Life Day/Legends

"This holiday is yours, but we all share with you the hope that this day brings us closer to freedom, and to harmony, and to peace. No matter how different we appear, we're all the same in our struggle against the powers of evil and darkness. I hope that this day will always be a day of joy in which we can reconfirm our dedication and our courage. And more than anything else, our love for one another. This is the promise of the Tree of Life."

- Princess Leia Organa

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 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 became 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.

Ancient 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. 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.

During the Cold War
"This disgraceful menace of a 'holiday,' during which time you are expected to comply fully with this edict, will last approximately two weeks on the Galactic Standard Calendar."

- Extract from the Imperial Edict GR-1NC4

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 that time, 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. 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&mdash;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.

During the Clone Wars
"Well done, General! I think we have won! Now we can return to the parties and fun!"

- Commander Cody, to a Jedi General, after defeating General Grievious on Life Day

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 patrolling the premises also 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 tree 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.

During the Galactic Civil War
"Bah, humbug!"

- Emperor Palpatine on Life Day

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 around 1.5 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 and Chewie successfully 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.

At some point following the Battle of Yavin in 0 BBY, a Wookiee named Kkatamik traveled to Vreni Island on Corellia, Varykino on Naboo, and Anchorhead on Tatooine to help spread word of the holiday. Kkatamik met with a number of spacers, and encouraged them to visit his family so that they could learn more about Life Day. Kkatamik's family, which included the likes of Oraalarri the Elder, Anarra, Radrrl and Tebeurra, were 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 received 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 imparted to the pilgrims 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 cousins.

During 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," also known as the "Tree of Life." 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 musical carols 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 1.5 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. In light of this, 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
"A big part of their Life Day celebration is a spiritual passage to the Life Tree&hellip; where Wookiee culture began! Orga root helps them make the journey!"

- Han Solo, to C-3PO

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 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, had spread to other parts of the galaxy. Another ancient tradition was that of the Life Day robe, red garments worn during the ceremonies. Although they were most commonly worn by Wookiees, the robes were at times adopted by by other species.

Wookiees had a primitive patriarchy with a complicated lineage structure, initiation rites, and a religion that rejected materialism. However, as the holiday spread throughout the galaxy to other species and cultures, the holiday took on a greater focus on consumerism, which included the purchase and exchange of gifts. By the end of the Cold War, the so-called Master of Ceremonies would bestow extravagant vehicles and other goods to citizens in exchange for gift parcels. The mysterious Gree Cyan Sphere was one such speeder. Others had more of a Life Day-themed appearance, like the Sleigh I, a speeder bike which would jingle as it traveled across the ground. The Czerka Corporation had also produced the LD-1 Celebrator, yet another hoverbike which was decked with bright, festive lights. The Podracer-like Vectron J0-1Y and the Snowstorm Assault Speeder were additional festively-themed repulsorcraft vehicles. The latter, sold on the black market, was armed with a cannon capable of firing snowballs. In fact, the act of throwing snowballs at bystanders became something of a popular Life Day tradition itself. Life Day snowball bombs were a specific type of snowball which celebrants would throw at one another. Despite their name, snowball bombs were in fact completely harmless. Life Day snowball cannons were toy weapons which could also be utilized in a similar fashion on unsuspecting targets, covering them with a layer of gleaming snowflakes.

Despite having originated on Kashyyyk, a tropical world, snow and other winter-like elements became a symbolic aspect of the holiday. For instance, the Life Day festivities in Dearic and Doaba Guerfel were conducted during times of considerable snowfall. Despite its hot and arid climate, even the town of Wayfar was subject to snowfall during its Life Day festivities, whether through natural or artificial means. Indeed, slowblowers were a type of machine, which when placed in homes, would blow snow to create a frost-filled Life Day experience. Wall freezer units were similarly used to create winter-like conditions in an abode. Snow makers were also affixed to astromech droids by the time of the Clone Wars, allowing them to emanate a shower of snow as they traveled about. Stalactite and icicle ceiling lights, icicle mounds, and wampa-skin rugs also made for fashionable Life Day decor. Indeed, creatures like wampas and tauntauns became emblematic symbols of the holiday. Despite being used as rugs, wampas and their cubs became cherished pets during Life Day. On the other hand, tauntaun mounts were dressed festively for the occasion, all the way from the end of the Cold War to the days of the Clone Wars. Gathering around the fireplace was evidently another tradition, as Life Day Fireplaces were a fixture available for purchase during the holiday. Indeed, many other pieces of furniture were centered around the holiday, like Life Day Pedestals, potted trees, and snowglobes. Some Life Day snowglobes depicted elements from various worlds, like Umbara, Ossus, Nathema, and Copero. Others contained a variety of different droid ecosamples.

An important part of the celebration consisted of a spiritual passage; by chewing roots of the Orga plant, the Wookiees would journey in spirit form and join the essence of the Tree of Life. According to the legends, that most ancient tree had been the starting point of the Wookiee civilization. Were the Orga roots lacking, the Wookiee Elders were entitled to cancel the holiday.

Beyond its more serious aspects, Life Day was also a day of revelry and merry-making. Such joyous activities included trimming a special tree, launching fireworks, consuming treats like Wookiee-ookiees and Hoth chocolate, and listening to festive music. The exchange of presents was a central ritual and a symbol of love. At night, Wookiee households would gather around their table while holding hands before pausing for a moment of silent prayer.

Citizens also celebrated their life day by eating ice cream.

Music
Singing was another important part of the Life Day customs. Cerca 1 ABY, the famous Bith band Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes gave a special Life Day concert beneath the branches of the Tree of Life. More importantly, Life Day had its emblematic song, known in Basic as "A Day to Celebrate," which put emphasis on peace, harmony and freedom.

Behind the scenes
Wookiee Life Day made its first appearance in the 1978 television film The Star Wars Holiday Special. In the special, Chewbacca's wife, Mallatobuck, prepares a feast of Bantha rump, gifts are exchanged between acquaintances, candles are burned ritualistically, and Wookiees don red robes and join into groups to observe the day. Singing is also involved. The red robes the Wookiees were wearing at the end of the special were to cover up the lack of Wookiee costumes beyond the masks (which were Don Post brand) due to the special by that point going massively over budget.

In the 1979 Russ Manning newspaper comic strip The Kashyyyk Depths, the regular cast of A New Hope once again returned to Kashyyyk for another Life Day celebration.

In the video game Star Wars Galaxies, players are given the opportunity to explore the Wookiee holiday. Its customs are more thoroughly explored, and the player is encouraged to celebrate the holiday around the Human month of December. The creators of the game first officially recognized the holiday as an in-game holiday in December 2003. The official site for Star Wars Galaxies devotes an entire page to explaining this unique feature of the game.Life Day Gifts are given to players, one to keep, and another to give to a friend. In preparation for the game's 2008 Life Day celebrations, some of the developers watched The Star Wars Holiday Special in its entirety, as much of the Life Day content is directly inspired by the special. Songs played during Star Wars Galaxies Life Day events included "Christmas Green," "Here We Come A-Wassailing," "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas," "Joyful and Triumphant," and "Swingalong Santa."

The term was mentioned again in X-Wing: Starfighters of Adumar by Wedge Antilles. In that context, it was not capitalized, and the term seemed to be a "Star Wars-ism" for birthday. It is also used in this capacity in Galaxy of Fear: The Doomsday Ship. (See Bobringi Mafusa.)

Earthly analogue
Life Day most likely was originally intended as a stand-in for the American holiday of Thanksgiving, as The Holiday Special was originally aired on November 17, the Friday before Thanksgiving that year. However, over time the term "holiday special" has caused most fans to misinterpret Life Day as a stand-in for Christmas, leading to games like Star Wars Galaxies and Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron to place Life Day on December 25. This is partly because after the initial U.S. airing in November, The Holiday Special aired in December in other countries, where Thanksgiving is not observed and Christmas is the closest equivalent.

The confusion has reached the point where George Lucas himself has referred to The Star Wars Holiday Special as the "Christmas special,", and many incorrectly remember Life Day as having Star Wars versions of Christmas carols (conflating The Holiday Special with Christmas in the Stars), Christmas decorations, and so on. Such elements have, in fact, been introduced after the special, mostly by Star Wars Galaxies, with wroshyr trees decorated to resemble Christmas trees, and Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes playing tunes to Christmas carols. Perhaps in response to this, stomptokyo.com created a false rumor about a sequel to The Holiday Special specifically designed to be a Christmas special, taking place on the snowy planet Hoth with Darth Tyranus dressed as Santa Claus.

The canonical date for the observance of Life Day has, nevertheless, been established in what sources there are as December 25, or the equivalent thereof in the Wookiee calendar. Whether this means that Life Day actually is intended to be understood as a solstice festival akin to Christmas as opposed to a harvest festival akin to Thanksgiving is unknown. Neither concept seems to hold much relevance on Kashyyyk, which appears to have temperate weather throughout the year (including on the Life Day we see in The Holiday Special) and where agriculture seems to be little practiced.

On a semi-related note, on the Star Wars Galaxies website hosted by Sony, Emperor Palpatine says "Bah, humbug!" with implied disgust for the holiday, a reference to Ebeneezer Scrooge regarding his views on Christmas in Charles Dickens' book A Christmas Carol.

Pop culture references

 * Life Day was mentioned in The Venture Bros. episode "A Very Venture Christmas."
 * In issue #121 of ToyFare magazine, the "Twisted Toyfare Theater" section is devoted exclusively to The Star Wars Holiday Special, with Lumpy questioning Chewbacca about Life Day, and Chewbacca responding that he should look it up on Wookieepedia.
 * The ending of the song "Merry Christmas From Cell Block 2" by Matthew Ebel has his robot companion Proto wishing him a "Happy Life Day." This discrepancy was noticed by Ebel and was quickly corrected to "Merry Christmas."
 * Near the end of the year&mdash;during the holidays&mdash;StarWars.com has often wished its readers a happy Life Day.
 * Life Day was mentioned in The Big Bang Theory episode "The Proton Transmogrification."

Other appearances
In Star Wars Galaxies, there were events from 2004 to 2011 that dealt with Life Day. Life Day–themed paintings were issued each year, with 2004 having the Life Day Kashyyyk, Matriarch, and Patriarch paintings; 2005 having the Memories Past, Pilgrimage, Triumph paintings; 2006 having the Gift giving Wookiees, Kashyyyk at night, Proud Wookiee, Red Robed Wookiee, and Wookiee with pups paintings; 2007 having the Ancient Life Day painting; 2008 having the Family Bonds painting; and 2009 having both a reissuing of Family Bonds and the issuing of the Life Day 2009 Painting.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: The Old Republic
 * Death Troopers
 * Rebel Dawn
 * The Star Wars Holiday Special
 * The Kashyyyk Depths
 * Galaxy of Fear: The Doomsday Ship
 * Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron
 * X-Wing: Starfighters of Adumar
 * The New Jedi Order: Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand
 * X-Wing: Mercy Kill
 * Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron
 * X-Wing: Starfighters of Adumar
 * The New Jedi Order: Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand
 * X-Wing: Mercy Kill
 * X-Wing: Mercy Kill

Non-canon appearances

 * LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace
 * Always count your clones before take-off
 * The Return of Tag & Bink: Special Edition
 * Menace of the Sith
 * Star Wars: Tiny Death Star