Kyeli ([info]kyeli_unlikely) wrote in [info]discworld,
@ 2005-05-24 08:59:00
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Entry tags:how do they rise

Pathetic? Perhaps...
I know I can hardly call myself a Discworld fan and not know this, but...

...I cannot recall the significance of the lilacs and May 25th.

To defend myself, I read the Watch series first, over a year ago, and my memory just isn't that great.

However, as a *huge* Discworld fan, I feel I should stop being afraid of persecution and just ask. So, consider it asked. ;)

edit: I have read 'Nightwatch', but it's been over a year. :)


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[info]mistervimes
2005-05-24 02:05 pm UTC (link)
It's in honor of those who lost their lives in the May Revolution, from Night Watch.

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[info]mr_squeaky
2005-05-24 02:05 pm UTC (link)
I assume you have not read the novel "Night Watch" then ;)

The unspoilerly answer: it is to remember a specific group of people who died in the Ankh-Morpork civil war.


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[info]lagata
2005-05-24 02:07 pm UTC (link)
Have you read Night Watch? If so, then maybe you should reread it. ;-) If not, that would explain why you're confused.

Short version (and spoiler!):
In Night Watch, The People's Republic of Treacle Mine Road had the Glorious Revolution of the 25th of May, in which Keel's Lilac Lads fought for Freedom, Truth, Justice, Reasonably Priced Love, and a Hard Boiled Egg. (Also, they fought to avoid dying, and because it seemed the right thing to do at the time.)

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[info]charliesmum
2005-05-24 02:08 pm UTC (link)
Anyone important enough to need to know where we are, knows where we've gone Sgt Colon and Cpl Nobbs paraphrased because I can't remember the exact words.

It was a rebellion during Lord Winder's Patricianship that young Sam Vimes was involved with, and read Nightwatch!

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[info]charliesmum
2005-05-24 02:16 pm UTC (link)
Hey, no such thing as a stupid question, right? (I just recently re-read Night Watch, so it's more fresh in my mind anyway.)

Did you read Monsterous Regiment? It has a bit of the Watch in it - it's fun to see Sam Vimes from someone else's point of view. Terry did that with The Truth, too.

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[info]kassidynet
2005-05-24 03:14 pm UTC (link)
The lilacs themselves, which I don't think has been mentioned, was basically because to distinguish Keel's lads from the enemy during a final m^eleé rush (there were men from other watch-houses or citizens not quite so well known, and when the adrenalin's pumping, let's face it...), Keel picked some lilac flowers that were growing nearby and the rest followed suit. Instant uniform customization.

At least, that's if I remember rightly... So, basically, it was to avoid killing one's own men.

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[info]hellmutt
2005-05-24 03:17 pm UTC (link)
Shamelessly OT, but I'm giggling at your icon.

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[info]kassidynet
2005-05-24 03:39 pm UTC (link)
Why thank you. ;) It was quite a shameless plug in itself for me to use it, so no worries about OTness, hehe.

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[info]infiniteviking
2005-05-24 07:45 pm UTC (link)
Both your icons... ahahahaha!!!!! Brilliant!

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[info]kassidynet
2005-05-25 07:25 am UTC (link)
Cheers. ;)

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[info]hellmutt
2005-05-24 03:20 pm UTC (link)
The lilacs are, of course, a more fragrant equivalent of this legend.

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[info]kassidynet
2005-05-24 03:40 pm UTC (link)
Interesting information that. Thank you. I hadn't picked up on the link. Wonder if that was referenced in the APF yet...

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[info]ceboholic
2005-05-24 03:43 pm UTC (link)
ooh, that was interesting. I think Mr. Pratchett uses carrots in nightwatch as the 'historical' example remembered by...Colon, I think.

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[info]ceboholic
2005-05-24 03:45 pm UTC (link)
heeh, I have the same avatar on my msn...

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[info]cutlass_adept
2005-05-24 03:52 pm UTC (link)
Interestingly, leek flowers, (which you don't often see because the plants are usually uprooted for consumption before they flower), somewhat resemble lilacs in a PTerry sort of way:

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[info]marveen
2005-05-24 06:34 pm UTC (link)
Remarkable. I hadn't seen leek flowers before. (Garlic and onion, yes, leeks, no.)

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[info]lily22
2005-05-24 08:21 pm UTC (link)
That's awesome.

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