Hatching-tide is a holiday of fairly recent origin, though that which it commemorates dates back to the Sixth Umbral Calamity. A few years before the Seventh Calamity, Jihli Aliapoh had a vision, and has labored tirelessly every spring to see it come to pass...

The Twelve Archons

Strangely enough, it was shortly before the Seventh Umbral Calamity that Jihli Aliapoh began to have visions. In them, she says, the Twelve Archons descended from the heavens upon elaborately decorated eggs, and pronounced their soon return. And so, she began Hatching-tide, its traditions designed to bring about that return, and founded the Dreamers to assist her. (2)

Though they share a name, the Archons of Sharlayan are not the same as the Twelve Archons of historical fame. When the Sixth Umbral Calamity brought with it a great flood of water, it is written that twelve heroes stood in the gap, bearing knowledge of the calamity to come and giving aid and succor where they may. Were it not for their gallantry, more of Eorzea's people would have perished in the relentless waters. (1)

Traditions

Being of such recent establishment, Hatching-tide is still coming into its own. Every year, some new ritual, symbol, or amusement is added to the list, and others that did not resonate with the celebrants are discarded.

And it turned out to be no lie; though not as she expected, she did receive a revelation of true heroes--none other than the Warrior of Light, who had been helping her for these years. With that new wisdom, she embraced a new purpose: to bring together the peoples of Eorzea in celebration, for a better world. (3)

(1) Encyclopaedia Eorzea Vol. 1, p. 35
(2) Quest: Egg-Hunting We Will Go
(3) Quest: Hard-boiled

This said, one constant of Hatching-tide has been eggs. In some cultures, the egg is considered a symbol of birth (due to its function) and the cycle of life (due to its roundness), and thus hope. Hatching-tide's particular use of it arises from the visions that Jihli experienced, as well as the ritual she had intended to rebirth the Twelve Archons. Sometimes, these eggs are hollow, and filled with sweet baked treats (4); other times, they are simply painted eggs that have been known to hatch unexpectedly (5).

(4) Quest: A Poultry Sum
(5) Official Lodestone page for Hatching-tide 2012; preserved at Lodestone.fragmenterworks.com

JIhli Aliapoh, leader of the Dreamers and chief organizer of Hatching-tide

In more recent years, chickens have understandably become another part of the tradition, as has the rabbit. (7)(8) Some helpers don full-bodied rabbit suits that completely conceal their identity. Rumor has it that this disguise has resulted in many dignitaries and heads of state secretly joining in the fun; and wilder rumors yet have it that Kan-E-Senna herself wears such a costume when she travels abroad from the city.

Recently, a parade of rabbit impersonators graced the lanes of Gridania; this may well be the next tradition.

(7) Quest: Fowl Demands
(8) Quest: The Eggth Umbral Calamity

One unexpected addition has been spriggans. Jihli initially recruited these rabbit-eared soulkin for their fascination with the ovoid rocks that bestow their arcane powers; she thought they would prove quite expert at infiltrating the nests of dodos and other wildfowl, to take their eggs for painting. What she failed to realize is that many spriggans would continue their thievery even after the eggs were prepared for the holiday, and scarper with them. Many were the heists, in early years, and many were the adventurers sent forth to reclaim the Archons' needed eggs from the fuzzy little creatures. (6)

(6) Official Lodestone page for Hatching-tide 2011; preserved at Archive.org

An unceasing flow of egg puns is not mandatory, but will certainly never end, no matter how hard anyone beggs.

Floating egg balloons, a staple of Hatching-tide decorations

setting an eggxample

Before the Seventh Umbral Calamity, Jihli gathered enough Dreamers to carry out celebrations in all three of Eorzea's southern cities. However, her hired spriggans were less consistent in their support of her cause, most plundering the egg basket and making off with the Archon eggs into the wild unknown. This year also saw the appearance of the colorful egg caps, which the Dreamers wear to this day. (9)

(9) Quest: The Dreamer's Dilemma

shell-shocked

The coming and going of the Hatching Hour, nor hide nor hair of the Archons to be seen, was most traumatic to Jihli; the shock of it cost her her memories. But she was undaunted upon recovery, and began anew to distribute eggs and fight off spriggan interlopers. (10)

Her eagerness led her to import dodo eggs from as far as Thavnair; but later, some of those eggs were found hatched. As it turned out, someone had included turtle eggs in the shipment, which had hatched and promptly paddled their way down the Black Tea Brook and into the rest of Eorzea! (5)

(10) FIrst official Lodestone page for Hatching-tide 2012; preserved at Lodestone.fragmenterworks.com
(5) Second official Lodestone page for Hatching-tide 2012; preserved at Lodestone.fragmenterworks.com

The first Hatching-tide to be celebrated after the Calamity marked a profound change. Yet another Hatching Hour was to come, and with the help of the Black Rabbit Traders and the musical band The Homunculi, Jihli Aliapoh strove to bring all into alignment for the return of the Archons. But as the Warrior of Light settled the last egg into its proper place, she suddenly realized that, indeed, this was the hero she had been expecting all along--no rebirth of the Twelve Archons, but the continuation of their legacy of heroism in spirit. In the years to follow, she would dedicate the holiday to uniting people, just as had been done this year. (3)

(3) Quest: Hard-Boiled

Eggsigent circumstances

Great eggspectations

Jihli was afforded new visions after the Hatching Hour, and one of those visions was of a grand celebration: adventurers transfigured by sylph magic into spriggans, following an "auspicious spriggan" across Eorzea to a wondrous treasure. (11) The Dreamers, lacking faith in her visions, set about trying to force its fulfillment by mummery and a contrived kidnapping plot involving "unusual eggs"--but their vision of a treasure was a nameday party for Jihli! (12)

Rumor had it that the "unusual eggs" that the Warrior of Light had destroyed were actually Allagan nodes that threatened the safety of the populace at large--some even claim to have overheard Baderon say as much--but it is unconfirmed. (12)

(11) Quest: Great Eggspectations
(12) Quest: Eggs Pluribus Unum

Another Hatching-tide, another vision. This time, Jihli foresaw a great egg-hunt, culminating in a crowd witnessing a vast egg hatching a golden treasure. (13) Naturally, the egg was stolen by a spriggan, who carried it to the Moogle's Gift Stables and abandoned it. Jihli and her Dreamers arrived just in time to discover that it was, in fact, a chocobo egg, and witnessed it hatch forth a rare and special golden chocobo (which was given into care of Gysol, a former hunter from Tailfeather). (14)

(13) Quest: Jihli Dreams of Egg Hunts
(14) Quest: Eggsaltation of a Lark

Eggsaltation of a lark

"When eggs fly" is a common expression of doubt in Eorzea (15), but Jihli's vision of a flying egg birthing a chocobo that laid a magnificent gemstone demanded that it be made truly to happen. Nonotta constructed a large flying egg that, on command, would eject a stuffed, electrified chocobo. (16)(17)

However, this was not the meaning of Jihli's vision; rather, it was fulfilled by Riggy the Spriggan, who saw the contraption being tested and tried to join in with his own massive gemstone. Once the misunderstanding was cleared up, great fun was had by all. (18)

(15) Tooltip: Buoyant Oviform
(16) Quest: When Eggs Fly
(17) Quest: Shock-Full of Eggcitement
(18) Quest: Eggsistential Crisis

When eggs fly

For the first time in a long time, Jihli received no visions this year. But that is perhaps for the best, as all of the traditional eggs were yet again stolen by spriggans. Riggy, who witnessed the theft but did not partake, valiantly volunteered to pilfer the eggs back from his wayward kin; his exploits have been immortalized in the game "Egg Hunter Riggy", which can now be found in most standard toy boxes in inn rooms around Eorzea. (19)

(19) Quest: Uneggseptable Losses

Eggstreme
eggstrapolation

A vision of Riggy hiding a gilded egg led to the most crafty of egg hunts. Participants were given "treasure maps", revealing only vaguely the locations of the eggs that Riggy had hidden, and jackets with a theme of spriggans. (20) When the game was over, Gabineaux of the Central Shroud was so impressed with Riggy's work ethic and cleverness, that he offered Riggy a place at his Bower as a woodsman's apprentice. (21)

(20) Quest: Eggstreme Eggstrapolation
(21) Quest: Deus Eggs Machina

The eggth
umbral calamity

A stampede of rabbits: this was Jihli's new vision, and this would be her lodestar and goal. Only impeded by the escape of their chickens, the Dreamers and certain luminaries crafted beautiful eggs filled with treats, and distributed them to the people of Gridania in a tremendous rabbit-suited parade. (8)(22)

(8) Quest: The Eggth Umbral Calamity
(22) Quest: A Procession Eggstraordinaire

Fowl demands

Another vision, another purpose: this time, to join somehow the efforts of rabbits and chickens together in harmony. As it happened, Pawlin the poulterer arrived in Gridania, decked in a chicken costume, to offer the services of his beloved fowl--who were exhausted by the journey, and required gifts of special feed in order to do other than peck the living daylights out of any who drew too near. (7)(23)

After sating the spirits of the chickens, thank-you gifts were offered to those who had assisted in making this celebration proceed. (23)

(7) Quest: Fowl Demands
(23) Quest: A Poultry Sum

Uneggseptable losses

hippity, hoppity, happily

Alas, Pawlin's chickens were not to have a more peaceful time of it the next year. Jihli had a vision of rabbit-like creatures, and sought to have a mammet made resembling them--but, as it happened, the creatures themselves appeared, flustering the flock. Fortunately, E-Sumi-Yan was on hand to identify them as "traveler rabbits", or "happy bunnies" as they are called in northern parts: harbingers of good fortune seldom seen. And such good fortune there was: though the mammet was faulty, the happy bunny gave Jihli the very thing she needed to repair it. (24)

(24) Quest: Hippity, Hoppity, Happily

PAST CELEBRATIONS

This year's festivities were, sadly, much less innocently disrupted than the last. Sylphs, feeling envious because their own spring festival was disrupted, waylaid the caravans delivering painted eggs. (25) However, it was revealed that sylphs have a deadly fear of tonberries--not the unfortunate plague-sufferers of Nym, but the creatures of legend--and this appearance was deployed to drive off the mischievous tribe of the Shroud and save the holiday! (26)

(25) Quest: Get Along and Play Knife
(26) Quest: Chaos, Carnage, Eggs

get along and play knife