Life Day

"This holiday is yours, but we all share with you the hope that this day brings us closer to freedom, and to harmony, and to peace. No matter how different we appear, we're all the same in our struggle against the powers of evil and darkness. I hope that this day will always be a day of joy in which we can reconfirm our dedication and our courage. And more than anything else, our love for one another. This is the promise of the Tree of Life."

―Princess Leia Organa.

Life Day

Life Day was a Wookiee holiday celebrated by the inhabitants of Kashyyyk every three years. It was a celebration of the planet's diverse ecosystem and the many forms of life it encompassed. It also was a time to remember family members who had died, and the young ones who continued to bring new life to a family. Life Day was a sacred holiday, and many Wookiees considered it their duty to return to Kashyyyk in order to celebrate it. Life Day was held once every three local years for many generations, but during the Galactic Civil War, its importance to the Wookiees became more pronounced. Wookiees were spread across the galaxy, either because they had been enslaved by the Galactic Empire or for personal reasons, and they began celebrating Life Day each year as a way to remain in touch with their history. Over time, the holiday found its way into various other cultures. "Life day" was also used as a term to describe the anniversary of one's birth.

This disgraceful menace of a "holiday", during which time you are expected to comply fully with this edict, will last approximately two weeks on the Galactic Standard Calendar."

―Extract from the Imperial Edict GR-1NC4.

Ancient history

The origins of Life Day lay in the culture of the Wookiees, the sentient mammals who hailed from the arboreal world of Kashyyyk, with evidence that the holiday was celebrated as early as 1,500,000 BBY. Originally a triennial event, it later evolved into an annual celebration. However, the tradition of exchanging gifts and decorating the houses during Life Day had already spread to other parts of the wider galaxy by the end of the Cold War[6] around 3640 BBY. At that time, holographic Life Day trees could even be found on Coruscant, capital city of the Galactic Republic. A mysterious merchant calling himself the "Master of Ceremonies" showed up at both the Republic's Carrick Station and the Empire's Vaiken Spacedock, along with an entourage of Life Day Revelers—made of Humans and Wookiees. While the Republic welcomed the Master and his followers without issue, Imperial Edict GR-1NC4 heavily discouraged Imperial citizens from participation in Life Day. The edict also noted that the Revelers' presence coincided with the reappearance of the Gray Secant, an ancient Gree starship, over the planet Ilum—which marked the return of the once powerful Gree Enclave to known space. At any rate, the anti-Life Day edict was widely ignored, and some Imperial citizens indulged in snowball fights.

"Bah, humbug!"

―Emperor Palpatine on Life Day.

From the Clone Wars on

Thousands of years later, at the time of Clone Wars, Life Day was celebrated at the main Jedi Temple on Coruscant at least once. The hallowed halls of the temple were decorated with garlands and colored Life Day orbs hanging from the ceiling. A Life Day tree had been place, service droids bore festive paintings and even some of the clone troopers patrolling the premises donned fancy armors—such as the nutcracker armor.

By 1 ABY the celebration of Life Day had become fairly consistent in major non-Kashyyykian population centers like Theed and Coronet, capital cities of Naboo and Corellia respectively. That year, the Alliance to Restore the Republic had embraced Life Day as an opportunity for anti-Imperial propaganda. Spacers affiliated with the Alliance would decorate large numbers of trees throughout cities across the known universe. The Empire, through nominally independent intermediaries, recruited loyal citizens to destroy presents placed around the very same cities, believing the gifts to be contraband smuggled by the Alliance. The competition between Imperial and Rebel-aligned spacers would sometimes escalate to acts of public violence, but residents of the three main target cities of Dearic, Wayfar, and Doaba Guerfel seemed completely unfazed by these events. Emperor Palpatine himself, the very leader of the Empire, harbored disgust for the holiday, which he considered "humbug."

"A big part of their Life Day celebration is a spiritual passage to the Life Tree... where Wookiee culture began! Orga root helps them make the journey!"

―Han Solo about the role of orga roots.

Traditions

In its deepest meaning, that holiday comemorated the renewal of life on Kashyyyk, a planet that supported a rich biodiversity. An important part of the celebration consisted in a spiritual passage; by chewing roots of the orga plant, the Wookiees would journey in spirit form and join the essence of the Tree of Life. According to the legends, that most ancient tree had been the starting point of the Wookiee civilization. Were the orga roots lacking, the Wookiee Elders were entitled to cancel the holiday.

At the same time, Life Day was also a time to remember the departed and spend quality time with one's family in its broader, Wookiee sense—the honor family comprised a Wookiee's boon companions and best friends, all of them pledging a life debt for one another.

Beyond its more serious aspects, Life Day was also a day of revelry and merry-making. Such joyous activities included trimming a special tree, launching fireworks, consuming treats like Wookiee-ookiees and Hoth chocolate, and listening to festive music. The exchange of presents was central ritual and a symbol of love. At night, Wookiee households would gather around their table while holding hands before pausing for a moment of silent prayer.

Citizens also celebrated their life day by eating ice cream.

Music

Singing was another important part of the Life Day customs. Traditional Life Day songs included "Christmas Green," "Here We Come A-Wassailing," "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas," "Joyful and Triumphant," and "Swingalong Santa." In 1 ABY, the famous Bith band Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes gave a special Life Day concert beneath the branches of the Tree of Life. More importantly, Life Day had its emblematic song, known in Basic as "Tree of Life," which put emphasis on peace, harmony and freedom.

and this was the holiday special to waspypedia and you can thank The Star Wars Holiday Special for makeing life day a thing