Ave, Sandum Citizens!
It is not often that a state occasion is made royal. It has not been since the foundation of the Collegio Sacerdae and the Most Honourable Order of the Throne of Sandus that many royal functions of the Office of the Sôgmô have been utilised. However, in a few days, we will, as one nation, mark the passing of two years of the Foundation of the State of Sandus.
The Second Anniversary of the Foundation of the State of Sandus on XIV Aprilo (the 14th of April) is a date commemorating the ratification of the Founding Law. But in the calendar of the royal family, it is an occasion commemorated in the Palace of State as a date before another, more private day of significance: the birthday of the Sôgmô.
XV Aprilo MCMXCV (15 April 1995), the Honourable Sôgmô was born. Son of a professor and a social worker, this family would instil in him as a young child both critical thinking and compassion that would become the hallmarks of the Sandum State and society. The 18th birthday is a macronational cultural occasion marking the adulthood of an individual; however, as a long-time friend of the Sôgmô’s and another professor recently remarked, “[He was] a very intellectually astute 10 year old. I have always considered [him] to be my intellectual equal.” Though the Honourable Sôgmô and the entirety of the royal household commemorate the 18th birthday of the Sôgmô, this day is to also be considered, in the spirit of the quote above, long overdue.
Embarking upon the journey of any revolutionary, the Honourable Sôgmô created the nation of Sandefreistikhan in his 14th year. The upcoming State holiday of the Anniversary of the Foundation is eclipsed in the royal household by two other important occasions: XII Aprilo (12 April) commemorates the Honourable Sôgmô’s conversion to Buddhism and XV Aprilo (15 April) is, as we have remarked, the Sôgmô’s day of birth. Born on sad and mournful anniversaries such as the sinking of the Titanic and the shooting of American President Abraham Lincoln, the Honourable Sôgmô shares his birthday with that of North Korean Eternal President Kim Il-Sung’s — a holiday in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea known as the Day of the Sun (this name is also used by the royal household).
The Honourable Sôgmô, mindful of the frugality of his position, has yet to ask for any gift or present from the royal parents and the royal family: he has, instead, asked for funds for the 2014 PoliNations summit and for textbooks for his future university education. Instead, using his own personal money, he has purchased two books — one on bisexuality in ancient Greece and another on Paganism –, feathers of a peacock’s train for a vase in the Honourable Sôgmô’s Office (the peacock is a symbol of the goddess-queen Juno), and a copper ring with decorations reminiscent of his childhood home in Arizona. There is some talk of purchasing a lyre, for which the Honourable Sôgmô shall dedicate himself to learning and to playing for important occasions in Sandus. Furthermore, the Honourable Sôgmô has given a large fraction of a recent pay-check to charity on the occasion of his birthday.
The Honourable Sôgmô’s birthday shall be commemorated by the royal household with a dually-commemorated dinner on XIII Aprilo (13 April) to the Foundation and to the Sôgmô. Historically Sandum monarchal music — with royally-warranted composers the likes of Jean-Baptiste Lully and George Friedrich Händel — will be played on XV Aprilo (15 April). With the traditional reading of the Founding Law of the State of Sandus on the Anniversary of the Foundation, special commemoration shall be paid to the Honourable Sôgmô’s work and his birthday — including music composed by the prefered composer of the Sun-King Louis XIV of France, Jean-Baptiste Lully.
Much like other nations, whose leaders’ and heads’ of state birthdays are celebrated, this occasion of the Honourable Sôgmô’s 18th birthday shall transpire as a rare royal event. At no time before in the history of this nation has his birthday been celebrated, whether as a Baron, Chairman, or as a Sôgmô, than this special and unique occasion of the Honourable Sôgmô’s turning into a legal adult. Through the constant building of the nation, it is clear that the recognition of his adulthood comes four years far too late.
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