After Machu Picchu celebrated its spring festival in late March (including the complicated but fascinating “virtual” ball game, Potatok, now playing regularly), Babylon weighed in April 4-6 with its Akitu Festival, a variation on the 12-day rites celebrated in ancient Babylon. Somewhere in between the rebirth of nature and New Year’s, Akitu had a “bladder” theme this year . . . inflated, they kept swimmers afloat, were dribbled in basketball-like contests, and popped up all over the place! Between festival games of Bladder-ball (throw the inflated bladder through the hoop!) and a Euphrates swimming race using inflatable bladders as life preservers, the drunken bobbing for apples-in-the-Kash-bowl, and Apiladay’s wrestling competition, the Babylonians and the tourists came out in force. A good time was had by all!

Less than a week later, from April 12-17, Egypt celebrated its Festival of Heru with multiple events at the Kemetan Festival Hall. Some highlights of the Festival’s multiple events: the Nile Barge Race, the remarkable Egyptian maze, and the performance of a solemn play celebrating the festival called Ten Harpooons: The Triumph of Horus which was a sight to behold!

Right after Egypt came Germania, celebrating its Ostara Festival from April 19-21. Activities included a sitewide Easter Egg hunt, a Fire and Feast, and the Hilarious Hare Hunt(both eggs and bunnies being Pre-Christian symbols of this celebration of reborn spring).

By this time, there were definite signs of party-exhaustion among AncientWorlds habitués. But right behind Ostara came Rome’s Floralia, with mirth, song, an unbelievable amount of Falernian, and a hundred tons of floral bouquets. From April 28-30, Rome celebrated spring with a scavenger hunt, gourmet picnics aboard the Palatine Hill, nightly Chariot Racing (with race announcer Edwinus Aelius providing genuine thrills and chills), a Latin Trivia Contest and the finale Satyre Play, 753 AUC or, Jot’s Dream, a send-up of the history of Rome and/or AncientWorlds.

Celtia celebrated the world-famous festival of Beltane from May 1-3. Held at the Feis of Celtia thread, there were contests for Bardic storytelling and satire, and the celebration of jumping across the Beltane fires, ensuring good luck and fruitfulness for the coming year. As Beltane often results in the sacrificial death of a Royal Personage, it was tactfully decided to offer the honors of King and Queen of the May to foreigners JoJo Nebuchadnezzer and Heraklia Aelius (NOTE: NOTHING WAS SAID at investiture about sacrifices!!). However, all reigned peacefully in the Court of the King and Queen of May, as a sacrificial alternate was thought up by Cearas Cumhaill at the last moment! Of the many people who participated in all the city spring fests to date, special thanks are due to each city’s scribes, who enthusiastically organized and publicized all events, and the cheering participants who helped make them such fun. And they aren’t over yet!! On May 19-20, Athens celebrates Benedideia, a spring festival invoking the goodwill of the goddess Bendis, concluding with a no-holds-barred torchlight horse race deep into the Athenian dark! Stay tuned for the final event of Springfest ’03!! P.S. On a personal note, this reporter says to Celtia: I’m not through with the handsome Celt yet, Aifa, and to Cornellia, thanks for the bottomless wine cellar!

On April 28th thru April 30th, Ancient Worlds celebrated the ancient festival of Floralia, our nod to the Rite of Spring. All the events and ongoing meetings and greetings took place on the Floralia thread of the Subura board.

Wondrously beautiful Floralia decorations abounded in domuses, (even oikoi!) and on the boards. Our talented populace more than lived up to its reputation!. The graphics were, and are, simply breathtaking! Take a look at this page to see the graphics that were supplied by the wonderful artists around here!

For all Floralians ( or would-be Floralians), it's highly beneficial to read, Senex Caecilius's lovely introduction to the festival. It isn't mandatory for you to take Senex's Floralia quiz, but when is fun ever mandatory? Also take a look at a picture of Flora, posted by Publius Tertius.

We began on the 28th, with our opening ceremonies. Our Pontifex Maximus, Maximius Flavius posted, along with our beloved Flamen Floralis, Josephia Flavius, and Pontifex, Proserpina Curius. This was followed by the Scavenger Hunt that started at noon and ended at midnight!

This hunt took us through the homes of various citizens, as we scrambled to decipher the ‘hints’ there. Congratulations to the Winner, Vanilla Flavius, and the other Heros of the Scavenger Hunt! Our outstanding Vigiles (Roman welcomers) were in charge of this hunt, and they did a fabulous job.

The wonderful races, organized by Edwinus Aelius, took place on the topic at 8 pm on every festival day.

The 29th saw the beginning of the Latin Trivia Contest at 8 am, as the Floralia Breakfast was going on. The Trivia questions were supplied by the Praceptor of Schola Linguae Latinae, the terrific Tanaquil Sergius. Congratulations to the Winner, Aulus Sergius, and the others who participated with great success! Themes for the day were post, meet, greet, old friends, new friends, and FUN - and so we decided to arrange Scavenger Hunt II, as the first one was such a success! Congratulations to the Winner of the second hunt, Germania's own Yngvildr Scylding, as well as those who received honourable mention!

The winners of the Scavenger Hunts and Latin Trivia Contest were announced at the day-long Great Banquet on the 30th - the Banquet continued the early breakfast on the Caelian hill that day! The most intriguing event was the satirical Satyre, at the Theatre of Marcellus, on the History of Rome - and the History of AncientSites/AncientWorlds. This began right after the races were finished, at around 9 PM AW time Wednesday night. The Satyre was a fabulous finish to a fabulous Floralia!

"The Festival of Heru celebrates the defeat of Set by Horus, who cuts the former into pieces, in the aftermath of Set's dismemberment of Wesir (Osiris)." ~Onions Hatshepsut

Seven new topics were created for the festival, reflecting a good balance of historically accurate coverage (down to the day) and fun, interactive games for all.

The first contest, the Nile Barge Race, was held Saturday April 12. Boats of every size and shape lined up at Bubastis to navigate the river through dangerous cataracts, finally ending their treacherous journey at the fertile Nile Delta. Nile Barge Race Convener Mesedsure Ahhotep coordinated the event. Awards were provided by artiste extraordinaire Hapshetsut Nebet. Those who risked life and limb on the Hap that day were: Toman Thutmose, Onions Hapshetsut, ItaliAmun Ramesses, Mesedure Ahhotep, Hapshetsut Nebet, KismetNefertari Ramesses, Bentanath Ramesses, Kinsella Thutmose, Bunny Beag, Dfer Atrebas, and Darlius Romulus, with Toman Thutmose taking 1st Place.

The next event on the agenda was Ye Old Fishing Hole Contest, organized by Scribe Onions Hatshepsut. Those who spent the lazy, hazy and crazy morning of Sunday April 13, reeling in everything from ancient sandals to each other were: Marduk Hammurabi, Toman Thutmose, Yngvildr Scylding, Onions Hatshepsut, Hapshetsut Nebet, Miw Meritamen, and LinaPaulina Flaminius, with Danish Dynamite Yngvildr Scylding hauling in 1st Prize for her catch of the day.

On Monday, April 14, Hapshetsut Nebet set out to test our gray matter with her incomparable Aegyptian Trivia Contest. She had gleaned well over twenty questions from scholars of every corner of Ancient Worlds. In cyber-weather that was the equivalent of a hurricane/earthquake combo, people came from far and wide to test their knowledge. Even in the face of cyber-annihilation, Hap's trivia proved to be our most prolifically posted event. However, in the end, the weather won out. Alas, this was also the historically accurate anniversary of the Titanic striking the iceberg! Over a hundred and some-odd posts were lost, but those who weathered the storm remember the voyage, and truly enjoyed themselves. So... of all those who attended, who came out on top? Who had the most gray matter synapses? None other than the ethereal Heraklia Aelius !

During the festivities, an Offering Contest was held, at which members made ritual offerings to Heru. Judges were Bithiah Nebet and Neima Nebet. Lovely prizes designed by Bithiah were awarded to Selket Hedetet Isetnofret, Senenmut Hatshepsut and KismetNefertari Ramesses. Additional contributions were made by Cornellia Cornelius, Hapshetsut Nebet, Neima Nebet and Sitptah Mentuhotep,

Throughout weekend, an historically accurate play entitled The Ten Harpoons (Triumph of Horus) was held at the Temple of Edfu Playhouse. The production, written and directed by AzureEyes and Oset Ramesses, details actual historical events celebrated thousands of years ago, on that very site, as shown on a series of vignettes that decorate the temple walls.

" (It was) built upon the very battlefield where Horus fought his enemy, Set. Each year, we gather here to perform a ritual drama called 'The Ten Harpoons'. We reenact the ancient battle to commemorate our Lord's triumph over evil, thus ensuring the strength and stability of King and Kingdom for another year... It has taken more than two hundred years and six generations of Ptolemies to complete this temple. Some say that in the most ancient times, prehistoric people constructed a lone grass hut here to commemorate the legendary battle. But the oldest sections that remain today, as we see them, were begun in 237 BC by Ptolemy III Euergetes I. " ~ Oset Ramesses

Those on the list of dramatis personae were: Oset Ramesses, AnpuAnubis Ramesses, AzureEyes Ramesses, KhnumKhufu Mentuhotep, Zeina Amenhotep, Khnum Mentuhotep, ReAzure Ramesses, Sahirnee Amenhotep, Elaan Thutmose, NoiRe Nebet, and JudyCollins Horemheb, with the entire audience playing along at certain parts, as was done in ancient times. As was mentioned previously, the cyber-weather was rough indeed, so the second act of the play was rained out. By the time our playhouse dried out, it was already time for the amazing maze, and on to other city Springfests. Because of this, Oset decided to wait until all festivals have ended, and at that point, resume the final act of Ten Harpoons. In the meantime, we would like to thank our captive audience members Neima Nebet, Avram Sithathor, Isityuyet Isetnofret, Heraklia Aelius, Maharet Amenemheb, PoneyMaloneyPtolemy Ramesses, Nilaja Amenhotep, Azuria Servilius, Mesedsure Ahhotep, Cornellia Cornelius, Onions Hatshepsut, Xaxxim ApilSin, PollyH Ramesses, Leah Enkidu, Ahhotep Thutmose, Josephia Flavius, KismetNefertari Ramesses, Bentanath Ramesses, Astrid Tyrsdottir, Louisa Agis, Sepatsirius Sobkneferu and everyone else for cheering us on.

Egypt's Festival of Heru drew to a close with an amazing race through Onions Hatshepsut's infamous maze, held at the Springfest Viewing Stands. The hilarious hijinks of the challengers are a must read. Just like Onions' Gold Launch maze, some folks went in... and never came back out. But in the end, after 46 minutes spent in total lunacy, the victor was Tobius Tullius!

Quotable quote: "Yes Tob, Cream the smelly ..."

Gossip anyone? Peacefully , Blissfully , Puffing my Cigar-O , Well Drat , Gee Oset

And if you so dare, the maze is still there. Caveat: Enter At Own Risk!

May 1-3 was scheduled for Celtia’s celebration of the high feast of Beltane. Beltane was one of four high festivals that were celebrated at pivotal points of the year. For the Celts Beltane signaled the start of the new year and the end of winter. It was when the sun came back to the earth and gave it life. With a successful Beltane the Celts could look forward to good harvest and healthy livestock.

The festival started on time when all the fires of Celtia were extinguished at midnight. Throughout the dark night MacMorna Niafer entertained those waiting with the mournful sounds of a harp. Exactly twelve hours later the fire was relit and the flames were sent not only through the clans and tribes of Celtia but throughout AW itself. Runners came from as far away as Babylon, Egypt, Machu Picchu and Rome to bring the sacred flame to their cities.

Noon on May 1 was also the start of the Bardic competitions. There were two categories, satire and comedic stories. The competitions were open until May 3. The winners of the Satire contest were: 1st place – Beorn Beag, 2nd place – Fenian Niafer, 3rd place- Cathbran Niall. The winners of the Story contest were: 1st place Sceolan Cumhail -, 2nd place – Darlius Romulus, 3rd place – MacMorna Niafer. Congratulations to the winners of both contests. All the entries were excellent and the judges had a difficult time choosing between them.

One of the most popular threads was the fire jumping contest. Jumping the Bel fire is thought to bring fertility to whoever makes it. This particular fire was very high and extremely hot. No one is sure if Chimene Callicrates made or was burned in the fire. One of the more interesting sites was a certain Bunny Beag who managed to clear the fire but then ended up in a tree. This same Bunny was earlier seen to light a torch and set the hill on fire as she left on her way to bring fire to her clan. Later, a flaming badger was found on the hill but there’s no proof that the aforementioned Bunny was involved. An attempt was made to put out the bonfire by the Celtic Fire Brigade with disastrous results from which the city is still recovering.

As tradition dictates, a King and Queen of May were chosen to rule over us duing our festival. This year the honored duo were jojo Nebuchadnezzar and Heraklia Aelius. Normally the king, after being wined and dined, was sacrificed to the Celtic goods. Naturally none of the Celts wished to have that honored which might have been why foreign dignitaries were given the honor. A twist was added to this years festivities when it was decided to sacrifice the queen instead of the king. This brought a great deal of uproar from the king as well as a bit of fainting from the queen. Eventually a compromise was worked out by the festival’s brehon, Cearas Cumhail. Instead of sacrificing the queen herself, it was her honor that was sacrificed instead….three times. When the queen got a look at the hunky Celtic guard who would give his all for the sacrifice she jumped at the chance. Would someone please tell Heraklia to send the guard back to Celtia.

People seem to have had such a good time that the festival went on for another day. The people of Celtia set out to throw a party for the people of AW and we are pleased that so many attended.

After the long months of darkness, of winter holding the lands in his grip with frost and snow, spring is very much welcomed by the inhabitants of Germania. Sometimes you can already get an inkling of the upcoming season in late February when the sun may get strong all of a sudden, snow melting, a warm wind blowing from the South - your body feels light and it seems your blood is rushing quicker through your vains… only to be followed by more frost, fierce gales, sleet and slush when you thought you were done with the cold. But by late March winter is definitely on retreat and in April, it is not only an inkling but it is definite. Spring has won.

Our Germanic ancestors used to call the month of April Eostremonath respectively Ostarmanot. Both names go back to the goddess Ostara (Eostre) and so Ostara was the obiouvs choice as patron for our Germanic Springfest. Not much is known about her, but she is associated with fertility and the renewal of nature, her symbols are the hare and the egg (still forming an essential part of today's Easter customs), and the tradition of lightning Easter fires on the top of hills and mountains is also said to go back to her worship. So we incorporated these symbols into our Ostara Festvial, which took place over Easter. Already before the beginning of the festival the Spirit of Spring Contest was open for entries, and amongst the many contributions AW members chose Heraklia Aelius' entry "Roman Spring" – a painting by L. Alma-Tadema as the one who best depicted the spirit of spring that gave the competition its title. Which proves that you do not have to be Germanic to feel this very spirit! As we badly needed food to feed all the visitors to Germania during the festival, the first event was the Hilarious Hare Hunt, where all attendees had tremendous fun with their various attempts at shooting hares. Aphrodite Theocritos brought down the beast, which turned out to be none other than our dear scribe Thiudareiks Gunthigg who had put on an Easter Bunny suit for the occasion. He changed outfits for the Delectable Debate on the topic " The White Christ – Good or Bad Thing" which he hosted on Easter Sunday night in the chatroom. All day of Easter Sunday saw the sitewite Easter Egg Hunt, and the number of participants hiding Easter eggs (all of them designed for this purpose by Ancient Worlds members) all over their homesites exceeded the expectations of the organizers by far. The indefatigable Barbara Tullius won this hunt, collecting egg after egg after egg... Thanks again to all who made this event such a great success! Throughout the Festival the Easter Bazaar was open as a place for gathering, socializing and of course, also for food, especially for Hot Cross Buns that were consumed in astonishing numbers over the weekend. Speaking of food, our Germanic chef Amalasuntha Ostrogoth deserves special mentioning for her excellent catering for the Easter Feast.

A month has passed since this great event and things in Germania have gotten back to normal, which means trivia questions are being asked and answered and the Red Boar, Germania's central social venue, continues to see drinking, flirting, huge Vikings drawing swords and the odd visit of an angry Valkyrie. Also the Boar's old bath house has been restored and visitors are always welcome to sweat away in the hot steam as a special treat. At the time being, the patrons are finally getting ready for the sacrifice they promised to the Gods after the victory against the Vandal attackers.

And then there were groups… Our focus in this issue is on the two newest groups in Germania – the latest addition is Valinor, a group dedicated to the works of J.R.R. Tolkien (and the movies inspired by them) founded by Theodoric Ostrogoth who states: "In this group we mean to exchange knowledge, discuss facts, review all the 'nerdy' aspects of the books and the movies. We plan to scour everything, from the importance of Galadriel's gift of three hairs to Glimli, to what kind of material Weta workshop used to keep the swords wooden from breaking in the gigantic battle of Helms Deep." As a special service, Theodoric provides a newsletter for group members, containing information on and excerpts from Tolkien's works plus beautiful illustrations.

Germania's roleplay / interactive storywriting group was already introduced in the last AD when it was brandnew. In the meantime, due to the efforts of its dedicated leader Maria Marius, The Rood and the Raven has come off the ground extremely well. Maria was so kind as to sum up the current ongoings for the Acta's readership:

In "The Saga" at The Rood and Raven, King Alfred of Wessex is bent on consolidating the recent gains he made by driving the Danes out of London. To this end he has invited Guthrum, King of the Danes, to meet with him in Winchester to enter into a formal treaty. Guthrum has plans of his own and intends to ask for one of Alfred's precious daughters as a bride for his grandson, Ragnar. Doubtless this will be met with resistance. Current feeling is that Ragnar may very well be an apostate, perhaps even a heretic. Certainly there is deep suspicion that he is the man who has been raiding the Flemish coast under the Raven banner…
The Danes continue migrating to the areas of Britain surrounding the former Roman settlement of Eboracum and have taken control of what was once East Anglia. The displaced Seaxa are heading toward Wessex with some interesting encounters along the way. Alfred's thanes must scour the countryside clean and eject all Danes from the vicinity of London. This has proven easier said than done for Thane Cuthbert Arnhand who has encountered a particularly truculent, but very beautiful, Danish widow…
King Alfred's natural daughter has fallen in love with one of her father's thanes. This is both foolish and dangerous, and may end with her imprisonment in a convent if she is not careful. The thane faces a different kind of punishment… for the virginal young Christian princess Elstred watches all with a jealous eye.
Judith Countess of Flanders schemes to secure a marital alliance for her son, Baldwin, while the invading Danes are doing their best to strip the County of everything of value…
And over all… the Roman church vies for power and the control of the hearts of men against a resurgent heathenism and Celtic heretics who want only to practice their own religion in peace.
In the informal doings at the Schildhof, the fyrd's face-off with the Danish invaders has been interrupted before blows could be exchanged by the introduction of strong and alluring drink, the distraction offered by buxom barmaids and the timely arrival of an unfortunate young woman who seeks the man responsible for leaving her with a fatherless child…

Thanks to all of you who read this somewhat lengthy article until the end… as you see, Germania has much to offer – you are most welcome to pay a visit to the Northern lands which are especially beautiful at this time of the year with the trees in full bloom and fresh green to be found everywhere. You won't regret it!

SPRINGFEST 2003
by Heraklia Aelius

ROME: FLORALIA
by Maia Nestor

EGYPT: THE FESTIVAL OF HERU
by AzureEyes Ramesses

BABYLON: AKITU
by Leah Enkidu

CELTIA: BELTANE
by Aifa Niafer

GERMANIA: OSTARA AND AFTER
by Yngvildr Scylding

MACHU PICCHU: FEATURED CITIZEN
by ChanChan Tupac and Mangas Cochise

Athens SpringFestival, the Benedideia, is being (re)started today, May 19th, at 1 pm by an altar dedication and a sacrifice. Torchrace and a Bacchalian fest are in the evening's program, starting at 9 pm! See the Benedideia page for more information and details about the schedule. Don't miss the last SpingFest of 2003!

Graphic artists of the Ancient Worlds - Germania needs YOU!!! Unlike all the other cities, Germania so far has no default graphics for its homesites – those standard pictures illustrating the diverse rooms of the members' homes. Instead if you create a Germanic persona, what you get is Roman graphics! Unlike in history, the relation between Rome and Germania is really good here at Ancient Worlds, but still this is something that really needs to be changed. So what could be better than asking all those wonderful creative artists around here for help!
What is needed are perspective graphics for the Entrance, Courtyard, Library and Study and a background. You are free to enter what you wish (as long as your approach is historical) and you can use whatever software suits you most.

The competition is already ongoing and will end on Sunday 8 June midnight EST. Then the jury, consisting of our reverred goddesses Cornellia Cornelius and Heraklia Aelius as well as an assortment of dedicated Germanics will get together and decide on the winners.
Please post your entries and look out for more information at the according thread at the Germania Groove board.