Jerri
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
Sending you and all readers of your works my best Winterfair greetings. And in the world of the Five Gods, this should be the day of a Father's Day celebration. Do the two celebrations have much in common?
Lois McMaster Bujold
Thank you for the kind sentiments!
All the solstice celebrations in our world's countries and histories make up a hugely varied range of activities. Father's Day, winter solstice, in the world of the five gods should likewise have a lot of regional and local variation. Because of the god's association with justice, maturity and aging, and death, I'd expect it is more solemn than one would guess extrapolating from, say, the Roman Saturnalia, but then there is that more fundamental association with male fertility to leaven things. So the celebrations might be a trifle schizoid, maybe Father's Day and Father's Night (or perhaps Father's Day Eve) with the latter more ribald. Being the commencement of the season, it would run more to honoring new and young fathers; grandfathers would go to the last days of the season, just before the Daughter's Day of spring equinox.
Ta, L.
Thank you for the kind sentiments!
All the solstice celebrations in our world's countries and histories make up a hugely varied range of activities. Father's Day, winter solstice, in the world of the five gods should likewise have a lot of regional and local variation. Because of the god's association with justice, maturity and aging, and death, I'd expect it is more solemn than one would guess extrapolating from, say, the Roman Saturnalia, but then there is that more fundamental association with male fertility to leaven things. So the celebrations might be a trifle schizoid, maybe Father's Day and Father's Night (or perhaps Father's Day Eve) with the latter more ribald. Being the commencement of the season, it would run more to honoring new and young fathers; grandfathers would go to the last days of the season, just before the Daughter's Day of spring equinox.
Ta, L.
More Answered Questions
Mary Silcox
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
I’ve always wondered if the choice to name Jackson’s Whole, site of so much depravity, a name so similar to Jackson Hole stemmed from some kind of personal experience in the town in Wyoming. Can you share the reason behind that choice? Thanks for considering the question!
Anne
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
Did you have a happy birthday? It might be a belated birthday by the time you see this.
SMB
asked
Lois McMaster Bujold:
I have noticed a good number of similar names across your various books: multiple Dubauers/Dubro, Nikki/Nikys, Illvin/Ilyan, etc. Are any of these an hommage to a particular person, just personal preferences for certain syllable combinations, or merely coincidences across so many richly peopled books? Many thanks for so many hours of happy (re)reading over the years.
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