them along for whatever plans they may have. (nobody should be alone this time of year!)

It may be dark now, but it’ll be brighter soon, dude. We’ll be just fine, as long as we’re all together.