Life Day

Life Day was a Wookiee holiday celebrated by the inhabitants of Kashyyyk. It was a celebration of the planet's diverse ecosystem and the many forms of life it encompassed. It was also a time to remember family members who had died, and the young ones who continued to bring new life to a family. Life Day was a sacred holiday, and many Wookiees considered it their duty to return to Kashyyyk in order to celebrate it. Life Day was held once every three local years for many generations, but it became celebrated more frequently as its popularity slowly grew to the wider galaxy. Despite its name, the holiday could also be celebrated over the course of at least a couple days. By the time of the Galactic Civil War, Life Day's importance to the Wookiees had become more pronounced. Because Wookiees were spread across the galaxy, either for personal reasons or due to their enslavement to the Galactic Empire, the holiday was celebrated as a way to remain in touch with their history. Outside of the traditional Wookiee holiday, the term "life day" or "lifeday" was sometimes used to describe the anniversary of one's birth.

History
The origins of Life Day lay in the culture of the Wookiees, sentient mammals who hailed from the arboreal world of Kashyyyk, with evidence that Wookiees celebrated the holiday by beating tree drums as early as 1,500,000 BBY. The Tree of Life was the birthplace of Wookiee culture, and it served as a central gathering place for the holiday. For many generations, Life Day was celebrated every three local years, but as the joyous holiday spread throughout the galaxy, many species and cultures began holding the celebration once a year.

By the end of the Cold War around 3640 BBY, the tradition of exchanging gifts and decorating homes with festive Life Day flair had already become a mainstream aspect of the holiday. By the time of the Galactic War, holographic Life Day Trees could even be found on the Core World of Coruscant, capital city of the Galactic Republic. To celebrate Life Day, a jolly old man dubbed the "Master of Ceremonies" set up shop on the Republic's Carrick Station, along with an entourage of Life Day Revelers comprising of Humans and Wookiees. While the Republic welcomed the Master and his followers without issue, Imperial Edict GR-1NC4 heavily discouraged citizens of the Sith Empire from participating in Life Day, largely because of certain activities being deemed unbecoming of Imperial citizenry. Regardless, the Master of Ceremonies had somehow obtained an official license to peddle his "holiday cheer" in the Galactic Trade Market sector of the Empire's Vaiken Spacedock in the Outer Rim Territories, an error for which those in licensing had been punished to the fullest extent of Imperial law. Despite this oversight, the sale of Life Day goods was allowed to proceed, however items sold by the Master of Ceremonies remained under review per Section 53-T of Imperial law, and citizens were warned that purchasing such items may constitute an official contraband violation. The edict also noted that the Revelers' presence coincided with the reappearance of the Gray Secant, an ancient Gree starship, over the planet Ilum—which marked the return of the once powerful Gree Enclave to known space. At any rate, the anti-Life Day edict was widely ignored, and some Imperial citizens indulged in a number of tawdry activities, like snowball fights, launching fireworks, and embracing other Wookiees in celebration.

Thousands of years later, during the time of Clone Wars, Life Day was celebrated at the main Jedi Temple on Coruscant. The hallowed halls of the temple were decorated with garlands and colored Life Day orbs hanging from the ceiling, along with a small wroshyr tree surrounded by gift boxes in the temple's main hall. Service droids, including the R2-series astromech droids P3-NUT and 6R-0WL, and the R5-series astromech droid BR-RR, bore festive paintings. Some clone troopers donned fancy armors, such as nutcracker armor and Life Day clone trooper armor. Even the Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi was known to wear festive clothing during the holiday. While the Republic was quite fond of Life Day, the opposing Confederacy of Independent Systems were not, as evidenced by their offensive attack on a settlement on the icy planet of Orto Plutonia that celebrated the occasion. Like the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, the Orto Plutonian settlement was decorated with garlands and Life Day orbs. A number of wroshyr trees had also been placed throughout the settlement, surrounded by numerous gift boxes. The Pantorans, hoping to mend their past rifts with the native Talz, sought to deliver these gifts to them as a token of goodwill. The infamous Separatist Droid Army Supreme Commander, General Grievous, schemed to put a stop to this by sending his battle droids to attack the settlement and steal all the presents. However, under the leadership of Clone Commander Cody and a Jedi General, the Grand Army of the Republic and the Jedi Order stood poised to drive Grievous and the other Separatists off. Shortly after Grievous landed on Orto Plutonia aboard his Belbullab-22 starfighter, the Soulless One, a large droid army consisting of B1 battle droids, B2 super battle droids, DSD1 dwarf spider droids, Armored Assault Tanks, NR-N99 Persuader-class droid enforcers, and Single Trooper Aerial Platforms invaded the settlement. Despite a relentless onslaught of five waves of battle droids, which included even General Grievous himself, the assortment of defensive fixtures constructed throughout the settlement managed to pick away at the attackers. In the end, when Grievous realized all was lost, he called for a retreat, and hastily ran away from the battlefield.

By the time of the Galactic Civil War, Life Day had become increasingly important to the Wookiees since the Galactic Empire had enslaved many of their kind. One particular Life Day holiday was celebrated around 3 BBY, while other various festivities were carried out between 0 BBY and 3 ABY, including one noteworthy celebration halfway through the year 1 ABY, in which the Rebel Alliance hero Han Solo attempted to bring his Wookiee companion Chewbacca home to Kashyyyk in time to see his family. Despite being forced to evade an Imperial blockade of Kashyyyk, Han successfully brought Chewie to his home in Rwookrrorro. They also made it in time to partake in the Tree of Life ceremony, as did Luke Skywalker and his two droids, R2-D2 and C-3PO. Princess Leia Organa was also there to sing "A Day to Celebrate," a celebratory Life Day hymn. The ceremony also saw the inclusion of many other Wookiees, all of whom wore ceremonial Life Day robes. This was not the only time Han Solo and Chewbacca traveled to Kashyyyk for Life Day. During a subsequent holiday, the duo arrived to the planet along with R2-D2 and C-3PO, only to discover that the Wookiee elder had cancelled the event due to a lack of Orga root. Chewbacca, angered by this decision, attacked the elder. Han Solo defused the situation by agreeing to travel to Kashyyyk's lower levels to search for the root. Journeying with Chewbacca and the droids, the group managed to acquire the root, after witnessing the plants killing a group of Imperials. An Imperial scientist named Gyla Petro was spared, however, and she joined the group during the Tree of Life ceremony. During the days leading up to one particular Life Day, a scurrilous smuggler by the name of "Shady" Pers stole all of the Orga root on Kashyyyk. In order to save the holiday, a Wookiee by the name of Tebeurra traveled off-world to find help. Accompanied by a protocol droid, and donning a long, red Life Day robe, Tebuerra talked with various people at the local spaceport. Curiosity got the better of one spacer, who approached Tebeurra to see what she was looking for. Communicating in native Shyriiwook through the translation capabilities of her protocol droid, Tebeurra explained to the spacer that the stolen Orga root needed to be recovered from "Shady" Pers before the Life Day holiday could commence. She furthermore explained the importance of Orga root, as eating the root helped them complete the spiritual passage to the Tree of Life. The spacer dismissed the details, but agreed to help the distressed Wookiee. Just a few days later, the spacer monitored the warehouse where "Shady" Pers stored all his shipments. Breaking into a rear entrance, the spacer hoped to sneak in and recover all the boxes one at a time. Before they could grab the first crate, the spacer heard the metallic voice of a battle droid sounding an intruder alert. The droid began firing its blaster at the spacer, ruining their infiltration plans. As the spacer began to defend themselves, a loud voice rang throughout the facility. It was "Shady" Pers, announcing over the loudspeaker that the spacer would never be able to get past his guard droids. He urged the individual to surrender, but the spacer knew that was not a viable option. The only option was was to defeat his droid guards, and rescue the Orga root through sheer force. Each crate was guarded by one droid, forcing the spacer to defeat them all in order to recover the plants. The spacer ultimately succeeded in doing so, thus allowing the Life Day festivities to carry out unfettered.

Also following the Battle of Yavin, a member of Tebeurra's family named Kkatamik traveled to Vreni Island on Corellia, Varykino on Naboo, and Anchorhead on Tatooine to help spread word of the holiday. Kkatamik sought to encourage travelers to visit his family so that they could learn more about Life Day. Aside from Tebeurra, Kkatamik's family also included the likes of Oraalarri the Elder, Anarra, and Radrrl. The family was often forced to move around in order to escape persecution from the Empire. Regardless, during the Life Day festivities of that year, Kkatamik's family welcomed all individuals, regardless of their political beliefs. For Life Day, Oraalarri the Elder and his family of Wookiees traveled to the Forest Moon of Endor, Yavin 4, and Dathomir. On each of those worlds, they set up camp, and prepared to receive a number of Life Day pilgrims referred to them by Kkatamik, including even those loyal to the Empire. Although they were wary of Imperials, and urged them to reconsider their allegiance, they still welcomed the opportunity to teach them about their sacred holiday traditions. The family also offered a number of gifts, including Life Day orbs and paintings, such as those depicting Kashyyyk, a matriarch, and a patriarch. The family also offered red Life Day robes to their fellow Wookiee cousinsDuring the 411th day of his imprisonment at the Imperial Correctional Facility on Kessel, the Wookiee Gyylghrard helped a work gang of young Wookiees organize a secret Life Day celebration. They all agreed on the mid-day meal break as the safest and most logical time to hold the celebration, during which time prisoners went in shifts to eat food wafers in the dim blue light of the meal hall. With the help of a Jawa trustee who oversaw food storage, "Big Gyyl," as he was called by the children, found certain supplies. The quiet celebration began as soon as the slaves had settled in to eat. Lacking traditional Wookiee cuisine, they had to make do with the slave's food stores, which included a ration packet containing rehydrated Corellian ryshcate cake. Tucked beneath each piece of sweetbread was also a small candle and a simple, one-use sparkstick. After devouring their cakes, the lead female of the Wookiee gang softly growled the melody to the traditional hymn "A Day to Celebrate." The others soon joined in, and at the end of the song, the children would ignite their candles and let them burn for a single minute. The group begun the second iteration of the chorus, and on the word "dream," hundreds of sparksticks snapped in unison. This seemingly harmless act overloaded their electronic shackles, causing hundreds of chains to clank to the floor. In unison, the young slaves went berserk, and the rest joined in after a few seconds. To suppress the situation, the mess hall's compliment of ten stormtroopers leveled their blasters at the kids. In the end, the mob of young prisoners attempted to escape, and fought all the way to the launch bay before stormtroopers reportedly brought them down in a hail of recharged blaster fire. Warden Commander Dewt Kluskine had ordered the stormtroopers to shoot to kill. Gyylghrard, left injured during the Life Day massacre, vowed revenge for the warden's murderous act.

Despite being under Imperial occupation, the major Kashyyykian city of Kachirho hosted at least one major Life Day celebration following the Battle of Yavin. This celebration was held concurrently to other festivities in Theed and Coronet, capital cities of Naboo and Corellia respectively. Under the watchful eye of the Empire, Wookiee elders had also granted Queen Kylantha and the city of Theed a Tree of Life as a gesture of goodwill. The time-honored wroshyr trees could also be found in Kachirho and Coronet. Under the branches of these trees, the Bith Figrin D'an and his band the Modal Nodes played music. Figrin D'an and his band made it a regular tradition to go on tour during the Life Day festivities held during the Galactic Civil War. Later on, Doaba Guerfel played host to Life Day, as did Dearic on the Double World of Talus, and the town of Wayfar on Tatooine. At each of these cities, the band played their distinctive brand of festive music under the festively decorated wroshyr trees set up for the occasion. The Human Saun Dann had a jovial spirit for the holiday, and aside from having looked over Chewbacca's family during the Life Day festivities of 1 ABY, he also participated in the festivities held at the three aforementioned cities. As a trader who sold goods back at his trading post on Kashyyyk, Saun Dann used Life Day as an opportunity to sell his festive wares in other parts of the galaxy, including soothing mugs of Hoth chocolate, Wookiee-ookiees, and holiday firework packages. Saun Dann had also ordered two cases of Life Day candy from the Naboo city of Keren to give to poor children. To his dismay, however, his shipment became delayed, and he worried something may have happened to it.

To learn more, Saun Dann sent a spacer to meet with the Keren Shipping Master on Naboo. After an extensive investigation, which led to the Jawa Mountain Fortress on Tatooine, and then the nearby city of Mos Espa, it was discovered that a slovenly Imperial stormtrooper named TK-555 stole the candy. The spacer confronted the stormtrooper in the Mos Espa cantina, and although he was apologetic, and reluctantly agreed to donate 10,000 credits to the Mos Espa orphanage as reparations, the candy had already been eaten. Because the spacer threatened to report him to his superiors, the stormtrooper convinced a local Toydarian junk dealer by the name of Watto to sell a discounted Single Troop Aerial Platform to the spacer in exchange for their silence. In light of this situation, Dann looked for another gift to provide to the children out of his own supplies. Unfortunately for Dann, this would not be his last time as a victim of theft. During at least one other subsequent Life Day celebration, another shipment of the candy ended up falling into the hands of the same gluttonous stormtrooper.

By now, the Rebel Alliance had embraced Life Day as an opportunity to promote anti-Imperial sentiment through the use of propaganda. Under the direction of Wookiee freedom fighter Oolovv, Rebel supporters were tasked with the responsibility of decorating trees throughout the cities of Dearic, Doaba Guerfel, and Wayfar as a visible show of support to the local populaces. The Rebels also took it upon themselves to provide piles of gifts to the poor. Imperial spies, suspicious of this Rebel initiative, concluded that their efforts were actually a cover to smuggle weapons and Rebel propaganda in the gift boxes. In light of this questionable intelligence, the Trandoshan trader Sstrigge, working at the behest of the Empire, recruited loyal citizens to smash piles of presents spread throughout the streets of these three cities. Sstrigge encouraged the more zealous citizens to show off their allegiance to the Empire whilst destroying the alleged contraband. Confrontations between the Rebel merrymakers and Imperial saboteurs at times escalated into acts of public violence. However, the festivities at the three main target cities continued unfazed.

Emperor Palpatine, leader of the Empire, refused to acknowledge the efforts made by the Rebel Alliance during Life Day. And while Hol't Deb Orah of the Corellian Times could not reach him for comment, Palpatine's publicist revealed that the Emperor harbored disgust for the holiday, which he considered "humbug."

Traditions
In its deepest meaning, Life Day was a celebration of Kashyyyk's diverse ecosystem and the many forms of life it encompassed. It was also a time to remember family members who had died, and the young ones who continued to bring new life to a family. Wookiees greatly valued morality, courage, compassion and loyalty. A sacred and ancient Wookiee tradition was that of the honor family, which comprised of a Wookiee's closest friends and companions. These family members pledged a commitment to lay down their lives for one another, a concept known as a life debt. These extended Wookiee families would customarily gather to celebrate a day of joy and harmony, as promised by the Tree of Life. Wookiees would often brave adverse conditions to make it home for the holiday, as it was an important time for family bonding and thankfulness. However, it was at times impossible or impractical for Wookiees to make the journey home. Despite being traditionally celebrated on Kashyyyk, and usually at the Tree of Life, the enslavement of Wookiees under the reign of the Galactic Empire oftentimes forced the species to hold their holiday wherever they were. Life Day orbs, a Wookiee artifact, were a traditional symbol carried by Wookiees during the Life Day celebrations. The glass-like, shining orbs constituted one of the holiday's most ancient of traditions, as evidenced by its portrayal in a painting titled Ancient Life Day, in which it was seen being carried like a lantern. The orbs typically contained a field of stars representing the afterlife. The beings of Kashyyyk believed that when when they died, they would walk off into the stars. The globes had a variety of uses during Life Day festivities; small ones were colored and attached to the branches of ornamented trees, others were kept as memorabilia. Most importantly, Wookiee households displayed such orbs on their tables and gathered around them before joining a silent prayer ceremony. Over time, the tradition of putting up colorful decorations, like Life Day orbs, ornaments, buntings, and wreaths, had spread to other parts of the galaxy. For many generations, Life Day was celebrated every three local years, but as the holiday became more popular, other cultures began holding the celebration once a year. Despite its name, Life Day festivities could be celebrated over the course of several days. During the Galactic War, festivities were conducted over the course of approximately two weeks, whereas during the Galactic Civil War, festivities could be conducted over the course of at least a couple days.

Another ancient tradition was that of the Life Day robe, red garments worn during the ceremonies. Although they were only intended to be worn by Wookiees, the robes were at times adopted by by other species. However, Life Day robes were not the only type of clothing worn during the celebrations. Life Day Jackets and Holiday Jackets were warm, festive jackets worn in celebration of the holiday. Kashyyyk Elite Hunter Bandoliers were also available during Life Day, a type of bandolier usually worn by the most prominent Wookiee hunters of Kashyyyk. During the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi wore a distinctive white and red robe, black boots, white gloves, and a large black belt with a brass-colored buckle. Complimenting his look was a drooping, festive hat, white and red in color, and conical in appearance. Obi-Wan's choice of festive clothing was available to other Republic citizens during the holiday. Even clone troopers wore celebratory suits of armor during the holiday, such as the colorful Nutcracker Clone Troopers and brightly lit Life Day Clone Troopers. Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes donned festive wear during Life Day, including long red holiday jackets, and Wookiee Life Day vendors wore red and white chef's aprons. Wookiee Life Day Necklaces were a type of necklace worn in honor of the holiday. On the other hand, astromech droids, protocol droids and MSE-series droids could also be donned with an overlay of festive lights. Mouse droids could also be affixed with a wind-key and tail, to give it the appearance of a toy mouse.