Wariwal is a holiday which takes place each year from Hepdoa 21st - 24th, beginning on Tulday and ending on Yenday.

Wariwal is a gift giving and social gathering holiday which is among the most widely observed in Mersia.

Wariwal consists of three phases.

On Hepdoa 21st, the first day of Wariwal, families or other social groups will convene to share a meal. Following this meal, each person present will present their gift to their chosen or assigned recipient. Because each person is only buying one gift, period, these gifts are usually quite nice.

One recipient is chosen in advance of Wariwal by each person, or assigned by random chance.

Groups or families who opt to choose their own recipients will usually choose someone who is somewhat distant from them. For example, it is more common to choose a cousin, aunt, or uncle, and less common to choose a sibling or parent. It is considered to be in poor taste to choose the same person two years in a row.

The advantage of choosing is ensuring you have a recipient you know well enough to get a decent gift for. The disadvantage of choosing is risking having some member of the group not receive a gift. It is humiliating and shameful to have nobody choose you as their recipient for Wariwal. The colloquial term for such individuals, which is often used as an insult, is “empty-boxer”.

Groups or families who opt to have their recipient randomly chosen will drop their names into a bag a month ahead of Wariwal, and then have each participant pick a name out. If the last person to pick selects their own name, the entire drawing is usually redone. In some groups, it is common to also write some gift ideas on the slip that is placed in the bag.

The advantage of random selection is ensuring that every participant is someone's recipient. The disadvantage of random selection is the risk of selecting someone you dislike, or do not know well.

Those who were not chosen as anyone's recipient for Wariwal will most often find another non-chosen and designate them to be their recipient for Reciprocation.

After receiving a gift, each recipient will spend the middle two days of Wariwal, the 22nd and 23rd, searching for a gift of gratitude for their giver. The gift of gratitude is not generally expected to be an equal response to the “Unveiling” gift. Despite that, it is not unheard of for individuals to find a response gift that is superior in quality to the unveiling gift.

Traditionally, it is considered to be in poor taste to get a thank you gift in advance of Unveiling day, or to give a gift of a personal possession one already had.

Though most businesses, especially industrial and financial businesses, close for Wariwal, certain storefronts re-open specifically for Searching, and may re-decorate for the occasion. It is not unheard of for businesses to hire extra hands specifically for the 22nd and 23rd, as these are among the busiest shopping days of the entire year.

On the 24th, the group reconvenes to allow each individual to give their gift of gratitude to their giver. Usually another meal is shared on this night, the last night of Wariwal.

Wariwal predates written history. It is widely believed according to both draconic accounts and the earliest available texts to have originated in what is now Poirien.