Festival of Spring
Love life, love community, love seeing the sky again
Winters are long and harsh in Yvesland, so it's only natural that those living there would want to celebrate its conclusion. When the surface frost thaws and the snow begins to melt, entire communities come together to celebrate the new season of growth.
Because of the association with new life that Spring has, it's also common for weddings to be held during the festival. A lottery is often held near the end of winter to see which lucky couple will be the one to be wed on that day.
History
The original form of this tradition began with the native tribes of the lands. Spring brought them not only new plants to utilize and add to their diets, but it was the breeding season for most of their ancestral prey. Celebrating the growth of the herds was a staple tradition across tribes, regardless of how the specifics varied.
After the first immigrants arrived, the festivals changed and became more uniformly celebrated. The festivities became more about celebrating being able to leave the underground tunnels and return to the surface to see the sun and sky again.
Execution
Beginning in early morning, the entire town turns out of their homes to begin sweeping away the built up snow in order to prepare the village for spring. Youth will go around to pluck wildflowers that have already begun growing from the tops of houses to tie into small bundles and gift to their sweethearts or to their younger siblings, who then take the flowers outside the settlement to leave for the local Fey.
Two major events during this festival are the community potluck dinner and the bonfire dance. Both are held outside, despite the cold, and are said to celebrate everyone's love for each other and their gratefulness for having survived another winter.
An "unofficial" and yet near ubiquitous part of this festival is the storytelling. While this is a time-honoured tradition that sees plenty of use during the winter, the stories for the Spring Festival are usually more grounded in reality than those meant only to entertain. Some communities will tell stories of how somesuch relative met their significant other, while others will hold ad-hock competitions to see who can tell a story with the most amount of truth stretched while still being believable. One tale that is nearly always shared is the tale of how the community was founded, as a sort of reminder about how much everyone there really loves each other.
Observance
The exact timing of the ritual will vary based on how far north a settlement is, but it's always celebrated on the first sunny day after the crocuses begin to peek through the snow. Excited children are often the ones to check at the door every morning once the harshest of the winter months have passed, and some communities even have small competitions to decide which lucky child gets to check the door.
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