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24 Sondu - 28 Sondu
All characters are invited to attend the Midsummer Solstice!
Due to the ongoing crisis and reparations in Noria, Thisbē will be hosting the 'main' celebrations.
The region for the Great Hunt (see below) will be held in north Thisbē/south Vanyar. The solstice events are within our current site timeline, and as it is non-AU, stories will impact characters' histories.
The solstice itself is only one day, but there are several days of festivities surrounding it and characters can celebrate the holiday anywhere in Giralda and in just about any way.
Kismet may randomly pop into threads to wreak havoc or drop goodies as well!
[attr="class","likedosub"]ABOUT
The Midsummer Solstice is possibly the most important, widely celebrated holiday in all of Giralda. Though the solstice itself only lasts one day, it is celebrated the two days preceding and succeeding it.
The solstice days are rife with feasts, weddings, traditional songs and dances, gift-giving, hunts, and all manner of celebratory gaiety. Bonfires are lit each night and homes are decorated with flower garlands, greenery, and tree branches. People are usually dressed in bright colors, especially reds, oranges, yellows, and greens.
Many people are not obligated to work these days, though it is extremely profitable for those who choose to, and nearly everyone is guaranteed the third day (Solstice Day) off – with exceptions to some guards and soldiers.
Solstice Day is thought to hold the greatest energy, prosperity, magic, vitality, fertility, and strength. This solstice will have a particularly special and rare celestial event, believed never to have occurred before in documented history: a full moon will be present and visible alongside the sun when it reaches its zenith.
Midsummer Solstice originates from ancient Elven practices. It was from them that this holiday and many of its traditions were adopted by the other races, and is one of their few cultural remnants that has survived over the centuries.
It is among the holiest time for Elves. During the Midsummer Solstice days, only childbearing people (and elder women) are permitted to enter their temples. They perform a number of rituals to give thanks to the goddess Litha, as well as to ask for blessings of fertility against the genophage, knowledge of a cure, and to bestow them with healthy pregnancies.
Traditionally, Dwarves have very seldom joined in the celebrations. However, in more recent times with more and more Dwarves assimilating with the surface-dwellers, their presence has become more widely integrated and some groups have started contributing their own traditions.
For decades, the celebrations in Noria kick off with the Great Hunt hosted by the High King himself. It started as a practical matter to cull the number of rock wolves that infest the outskirts and roads but quickly became one of the most exciting and competitive events during the Midsummer Solstice. Competitors are chosen on a lottery system, but (apart from a minimum age requirement of 15) there are no restrictions for who may enter their names into the pool. The hunter to deliver the largest rock wolf by midnight of the last solstice day will win a purse of 500 gold marks.
[attr="class","likedosub"]NOTES
Such gaiety!