Gleðiganga
Gleðiganga means "walk of joy" in the Froyalanish and Wintergleamish languages. It is the cultural term for a custom regarding a formal public ritual of laudation and exaltation in the Froyalanish Ancient Ways.
The Walk of Joy
In this Vanic custom a Vanakvinna, either in a group of fellow honourees or solitary, walks a certain distance - of a maximum of thirteen miles - naked between two prominent sites, while being watched, praised and cheered by the (mostly Vanafolk) locals who are lined along the way. All men must kneel for her when she walks by. The longer the distance walked, the higher the prestige and honour for the Vanakvinna.
Performing a solitary walk of joy is one of the highest honours a Vanakvinna can be afforded and it is usually reserved for:
- Ladies of Grand Mysterious Sisterhoods such as the Daughters of Freyja and the Daughters of Elwynn;
- Priestesses;
- Vanakvinner who have performed an extraordinary feat;
- Vanakvinner who have carried at least thirteen pregnancies to term;
- Royal Princesses.
A woman who has performed a solitary walk of joy is among the Vanafolk known as a Sæladróttning. It is a honorific which means "Queen of Joy" in the Froyalanish and Wintergleamish languages.
Power to Call a Gleðiganga
In Elwynn, the sole mortals who have the power to call a walk of joy anywhere in the Elwynnese Union are the King, the Hjartardýrlafðir, or the Jólaslafðir. Most Gleðigangar, however, are performed in Froyalan.
Individual Deer and Yule Ladies can also call a Gleðiganga. The former only in her own Templedom, the latter only in her Elwynnese sister Templedom.
History
The custom has been around since times ancient beyond the memory of woman. It is one of the Vanafolk customs which is regulated by the Ancient Covenant.
