Holidays of Hawaii (CTD)

Hawai'i and the Courts of Oah'u have many Festivals particular to them.

Overview

The festivals of Oah'u tend to have a seasonal dimension to them, though at least one has a particular date.

• The Birthday of Queen Aeron is always celebrated on July 17th.
• An annual surfing competition is held in Waikiki in early winter and the governor awards a prize to the best surfer, usually a Commoner. The competition happens when the biggest waves appear. The current champ is a surf bum Redcap named Wayno who claims to have the surfboard used by Duke Paoa Kahanamoku, the famous Olympic gold-medalist who made Hawai'i and surfing popular.
• The Menehune still celebrate the Feasts of Lono, the god of plenty. They split the year in two seasons: The Makahiki is the four-month harvest festival and the other eight-months are for fishing and war overseen by the god Ku. This Makahiki celebrates Menehune ties to the land and their plant totems. The festivities include sporting contests, especially of Uma, a type of wrestling. The other 8 months are less important to the menehune. Its celebration of war by the humans was instituted by King Kamehemeha. However, the few Menehune with fish totems like Shark regard the period highly.

References

1. CTD. Immortal Eyes: Shadows on the Hill, p. 14.