Ralph
Waldo Emerson
Recently, I
realized that there are a lot of festivals in Second Life (SL).
Given all
the fictional and homegrown festivals that also always seem to be going on inworld
there are probably more here than in Real Life (RL)! (Significant Other indicates that we have
enough festivals as it is already.
Boundaries must be respected.)
Yes, there
are the big three, Christmas,
Halloween,
and Valentine’s
Day.
Interestingly, these are supposedly the same big three in RL at least
in the Western traditions.
These
festivals are celebrated across SL in a variety of ways.
Some sims do
themselves over for the holiday. Some
exit merely for the holiday and then, poof, are gone until next year. If they even come back at all.
Residents
get into the spirit of things as much as folks seem to in RL. (Although, I think the Christmas decorations on
homes are even more over the top inworld than in some American developments
which is saying a lot. I wonder if the
SL neighbors complain as much too?)
But, then
there are the other festivals which may be a little smaller or restricted to a
specific geographic area but are still fun events to attend.
Recent
examples have St.
Patrick’s Day, Mardi
Gras, and Cinco
de Mayo. (Coincidentally, these are
all Perryn
Peterson productions!)
I’m sure
there’re more, I just haven’t found them yet.
(Or, Perryn hasn’t celebrated them yet!)
Other
festivals that I’ve come across have been the Chinese
Lunar New Year, Day of the Dead,
and V-E
Day. All were fun events.
Dropping by
all these festivals got me thinking about what really comprises a festival in
SL.
Festivals
seem to fall into three major categories.
First are
those based on RL holidays like Christmas. (I’m beginning to realize that
there is a religious
aspect to these as well but more on that in future stories.) Others are derived from RL fiction like A
Christmas Carol from Charles Dickens’ story. Finally, others seem to spring from the life
and culture of SL itself. Hunts like the Renaissance Hunt & Faire fall into
this category.
As we
approach the traditional yearend festivities inworld, I’ll be visiting my usual
favorites.
Then there’s
the commitment behind these.
These
festivals just don’t happen. Planning
and preparation are involved. Then
there’s the promotion of the event.
Last but not
least, people have to come to the festivals.
(Trust me, having thrown more than one party in RL where I was the only
attendee this is no fun at all.
Significant Other really amped up my social life!)
And they do!
Once again,
I find myself coming back to the sense
of community in SL which keeps everybody together and keeps bringing them
back.
The
festivals are just an excuse, albeit a very good one, for people to come
together and have a good time. The
interpersonal relationships are the glue that hold SL together. It’s certainly not Linden Lab’s customer
service!
But, I’d
also like to break out of my comfort zone and visit new ones.
So, please
if you’re arranging or know of festivals that are taking place in SL, let me
know. I’ll visit them and post about
them. (Significant Other arches an
eyebrow.)
Hope to meet
you there!
As always, I’m grateful to all
inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was
passing through their lives.
I can be found on Google+ as
webspelunker Ghostraven.
On Skype I’m webspelunker
Ghostraven.
I welcome feedback from
readers, please either comment on my blog or
e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com
.
If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.
If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.
Open roads
and kind fires!
