Festival of the Turning Wheel
The Festival of the Turning Wheel is an observance that falls on New Years Day on the Rophalin Calendar, a date of special significance that does not belong to any of the thirteen months of that calendar. It is kept in high esteem throughout the Atarlie Empire, and celebrated in other nations as well, though traditions for celebrations differ and other observances may be held on the same date in other lands. The event marks a cosmological event (the titular "turning wheel") which happens with extreme regularity. Given the ubiquity of Atarlie political influence on Wisteria, the festival's name has become the byword for "New Year's Day" as a whole. There are equivalent holy days on the calendar of Bastonia, in the time-keeping traditions of the Confederacy of Sages and the Orcish Nation, in Baghar and in the reckoning of the Clans of Magnus.
Turning of the Wheel
The Turning of the Wheel is a cosmological and astronomical event which occurs every 365 days on Ahren; observed from Wisteria with such regularity that it has formed the basis for the length of the year in several calendar systems. In astronomical models, the event occurs as an alignment (of sorts) between the Cardinal Abstractive Planes. On this day, Vita's annual transit across the Abyss causes it to eclipse Stasis. At the same time, Vita is itself eclipsed by Axioma (and, if you believe Ars Magica's astrologers, Pandemonium). The resulting solar eclipse occurs at noon as observed from Baghar. During the event, the sky is momentarily plunged into extreme darkness, like a deep twighlight. The moon(s) of Ahren are visible as a black disk wreathed in silver solar corona, which appears to process slowly in a clockwise motion around the moon. This eclipse lasts for nearly a quarter of an hour before dissipating.
Celebration in the Atarlie Empire
Throughout most of the empire, the morning is filled with religious observances. Some make special extended devotional worship at their particular patron's temple or cult, whereas others perform a feat of worship known as the Imperial Circuit, beginning at a temple or shrine to Rophalin Imperitor and ending at the temple of Pyria Valeptor. These prayers are a mixture of thanksgiving, preparation, and ancestral acknowledgement (this latter applying more strongly to the elvish majority of Atarlie citizens than to other races). This morning practice is different in the Hearthlands, where the practice is usually breakfasting banquets which often mark the end of formal mourning periods, for families in mourning.
During the eclipse itself, the common practice is acts of legerdemain and prestidigitation, in communal festivals. At such festivals, various street foods are usually on offer, often paid for in full by a wealthy patron as a way to curry favour with the locals. Such foods include dango, mochi, and various grilled items. It is considered bad luck not to partake of at least some of the offered food during the festival, with even the gravely ill often managing to eat at least a mouthful's portion.
Afterward, these parties tend to continue well into the evening, with drinking, music, and dancing all being common celebrations. The general interpretation of the event is a sign of the renewal of the "Mandate of Heaven", the concord between the Atarlie Pantheon and the Atarlie state.
Celebration in Bastonia
In Bastonia, the cosmological event is known as the "Triumph of Heaven", and is interpreted as a brief, albeit symbolic, demonstration of the Almighty's power in Heaven and ability to defeat any opposition. In anticipation of the actual event, the morning is spent in prayerful worship at the local church, in an extended service intended to first propitiate the triumph (which, in older times, used to be believed to be the "turning of winter"), and secondly, to give thanks for the blessings of the year which was now passed. These ceremonies can last a very long time - sometimes from dawn to the start of the eclipse. The eclipse marks a change in proceeding and venue - the church bells (and all other bells in the settlement) are rung for the duration and the congregation moves outside to observe the eclipse. Often times this will include the choral performance of hymns specific to the event - often with a martial bent.
It is extremely traditional once the eclipse has broken for the local lord to hold a festival - as grand as can be afforded. At such festivals, beer and food flows relatively freely. It is a matter of high tradition for a Tournament to be held on the Feast of the Triumph, usually open to the peasantry (which is unusual in Bastonian Tournament Culture and with prizes heavily sponsored by the gentry. It's not uncommon for squires to be knighted at these events, to the point where it is considered auspicious.
Traditionally, unless there is a pressing need, the Feast of the Triumph is considered "Creation Day". Bastonian nobility who are to be promoted to higher ranks ("created" in that rank) are usually called to their Duchy capital (or to Whiterock) in advance and have the ceremony conferring their new titles and responsibilities upon them after the eclipse on the Feast of the Triumph.