Solstice Wishes
The delivery of Solstice wishes is the most important and fondly looked upon Winter Solstice tradition in all of Altairus. Everyone in Altairus looks forward to the day The Elder Goat comes to town, taking the wishes of the populace up north to be granted.
History
The Winter Solstice became an internationally recognized holiday in the year 1216 G. E., when a young Atticus Yule discovered the Pool of Solstice Wishes, a magical spring with the power to grant wishes. Since then, he has taken to the task of bringing Altairians' wishes to the pool to be granted.
Execution
Starting at the beginning of December (June in the Southern Hemisphere), the Elder Goat flies all around Altairus, visiting towns to gather wishes. Altairians give him their wishes by whispering them into his snow crystal staff, which turns them into glassy orbs. When everyone has given him their wishes, he gathers them up in his sack and flies off.
Once he arrives back at Yule City, he and the other Yule goats begin the process of vetting which wishes will be granted and which will not. It is not safe nor practical to grant every single wish, so many end up falling by the wayside. The entire process of filtering out which wishes are safe to grant can take several days, even weeks. It was only very recently that the Elder Goat started sorting the wishes out in Yule City; he used to take the wishes back each day and sort through them at the Pool of Solstice Wishes. He stopped doing this when a certain storm gremlin we know and love slipped into his sack and accidentally dumped all the wishes into the pool at once. Since then, the Elder Goat is careful not to let any unapproved wishes near the Pool.
Once the vetting process is finished, the Elder Goat and the denizens of Yule City deliver the approved wishes to the Pool of Solstice Wishes. One by one, they dissolve in the water, granting the wish once the Solstice rolls around. On Solstice Eve night, the Elder Goat flies around the world once more, dusting the ground in magic sparks that materialize into gifts for those who didn't get their wishes granted.
On the morning of the Solstice, Altairus's denizens either find out that their wishes have been granted or get to play with the new toys and trinkets the Elder Goat gave them in their sleep. It is a very happy time for all of Altairus.
In the spirit of the season, many Altairians like to participate in their own acts of charity and gift-giving around the Winter Solstice, particularly towards those who might not get their wishes granted or otherwise might not have such a great Solstice. The gifts are given out voluntarily; in its purest form, gift-giving is supposed to be an expression of the spirit of sharing in one's heart, rather than something done out of a sense of obligation.
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