Life Day
Life Day revolves around the Wookiee belief in the Tree of Life.
The tree's roots draw nutrients and moisture from the soil. Sunlike helps the leaves to process these nutrients so that the tree can grow. All creatures in the forest rely on the trees for food and shelter. In return, they help spread the seeds so new trees can grow. When the tree is done with its leaves, they drop to the forest floor to replenish the soil. And the cycle begins anew ...
In many ways we are like the trees. With our friendship and affection we nurish our friends and family. Eventually we leave the forest, but there are always others to take our place. Life goes on.
What is Life Day?
One of my friends once told me tht had never heard of Life Day until I mentioned it. Sometimes I forget how little people know about us Wookiees. So, I thought I would give you a little explanation of Life Day.
Life Day is both a religious and a cultural holiday. Religious Wooks celebrate one way and secular Wooks another. For all Wookiees, it is a time to gather with family, honor family, and friends.
Life Day started as a day of joy and harmony as promised by the Tree of Life. For the ultrareligious, it is a time to forsake the material world to spend time in the forest and become part of the natural world (our traditional religion teaches us not to be materialistic). For secular Wookiees, it is a time for families to gather and celebrate the joys of life. In this context, parties and gifts have become commonplace.
Now, here is the confusing part. Many Wookiees celebrated Life Day at the end of November, but others celebrate near the end of December. The latter is now known as Corellian Orthodox Life Day.
Our first contacts with other planets were with Alderaan and Corellia. There were small Wookiee communities on Corellia who adjusted their holidays to the Corellian calendar. This is why the dates vary. Eventually, groups of Corellian Wookiees returned to Kashyyyk and brought their new traditions with them. What resulted is an extended celebration of Life Day which starts with the traditional religious observance on Kashyyyk standard Life Day and ends in a party season on Corellian Orthodox Life Day. Because our planet rotates much slower than others, our days are longer. While on Corellia a month passes between the two days, the period is only 12 days on Kashyyyk. We call this period the "12 Days of Life Day".
Life Day Trees
On Kashyyyk, the villages are built in trees. The tradition is to decorate the village trees for the holiday. On Corellia, where there are no trees big enough to house a Wook, a new tradition started. Corellian Wooks began decorating a small tree in their homes for Life Day.
I have continued this Corellian tradition in my homes on Naboo and Rori. I have decorated one of my many trees with Blob Candy to make it more festive. A decorated Life Day tree is on display year round in the Wookiee Cultural Center, along with other objects used to celebrate this most important Wookiee holiday.