For the millions of Unitists across the world, today is a very important day. Each year, December 9th marks the holiday of Angeli, when practitioners celebrate the creation of the Angels and the universe as a whole, meet up with family and friends, and eat a wide array of traditional recipes. Lucky trays (with objects honoring the Angels) are set out on windowsills, songs are sung in the streets, and games are played (and subsequently bickered over) in homes across various countries. Many towns and cities even host pop-up markets selling food, drinks, clothing, and more, bringing an extra level of joy to the festive occasion.
But outside of the cultural trappings that have become associated with the holiday, the underlying religious message is one that is particularly relevant to the world today. The central tenet of Angeli (and Unitism in general) is the idea of harmony through balance, beauty through variation, unity (lowercase or uppercase) through differences. Yet, in truth, this current day is one of division. Milintica is on the verge of pulling out of the Union of Caxcanan States, Taragai is in crisis, and Zargothrax is facing an ongoing civil war, with countless more countries facing political, economic, and social crises.
Despite all of this division, Unitist religious leaders insist that persevering through these types of hardships is a message at the very core of the holiday. “The point of Angeli, outside of honoring the past, is to bring forward the ideas of harmony and unity into places that are seemingly devoid of them. It was never going to be easy, but even the most dissonant of notes become beautiful harmonies with time and balance,” Pope Angelica I remarked during an interview with ENN’s Matis Salie.
So, for Unitist devotees, the struggles of the world are yet another reason to celebrate Angeli. The discord of life drives home the importance of celebrating unity wherever it can be found. And for these practitioners on this sacred day, it is found at home, among friends, neighbors, and loved ones.