Festivals and Feasts: How Celebrations Bring Worlds to Life (Guest Post by Emma G. McKee)

(Hello, everyone! This is a guest post by my friend and fellow author in the Illuminate the Dark anthology, Emma! I hope you enjoy!)

When I think about festivals and feasts, a quote by J. R. R. Tolkien comes to mind: “It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.”

The same could be said about our worldbuilding. When we give readers a glimpse into our communities’ everyday deeds, it can have a much larger impact on the story than we first thought. And one of those everyday deeds could certainly be celebrations.

Festivals and feasts are prominent throughout literature. Think about Bilbo’s birthday party in Lord of the Rings, or all the ceremonies and celebrations in the world of Harry Potter. These serve as memorable occasions to the characters in our world, and since our readers care about our characters, they’ll care about their celebrations as well.

But having celebrations in your world can do more than just liven up our plots. Celebrations can suspend disbelief, explain our world, and inaugurate readers into the traditions of our people groups. If you’re considering adding a celebration scene to your novel, or you aren’t sure how to elevate one you already have, these are three strategies you can think about as you write to help make that festival all the more potent.

Firstly, celebrations add a touch of reality to our worlds. When readers experience a festival, their minds connect it to festivals they might celebrate in real life, like Christmas or a birthday party. The brain’s logic kicks in, comparing them and altogether helping to suspend disbelief for our readers. Celebrations help make our worlds feel more realistic and provide a link to reality our readers will notice, keeping them immersed in the story and our world.

Speaking of immersion, that brings me to my second point. Celebrations, especially ones with meaning, usually have a reason for existing. When you create a festival for your characters to celebrate, think about why it occurs and what significance it may hold for them. Is it more solemn or exciting? Simple or extravagant? Is it family-based or regional?

All of these questions can help form a realistic festival, which is very important. When our readers discover our characters’ celebrations and are immersed in the story, it’s almost as if our readers are celebrating with them. Celebrations and festivals help inaugurate readers into our characters’ world, making them feel like a part of it themselves. Going back to our examples earlier, how many of us upon reading about Bilbo’s birthday suddenly felt like a member of the Shire, and everything about that part of Tolkien’s world then felt more real to us? And when Harry Potter arrived at Hogwarts and was sorted into his house, how many of us could feel the suspense of the Sorting Ceremony and imagined that we were next, already deciding which house we wanted to join? Festivals, when written correctly, can do wonders to help readers feel like a part of our worlds.

And finally, celebrations have a purpose that, for heavy worldbuilders (like me!), can make the job of explaining everything so much easier. When we have celebrations with meaning, making them a larger feature in our stories can provide a place to explain a lot more about our world’s history and traditions without having it feel like info-dumping. After all, when joining a celebration for the first time, it’s only natural for our readers to ask questions about what and why our characters are celebrating. Relevant information from our world can help make our festivals more meaningful for readers while also giving them what they need to understand the story later.

Celebrations play a larger role in worldbuilding than you might think, and when done correctly, can make your story all the more meaningful. Using festivals to explain worldbuilding and suspend disbelief can break the barrier that might keep readers from being immersed in our worlds, and once they are, making them a part of the celebration can keep them coming back for more. And this is simply what celebrations can do for our readers– they can have a great role to play in character development and worldbuilding as well!

If you want to learn more about worldbuilding as a whole, I’ve written a corresponding post on my blog at emmagmckee.com where you can learn more about how to worldbuild with wonder and wisdom, even if it isn’t your favorite part of the writing process. This post is also a part of my year-long series, Faith-Forged Fantasy, where I walk you through creating a solid story premise, no matter your skill level. If this interests you, do consider subscribing to my email newsletter, where you’ll receive printable worksheets for every main post in the series, as well as behind-the-scenes looks at my current writing project and bonus tips!

See you among the shelves,

Emma G. McKee

Emma G. McKee is a firm believer in Jesus, dragons, and the Oxford comma. When not gallivanting through magical worlds where wolves talk and castles sing, she writes blog posts on storycraft and how to honor Christ through authorship. If you wish to acquaint yourself further with this somewhat strange person, you can find her at emmagmckee.com, where she may or may not set her mail dragons loose upon you.