Holidays in Illuminatia
Holidays are not celebrated in Illuminatian culture because Illuminatians strongly believe that any abstract concept or historical event worthy of such a magnitude of reverence as to justify an entire circadian unit (DU) dedicated to festivity or commemoration would certainly be important enough to Illuminatian society as to earn acknowledgement as an integrated part of everyday life on an ongoing and unyielding basis.
Early Illuminatian philosophers purported, for example, that one's thankfulness for one's mothers and fathers is generally not delegated only to Mother's Day or Father's Day at the expense of every other day of the year, and that one's deep appreciation for and enthusiastic celebration of being alive should not be limited to one's birthday. The same idea holds true for any other potential holiday.
Illuminatians do not celebrate patriotic holidays because there are no nations in Illuminatia. The whole of the Illuminatian branch of humanity is united under one democratic collective, negating the need for exclusive nationalism and destructive divisions between groups of people. The merits of human virtues and collective values that on Earth would commonly be steeped in nationalism are instead recognized in Illuminatia as lauded virtues inherent to humanity.
Illuminatians also do not devote holidays to specific personal historical figures. Illuminatians recognize that all humans are imperfect and fallible, and that celebrating any one person as a touchstone for reverence places a peril upon any concept that might be attached to that person, as any historical figure might be discovered to have undesirable personal qualities in contrast to the positive notions being praised. Illuminatians prefer to avoid reconciling contradictions that might arise from celebrating individual persons and instead incorporate into everyday life any due celebration of the abstract concepts and events the person might have represented. One way this is accomplished is through the recognition and naming of amalgamated historical figures.
It is also known that major holidays of significant proportions will inflict disruption into the smooth functioning of everyday civic life. Illuminatians are encouraged to take personal holidays on their own prerogative and in their own time. Employers provide generous provisions for such holidays so that every Illuminatian may rest, celebrate, and recreate at the time of their choosing, on a more evenly distributed basis than would be possible if all of society took the same day away from its routine.
Despite this, some occasions are the center of widespread revelry. These include the cycling of the calendar to a new AI, the two-DU continent-wide bacchanalia celebration inspired by Fertile Universality, and a limited range of other so-called holidays.