Avatar Day festival


 * This article is about the holiday. You may be looking for the episode.

Avatar Day was originally a day to commemorate derision of the Avatar in Chin Village after the death of its patron, Chin the Great. In a parade, with cheering onlookers, giant floats made to look like the Avatars Kyoshi, Roku, and Aang are set aflame. The people of Chin village shout "Down with the Avatar!" as this is done. The feelings of hatred for the Avatar were due to Chin Village believing that Avatar Kyoshi had murdered Chin.

Change of Commemoration
When Avatar Aang viewed this celebration he put it to a stop, and attempted to remind the village that the avatar is meant to protect people, and would never hurt anyone. The village put Aang on trial, but without Kyoshi's testimony, he was sentenced to being boiled in oil for Kyoshi's crimes. As the jury was preparing their verdict, Aang entered the Avatar State and Kyoshi immediately started her testimony. As for the belief that Kyoshi actually killed Chin, she, however, reveals that Chin died after she separated Kyoshi peninsula from the mainland to protect it. Chin, left standing on a cliff's edge, died because he didn't move from the spot and fell to his death (in which Aang refers to as stubborness). Not really caring about how great or not Chin the Great actually was, Aang's punishment wasn't changed until the Rough Rhinos invaded the village to claim it for the Fire Nation. The village then changed Aang's punishment to community service, the service being to save them from the Rough Rhinos. When he rid the village of them, a new Avatar Day was declared. Instead of hating the Avatar, it was now to celebrate Avatar Aang's saving their village, not being boiled in oil, and proving the Avatar's innocence in Chin's death. Aang did not remain angry at them.

This event is limited to Chin Village, and only people there celebrate this event.

Trivia

 * The main dish served on this holiday was originally boiled dough. After the Avatar defeated the Rough Rhinos, raw dough was served instead, to allude to how the Avatar was not boiled as punishment, although this tasted rather bad (at least according to the expressions of Aang, Sokka, and Katara).