{"data":{"id":20340,"title":"Portfolio: 34,000 Beats","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/spectrum-dispatch\/20340-Portfolio-34-000-Beats","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/20340","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/20340","channel":"Undefined","category":"Undefined","series":"Portfolio","images":[{"id":26463,"name":"source.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/media.robertsspaceindustries.com\/weozjmuuh3hwh\/source.jpg","alt":"","size":843046,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2019-09-19T15:49:32+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/26463","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/26463\/similar"}],"images_count":6,"translations":{"en_EN":"This portfolio originally appeared in Jump Point 10.10.\n\u201cWhen will this be over?\u201d\n\nAs a child, I asked my parents that question countless times while celebrating Luminalia. It\u2019s not that I disliked the holiday, rather I enjoyed it so much that I dreaded it all ending. I loved getting gifts from the host, overindulging on the extensive food spread, and being able to stay up super late during the two-day celebration. So, during all the fun, I always found myself a little worried about when it might be over, and every time I asked an adult when the holiday would end, they would give me the same answer \u2014 34,000 beats. Of course, that answer drove me to ask the obvious follow up, \u201cWhy 34,000 beats?\u201d The most common answer, \u201cBecause that\u2019s how it\u2019s always been,\u201d only opened the door to a new batch of questions that either stumped or went ignored by party guests exasperated by my constant barrage of inquiries.\n\nHaving never received a satisfactory answer as a child, last year I decided to pose the question to family and friends gathered at the first Luminalia celebration I ever hosted. My parents chuckled as I gathered everyone and asked them to give me their best answer, and those brave enough to engage in my thought experiment received a little gift. Like in my youth, I heard entertaining and inventive answers but none that really made sense, so I finally decided to investigate the truth for myself. An admittedly tall task considering that the Banu, who created the wonderful holiday and shared it to the UEE, famously don\u2019t keep traditional historical records.\n\nAN UNKNOWN KNOWN\nMy investigation began by asking several Banu friends why Luminalia, called tsikti efanga (Glow Festival) in their native language, lasted 34,000 beats. They all seemed more confused by the inquiry than my Human friends and family. I wasn\u2019t surprised considering Banu typically embrace the \u201cwhat\u201d of a situation and not the \u201cwhy,\u201d yet I still found their answers insightful. The majority of their responses fell within the range of \u201cbecause that\u2019s how it\u2019s always been done,\u201d but one friend, Bongi, made an interesting distinction by claiming it\u2019s because \u201cthat\u2019s how long the lamp is alight.\u201d This got me wondering. Could the holiday last 34,000 beats simply because the first Luminalia lamps held enough oil to stay alight that long?\n\nWith Bongi\u2019s answer in mind, I reached out to Seneca Orisaka, a renowned scholar on Banu culture and curator at the Banu Friendship Museum in the Davien system. I began the interview by simply asking her the question, but like so many others, instead of directly answering it, she dove into some intriguing theories that have been raised over the centuries. In the 2600s, Leon Dhawan, a scholar on the Banu and amateur numerologist, proposed that Banu originally only counted to three. A hypothesis rooted in the design of their written symbol for the number three, which is the last of the initial integers with an open-bottom capsule before being flipped to an open-top capsule for number four. Dhawan ran with this tenuous theory to make lots of wild and unsubstantiated claims, including that the 34,000 beats in Luminalia represented three itas (a work day or play shift lasting 10,000 beats) plus 4,000 additional beats for naps and big midday meals. Considering the mental gymnastics Dhawan used to reach this conclusion, it\u2019s no surprise it didn\u2019t take hold. Most scholars disputed Dhawan\u2019s theory while others suggested that the Banu originally counted to five. An argument still kicking around some academic circles, even though the Banu have only ever used a base 10 system since coming into contact with Humans. Meanwhile, others argue that 34,000 beats was the original length of a Gathering on Bacchus II. This theory suggests that these sacred events, where prestigious political Essosouli met to discuss and debate issues that affect the whole of Banu society, used to operate in much the same way as a modern Luminalia festival, with a ceremonial lamp being lit and the Gathering lasting until the oil had burnt out. Yet, Banu practice no such tradition at modern Gatherings and these events are held inconsistently, so it seemed unlikely.\n\nWhen I pushed Orisaka for her answer, she paused in quiet contemplation. She\u2019s dedicated her life to learning everything she can about the Banu but admitted that she can\u2019t say with any certainty why the festival lasts that long. Then, her eyes lit up when I asked if it might be related to the style and size of the lamp originally used in the festival. \u201cIt absolutely could be as simple as that,\u201d she responded. \u201cWe have been trying to track down lamps dating back to earlier eras but that has proven quite tricky so far. But, to be honest, one of the most likely answers is that the length of time has very little to do with the Banu at all, and everything to do with us.\u201d\n\nHUMAN INFLUENCE\nLuminalia may have begun as a Banu holiday but Human influence on the modern celebration is undeniable. Humans first celebrated it in 2438 when a ship-repair Souli on Cestulus (Davien II) lit their lamp and invited Humans to join. Those first Human revelers being blissfully unaware that their attendance committed themselves to a two-day party. Nearby Human merchants watched or joined the raucous festivity, noticing how Souli members effortlessly transitioned between hosting duties and selling their services and wares to guests. Not to be outdone, some Human merchants hosted their own Luminalia celebrations the following year, starting the slow spread of the festival across the UEE. Luminalia became so popular that, in 2557, the UEE government recognized it as an official holiday celebrated annually on December 22. Codifying this day marked Humanity\u2019s first major change to the festival, as previously the date changed based on what Banu system you were in or what Souli hosted it. Banu have since widely adopted December 22 as the date of the holiday in solidarity with the UEE.\n\nHuman influence on Luminalia doesn\u2019t end there. Human merchants also introduced the tradition of hiding empty gift-wrapped packages around landing zones and space stations that could be exchanged for a few credits or a small toy. Yet, one could argue the biggest change Humans made to the holiday was standardizing the oil used in Luminalia lamps so that it burns for 34,000 beats. According to Orisaka, the earliest Human celebrations lasted roughly two days with the exact number of beats fluctuating based on the design of the lamp and the type of oil used. Yet many early Human celebrants either couldn\u2019t find or afford the special oil made by Banu Soulis. This created a large counterfeit market for fuel that either burned too quickly, or worse, released dangerously dirty or toxic fumes. Stories abound from the late 25th century of Luminalia revelers sending emergency comms after lighting a Luminalia lamp with counterfeit oil in poorly ventilated places. The most famous incident resulted in five fatalities after the smoke released by the counterfeit fuel clogged a ship\u2019s atmo scrubbers and suffocated the celebrants. Business interests, concerned about losing a rapidly expanding revenue stream, pushed the government to crack down on counterfeit oil manufacturers and adopt a rating system to certify the quality level of oil. Companies manufacturing five-starrated oils, widely marketed as guaranteeing to burn clean and for 34,000 beats, came to dominate the market by the late 26th century, setting a standard and expectation for future Human generations that the festival should last exactly 34,000 beats.\n\nAt first I was disappointed to learn that Luminalia lasting 34,000 beats was probably a Human-made marketing ploy and not some long-lost insight into Banu culture, and I\u2019ve come to accept that we\u2019ll probably never know why Banu originally decided to spend roughly two straight days celebrating Luminalia. Yet, the more I dug into the question, the more I came to understand the answer everyone had given me all along: \u201cbecause that\u2019s how it\u2019s always been.\u201d I realized that it doesn\u2019t matter why we spend two days celebrating with family, friends, and even strangers as if we\u2019re all one Souli. It only matters that we do it and that the celebration brings us closer together with those we love. That\u2019s the true power of Luminalia and that\u2019s all that matters.","de_DE":"Dieses Portfolio erschien urspr\u00fcnglich in Jump Point 10.10.\n\"Wann wird das vorbei sein?\"\n\nAls Kind habe ich meinen Eltern diese Frage unz\u00e4hlige Male gestellt, w\u00e4hrend ich Luminalia feierte. Es ist nicht so, dass ich das Fest nicht mochte, aber ich genoss es so sehr, dass ich das Ende f\u00fcrchtete. Ich liebte es, Geschenke von den Gastgebern zu bekommen, mich an dem reichhaltigen Essen zu erfreuen und w\u00e4hrend der zweit\u00e4gigen Feier bis sp\u00e4t in die Nacht aufbleiben zu k\u00f6nnen. W\u00e4hrend des ganzen Spa\u00dfes machte ich mir immer ein wenig Sorgen, wann es wohl vorbei sein w\u00fcrde, und jedes Mal, wenn ich einen Erwachsenen fragte, wann die Ferien enden w\u00fcrden, bekam ich die gleiche Antwort: 34.000 Schl\u00e4ge. Diese Antwort veranlasste mich nat\u00fcrlich zu der naheliegenden Frage: \"Warum 34.000 Schl\u00e4ge?\" Die h\u00e4ufigste Antwort: \"Weil das schon immer so war\", \u00f6ffnete nur die T\u00fcr zu einer neuen Reihe von Fragen, die von den Partyg\u00e4sten, die von meinem st\u00e4ndigen Nachfragen genervt waren, entweder nicht beantwortet oder ignoriert wurden.\n\nNachdem ich als Kind nie eine zufriedenstellende Antwort erhalten hatte, beschloss ich letztes Jahr, die Frage meiner Familie und meinen Freunden zu stellen, die sich auf der ersten Luminalia-Feier versammelt hatten, die ich jemals ausgerichtet hatte. Meine Eltern lachten, als ich alle versammelte und sie bat, mir ihre beste Antwort zu geben, und wer mutig genug war, sich auf mein Gedankenexperiment einzulassen, bekam ein kleines Geschenk. Wie in meiner Jugend h\u00f6rte ich unterhaltsame und originelle Antworten, aber keine, die wirklich Sinn ergab, also beschloss ich schlie\u00dflich, die Wahrheit selbst herauszufinden. Eine zugegebenerma\u00dfen schwierige Aufgabe, wenn man bedenkt, dass die Banu, die den wunderbaren Feiertag erfunden und an die UEE weitergegeben haben, bekanntlich keine traditionellen historischen Aufzeichnungen f\u00fchren.\n\nEIN UNBEKANNTES BEKANNTES\nMeine Nachforschungen begannen damit, dass ich mehrere Banu-Freunde fragte, warum Luminalia, das in ihrer Muttersprache tsikti efanga (Gl\u00fchfest) genannt wird, 34.000 Schl\u00e4ge dauerte. Sie alle schienen durch die Anfrage mehr verwirrt zu sein als meine menschlichen Freunde und Familie. Das \u00fcberraschte mich nicht, da Banu sich normalerweise mit dem \"Was\" einer Situation besch\u00e4ftigen und nicht mit dem \"Warum\", aber ich fand ihre Antworten trotzdem aufschlussreich. Die meisten Antworten fielen in den Bereich \"weil man das schon immer so gemacht hat\", aber ein Freund, Bongi, machte eine interessante Unterscheidung, indem er behauptete, dass es so ist, \"weil die Lampe so lange brennt\". Das brachte mich ins Gr\u00fcbeln. K\u00f6nnte der Feiertag 34.000 Schl\u00e4ge lang dauern, weil die ersten Luminalia-Lampen genug \u00d6l enthielten, um so lange zu brennen?\n\nMit Bongis Antwort im Kopf wandte ich mich an Seneca Orisaka, eine renommierte Wissenschaftlerin der Banu-Kultur und Kuratorin des Banu-Freundschaftsmuseums im Davien-System. Zu Beginn des Interviews stellte ich ihr einfach die Frage, aber wie so viele andere auch, ging sie nicht direkt auf die Frage ein, sondern stellte einige faszinierende Theorien auf, die im Laufe der Jahrhunderte aufgestellt wurden. In den 2600er Jahren schlug Leon Dhawan, ein Gelehrter der Banu und Amateur-Numerologe, vor, dass die Banu urspr\u00fcnglich nur bis drei z\u00e4hlten. Diese Hypothese beruht auf der Gestaltung ihres schriftlichen Symbols f\u00fcr die Zahl Drei, die die letzte der anf\u00e4nglichen ganzen Zahlen mit einer unten offenen Kapsel ist, bevor sie f\u00fcr die Zahl Vier zu einer oben offenen Kapsel umgedreht wird. Dhawan nutzte diese d\u00fcnne Theorie, um eine Menge wilder und unbegr\u00fcndeter Behauptungen aufzustellen, z. B. dass die 34.000 Beats im Luminalia drei Itas (ein Arbeitstag oder eine Spielschicht mit 10.000 Beats) plus 4.000 zus\u00e4tzliche Beats f\u00fcr Nickerchen und gro\u00dfe Mittagsmahlzeiten darstellen. Wenn man bedenkt, mit welcher Denkarbeit Dhawan zu dieser Schlussfolgerung kam, ist es nicht verwunderlich, dass sie sich nicht durchgesetzt hat. Die meisten Gelehrten bestritten Dhawans Theorie, w\u00e4hrend andere behaupteten, dass die Banu urspr\u00fcnglich bis f\u00fcnf z\u00e4hlten. Ein Argument, das in einigen akademischen Kreisen immer noch kursiert, obwohl die Banu seit ihrem Kontakt mit den Menschen immer nur das System zur Basis 10 verwendet haben. Andere wiederum argumentieren, dass 34.000 Schl\u00e4ge die urspr\u00fcngliche L\u00e4nge einer Versammlung auf Bacchus II waren. Diese Theorie besagt, dass diese heiligen Veranstaltungen, bei denen sich angesehene politische Essosouli trafen, um \u00fcber Themen zu diskutieren und zu debattieren, die die gesamte Banu-Gesellschaft betrafen, fr\u00fcher \u00e4hnlich abliefen wie ein modernes Luminalia-Fest, bei dem eine zeremonielle Lampe angez\u00fcndet wurde und die Versammlung so lange dauerte, bis das \u00d6l ausgebrannt war. Bei den Banu gibt es jedoch keine solche Tradition bei den modernen Versammlungen und diese Veranstaltungen werden unregelm\u00e4\u00dfig abgehalten, so dass dies unwahrscheinlich erschien.\n\nAls ich Orisaka zu einer Antwort dr\u00e4ngte, hielt sie in stiller \u00dcberlegung inne. Sie hat ihr Leben dem Ziel gewidmet, so viel wie m\u00f6glich \u00fcber die Banu zu lernen, aber sie gab zu, dass sie nicht mit Sicherheit sagen kann, warum das Fest so lange dauert. Dann leuchteten ihre Augen auf, als ich fragte, ob es vielleicht mit der Art und Gr\u00f6\u00dfe der Lampe zusammenh\u00e4ngt, die urspr\u00fcnglich f\u00fcr das Fest verwendet wurde. \"So einfach kann es durchaus sein\", antwortete sie. \"Wir haben versucht, Lampen aus fr\u00fcheren Epochen ausfindig zu machen, aber das hat sich bisher als ziemlich schwierig erwiesen. Aber um ehrlich zu sein, ist eine der wahrscheinlichsten Antworten, dass die L\u00e4nge der Zeit nur sehr wenig mit den Banu zu tun hat und alles mit uns.\"\n\nMENSCHLICHER EINFLUSS\nLuminalia mag als Feiertag der Banu begonnen haben, aber der Einfluss der Menschen auf das moderne Fest ist unbestreitbar. Die Menschen feierten es zum ersten Mal im Jahr 2438, als eine Schiffsreparaturfirma Souli auf Cestulus (Davien II) ihre Lampe anz\u00fcndete und die Menschen einlud, sich anzuschlie\u00dfen. Diese ersten menschlichen Feiernden wussten nicht, dass sie sich mit ihrer Teilnahme zu einer zweit\u00e4gigen Party verpflichteten. Die menschlichen H\u00e4ndler in der N\u00e4he schauten dem rauschenden Fest zu oder schlossen sich ihm an und bemerkten, wie die Souli-Mitglieder m\u00fchelos zwischen ihren Pflichten als Gastgeber und dem Verkauf ihrer Dienstleistungen und Waren an die G\u00e4ste wechselten. Einige Menschenh\u00e4ndler lie\u00dfen sich nicht lumpen und veranstalteten im darauffolgenden Jahr ihre eigenen Luminalia-Feiern, wodurch sich das Fest langsam in der gesamten UEE verbreitete. Luminalia wurde so beliebt, dass die UEE-Regierung es 2557 als offiziellen Feiertag anerkannte, der j\u00e4hrlich am 22. Dezember gefeiert wird. Die Festlegung dieses Datums war die erste gro\u00dfe \u00c4nderung, die die Menschheit an dem Fest vornahm, denn zuvor hing das Datum davon ab, in welchem Banu-System man sich befand oder in welchem Souli es stattfand. Seitdem haben die Banu aus Solidarit\u00e4t mit der UEE den 22. Dezember als Datum f\u00fcr den Feiertag \u00fcbernommen.\n\nDer Einfluss der Menschen auf Luminalia ist damit noch nicht zu Ende. Menschliche H\u00e4ndler haben auch die Tradition eingef\u00fchrt, leere, als Geschenk verpackte Pakete in den Landezonen und Raumstationen zu verstecken, die man gegen ein paar Credits oder ein kleines Spielzeug eintauschen kann. Man k\u00f6nnte jedoch behaupten, dass die gr\u00f6\u00dfte Ver\u00e4nderung, die die Menschen an diesem Fest vorgenommen haben, die Standardisierung des \u00d6ls in den Luminalia-Lampen war, so dass es f\u00fcr 34.000 Beats brennt. Laut Orisaka dauerten die fr\u00fchesten Feiern der Menschen etwa zwei Tage, wobei die genaue Anzahl der Schl\u00e4ge je nach Bauart der Lampe und der Art des verwendeten \u00d6ls schwankte. Doch viele der fr\u00fchen Menschen konnten das spezielle \u00d6l der Banu Soulis nicht finden oder sich nicht leisten. So entstand ein gro\u00dfer Markt f\u00fcr gef\u00e4lschtes \u00d6l, das entweder zu schnell brannte oder, was noch schlimmer war, gef\u00e4hrlich schmutzige oder giftige D\u00e4mpfe abgab. Es gibt viele Geschichten aus dem sp\u00e4ten 25. Jahrhundert, in denen Luminalia-Feiernde einen Notruf absetzen, nachdem sie eine Luminalia-Lampe mit gef\u00e4lschtem \u00d6l an schlecht bel\u00fcfteten Orten angez\u00fcndet haben. Der ber\u00fchmteste Vorfall forderte f\u00fcnf Todesopfer, nachdem der vom gef\u00e4lschten Brennstoff freigesetzte Rauch die Luftw\u00e4scher eines Schiffes verstopfte und die Feiernden erstickten. Aus Sorge um den Verlust einer schnell wachsenden Einnahmequelle dr\u00e4ngte die Wirtschaft die Regierung, gegen die Hersteller von gef\u00e4lschtem \u00d6l vorzugehen und ein Bewertungssystem einzuf\u00fchren, um die Qualit\u00e4t des \u00d6ls zu zertifizieren. Ende des 26. Jahrhunderts beherrschten Unternehmen den Markt, die f\u00fcnfstufige \u00d6le herstellten, die als Garantie f\u00fcr eine saubere Verbrennung und eine Brenndauer von 34.000 Schl\u00e4gen angepriesen wurden, und setzten damit einen Standard und eine Erwartung f\u00fcr k\u00fcnftige menschliche Generationen, dass das Fest genau 34.000 Schl\u00e4ge dauern sollte.\n\nZuerst war ich entt\u00e4uscht, als ich erfuhr, dass die 34.000 Schl\u00e4ge des Luminalia-Festes wahrscheinlich ein von den Menschen entwickelter Marketing-Trick waren und nicht ein lange verschollener Einblick in die Banu-Kultur, und ich habe mich damit abgefunden, dass wir wahrscheinlich nie erfahren werden, warum die Banu urspr\u00fcnglich beschlossen haben, das Luminalia-Fest zwei Tage lang am St\u00fcck zu feiern. Doch je mehr ich mich mit der Frage besch\u00e4ftigte, desto mehr verstand ich die Antwort, die mir alle schon immer gegeben hatten: \"Weil das schon immer so war.\" Mir wurde klar, dass es keine Rolle spielt, warum wir zwei Tage lang mit Familie, Freunden und sogar Fremden feiern, als w\u00e4ren wir alle ein Souli. Wichtig ist nur, dass wir es tun und dass das Fest uns mit den Menschen, die wir lieben, n\u00e4her zusammenbringt. Das ist die wahre Kraft von Luminalia und das ist alles, was z\u00e4hlt.","zh_CN":"This portfolio originally appeared in Jump Point 10.10.\n\u201cWhen will this be over?\u201d\n\nAs a child, I asked my parents that question countless times while celebrating Luminalia. It\u2019s not that I disliked the holiday, rather I enjoyed it so much that I dreaded it all ending. I loved getting gifts from the host, overindulging on the extensive food spread, and being able to stay up super late during the two-day celebration. So, during all the fun, I always found myself a little worried about when it might be over, and every time I asked an adult when the holiday would end, they would give me the same answer \u2014 34,000 beats. Of course, that answer drove me to ask the obvious follow up, \u201cWhy 34,000 beats?\u201d The most common answer, \u201cBecause that\u2019s how it\u2019s always been,\u201d only opened the door to a new batch of questions that either stumped or went ignored by party guests exasperated by my constant barrage of inquiries.\n\nHaving never received a satisfactory answer as a child, last year I decided to pose the question to family and friends gathered at the first Luminalia celebration I ever hosted. My parents chuckled as I gathered everyone and asked them to give me their best answer, and those brave enough to engage in my thought experiment received a little gift. Like in my youth, I heard entertaining and inventive answers but none that really made sense, so I finally decided to investigate the truth for myself. An admittedly tall task considering that the Banu, who created the wonderful holiday and shared it to the UEE, famously don\u2019t keep traditional historical records.\n\nAN UNKNOWN KNOWN\nMy investigation began by asking several Banu friends why Luminalia, called tsikti efanga (Glow Festival) in their native language, lasted 34,000 beats. They all seemed more confused by the inquiry than my Human friends and family. I wasn\u2019t surprised considering Banu typically embrace the \u201cwhat\u201d of a situation and not the \u201cwhy,\u201d yet I still found their answers insightful. The majority of their responses fell within the range of \u201cbecause that\u2019s how it\u2019s always been done,\u201d but one friend, Bongi, made an interesting distinction by claiming it\u2019s because \u201cthat\u2019s how long the lamp is alight.\u201d This got me wondering. Could the holiday last 34,000 beats simply because the first Luminalia lamps held enough oil to stay alight that long?\n\nWith Bongi\u2019s answer in mind, I reached out to Seneca Orisaka, a renowned scholar on Banu culture and curator at the Banu Friendship Museum in the Davien system. I began the interview by simply asking her the question, but like so many others, instead of directly answering it, she dove into some intriguing theories that have been raised over the centuries. In the 2600s, Leon Dhawan, a scholar on the Banu and amateur numerologist, proposed that Banu originally only counted to three. A hypothesis rooted in the design of their written symbol for the number three, which is the last of the initial integers with an open-bottom capsule before being flipped to an open-top capsule for number four. Dhawan ran with this tenuous theory to make lots of wild and unsubstantiated claims, including that the 34,000 beats in Luminalia represented three itas (a work day or play shift lasting 10,000 beats) plus 4,000 additional beats for naps and big midday meals. Considering the mental gymnastics Dhawan used to reach this conclusion, it\u2019s no surprise it didn\u2019t take hold. Most scholars disputed Dhawan\u2019s theory while others suggested that the Banu originally counted to five. An argument still kicking around some academic circles, even though the Banu have only ever used a base 10 system since coming into contact with Humans. Meanwhile, others argue that 34,000 beats was the original length of a Gathering on Bacchus II. This theory suggests that these sacred events, where prestigious political Essosouli met to discuss and debate issues that affect the whole of Banu society, used to operate in much the same way as a modern Luminalia festival, with a ceremonial lamp being lit and the Gathering lasting until the oil had burnt out. Yet, Banu practice no such tradition at modern Gatherings and these events are held inconsistently, so it seemed unlikely.\n\nWhen I pushed Orisaka for her answer, she paused in quiet contemplation. She\u2019s dedicated her life to learning everything she can about the Banu but admitted that she can\u2019t say with any certainty why the festival lasts that long. Then, her eyes lit up when I asked if it might be related to the style and size of the lamp originally used in the festival. \u201cIt absolutely could be as simple as that,\u201d she responded. \u201cWe have been trying to track down lamps dating back to earlier eras but that has proven quite tricky so far. But, to be honest, one of the most likely answers is that the length of time has very little to do with the Banu at all, and everything to do with us.\u201d\n\nHUMAN INFLUENCE\nLuminalia may have begun as a Banu holiday but Human influence on the modern celebration is undeniable. Humans first celebrated it in 2438 when a ship-repair Souli on Cestulus (Davien II) lit their lamp and invited Humans to join. Those first Human revelers being blissfully unaware that their attendance committed themselves to a two-day party. Nearby Human merchants watched or joined the raucous festivity, noticing how Souli members effortlessly transitioned between hosting duties and selling their services and wares to guests. Not to be outdone, some Human merchants hosted their own Luminalia celebrations the following year, starting the slow spread of the festival across the UEE. Luminalia became so popular that, in 2557, the UEE government recognized it as an official holiday celebrated annually on December 22. Codifying this day marked Humanity\u2019s first major change to the festival, as previously the date changed based on what Banu system you were in or what Souli hosted it. Banu have since widely adopted December 22 as the date of the holiday in solidarity with the UEE.\n\nHuman influence on Luminalia doesn\u2019t end there. Human merchants also introduced the tradition of hiding empty gift-wrapped packages around landing zones and space stations that could be exchanged for a few credits or a small toy. Yet, one could argue the biggest change Humans made to the holiday was standardizing the oil used in Luminalia lamps so that it burns for 34,000 beats. According to Orisaka, the earliest Human celebrations lasted roughly two days with the exact number of beats fluctuating based on the design of the lamp and the type of oil used. Yet many early Human celebrants either couldn\u2019t find or afford the special oil made by Banu Soulis. This created a large counterfeit market for fuel that either burned too quickly, or worse, released dangerously dirty or toxic fumes. Stories abound from the late 25th century of Luminalia revelers sending emergency comms after lighting a Luminalia lamp with counterfeit oil in poorly ventilated places. The most famous incident resulted in five fatalities after the smoke released by the counterfeit fuel clogged a ship\u2019s atmo scrubbers and suffocated the celebrants. Business interests, concerned about losing a rapidly expanding revenue stream, pushed the government to crack down on counterfeit oil manufacturers and adopt a rating system to certify the quality level of oil. Companies manufacturing five-starrated oils, widely marketed as guaranteeing to burn clean and for 34,000 beats, came to dominate the market by the late 26th century, setting a standard and expectation for future Human generations that the festival should last exactly 34,000 beats.\n\nAt first I was disappointed to learn that Luminalia lasting 34,000 beats was probably a Human-made marketing ploy and not some long-lost insight into Banu culture, and I\u2019ve come to accept that we\u2019ll probably never know why Banu originally decided to spend roughly two straight days celebrating Luminalia. Yet, the more I dug into the question, the more I came to understand the answer everyone had given me all along: \u201cbecause that\u2019s how it\u2019s always been.\u201d I realized that it doesn\u2019t matter why we spend two days celebrating with family, friends, and even strangers as if we\u2019re all one Souli. It only matters that we do it and that the celebration brings us closer together with those we love. That\u2019s the true power of Luminalia and that\u2019s all that matters."},"links_count":0,"comment_count":13,"created_at":"2024-12-10T21:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"1 year ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-05-08 02:38:19","valid_relations":["images","links"],"prev_id":20339,"next_id":20341}}