Harvestide

Humans are strange. They throw grand parties all year around in the cities, and none consider it of any import. Yet out in the wilds, villages throw a mere handful and bestow sacred importance on each and every one. The festival just before winter, I find exceptionally... vexing. Wasting all that time and effort for some Goddess who probably doesn't care about Her name being invoked. They could have spent the time doing anything else, than preparing for this... humans are strange.

— Malik San-Rael, Tiefling Warlock

Across large portions of Erisdaire, farming communities celebrate a festival called "Harvestide" after the final harvest of the year. During the harvest period, some of it is sold and some of it preserved for use over the winter, but there are some portion of these goods which cannot be preserved and are not sold. Thus they should be used before they spoil and are wasted, and if they are used to entertain everyone before the harsh winter, so much the better. This is much of the reasoning behind the first Harvestide. Over the generations, it has become adopted by followers of the Green Mother to symbolize a way of giving thanks for the bountiful harvest before the world is left to slumber in cold, white stillness.

History

Human settlements have always held importance to the passing of the seasons, no matter what era is being discussed. The first Harvestide is a case for myth, more than history, but it was a chance to allow a happy memory to exist before harsh winters forced everyone to focus on making it through the winter. At some point along the way, it was connected to various nature-focused deities and began evolving into various forms of "tradition" depending on the region and the specific deity. It wasn't until the Rhyliss Empire instituted worship of the Twelve, that such deities were set aside for the Green Mother. (Mostly. There are many rumors of villages who cloak their worship of alternate deities in enough ambiguity to hide their true worship.)

Execution

A usual Harvestide festival begins just before the sun begins to set, with a prayer of thanks to the Green Mother for the harvests during the year and an offering made of grain and libations at a wooden altar. Once this is completed, the community members begin feasting from whatever food was prepared and find some somber entertainment at first with stories being told to children and any interested listeners. These are usually read from the "Tales" of the Book of Twelve, or recited by someone who can make a fair approximation should no book be available. (This is not unusual, as even the books of the individual Twelve are hard to come by without a priest being present.) There may be a few more traditional dances, depending on the region, or small competitions for bragging rights until the next festival is held.

As the night wears on, the place where the altar was set up is converted into a bonfire, and after the children go to sleep adults bring out the alcoholic drinks and begin to celebrate with less concern for what the children might see or hear. However, this is usually still flavored with a more somber tone of reflection and thanks things were not worse than they turned out to be.