Crossfire (Shira Calpurnia Book 1)

Twelve days to the Mass of Saint Balronas. The Festival of the
Sevenmark. The Day of Shuttered Tithing (Administratum).
With seven days until the beginning of the Vigil of Saint
Balronas, all those with duties, debts, obligations, or any other
Imperial or personal business, should be looking to discharge
them. The disgrace, both before one’s Church and one’s peers,
of having unfinished business by the beginning of the Vigil
should always be borne in mind.Tradition tells us that this is the day on which masters
announce to their servants and workers both the fact and the
particulars of the holidays they are to be granted for the period
of the Vigil – both generosity by the master and gratitude from
the servant are appropriate on this day. Masters should lead
their workers, and the heads of households their families, in
modest celebrations; the exchange of small gifts and tokens is
appropriate. A traditional token is a roll of blank parchment or
an empty data-slate to symbolise the clearing of debts.
On this day the halls of the Administratum will be sealed as that
order conducts certain devotions of its own. Any tithing or
Administratum business must be completed before the halls are
closed at dawn.Celebrations should still be conducted with an air of temperance
and deference, and the working day should end with a service
or prayer meeting in garb and circumstances traditional to one’s
duties and station. The evening should be a time to take stock
and ensure that the correct devotional items and clothes are
ready for the period ahead, and that one’s person and home
are clean and orderly.