Holidays are a time of inspiration. All you have to do is look at Christmas. There have to be hundreds, if not thousands of Christmas related/adjacent/affiliated movies. Everything from A Christmas Carol to Die Hard. So many stories inspired by an otherwise ordinary day of the year.
But what happens when your novel is based in a fictional world? Do you insert Yule into your story and call it a day or do you take the time to read up on some lore and create a holiday all your own? For The Sword and Shield I actually did both. We get to see an Olaestan Yule as well as something I called Janus Day. A celebration of the two faced god Janus that is essentially a city wide party, complete with masquerade masks.
Worldbuilding is a difficult endeavor for even the most talented of writers, and adding a unique holiday may seem like an excessive amount of work but believe me when I tell you it is worth it. The act of creating a new holiday allows you to add some culture to your book, as well as some insight into the lives of the supporting characters that you may have otherwise been unable to relay to the reader.
As for this upcoming holiday, I wish a Merry Christmas to you all!
Bye for now and see you in the new year!
P.S. My book is on Amazon!