Birdfolk Summer Celebrations

Rhif took to the air, letting the warm updrafts carry her far into the sky. The sun shone brightly on her feathers, warming her back and wings. Gleefully, she somersaulted in the wind and then looked down at the village below her, where the main celebration was being held.

Birdfolk live high in the mountains, most of them living through the cold, harsh winters. To these avians, the summer is a time of joy, abundance, and warmth, as the mountains are freed from the blankets of snow that cover them from mid fall to late spring. Although many birdfolk do celebrate the Feast of Elena on midsummer, they often hold their own celebrations in thanks for the warm months.

Flight Competitions

One of the main highlights of a birdfolk summer celebration are the flying competitions. There are several types of competition. The first is simply a race through the sky, seeing which birdfolk can catch the best winds or has the strongest wings. These typically range in distance, as far away as one or two mountains. Endurance has its own competition, however, so the speed races typically never range further than this. Endurance races typically last the whole afternoon, starting in the late morning and ending as the feasting begins. There are also obstacle courses, with hoops and other challenges to maneuver around hung from the limbs of mountain trees or set on huge wooden poles. The last flying competition focuses on the tricks a birdfolk is able to perform. Often, birdfolk spend all year working on new tricks, and the competition for first place is very heated. Often, this is the main event for the evening of the celebration.

Feasts

When the summer months warm the mountains and melt away the snows, life seems to return to the rocky slopes. Birdfolk are omnivores, and enjoy a wide variety of foods. For a feast such as this, fresh fruits and greens are especially popular. The exact varieties of plants available depends on which continent a particular birdfolk village is situated. Some may have a greater abundance than others, but there is usually a few varieties of berries and flowers, as well as various root vegetables such as onions. These are roasted or served raw in salads with other mountain greens. Meat is also rather popular, and many birdfolk enjoy roasted small game or, on rarer occasions, a wild goat or other large animal that finds its way up the mountain slopes. Villages with connections to lowland towns also have bread and dairy products such as cheese or yogurt alongside the more traditional birdfolk fare.

Dances

After the feasts are finished, and sometimes even before, birdfolk enjoy dancing with one another. A central square or platform is cleared for this purpose, and decorated with garlands of mountain flowers and softly glowing lanterns. Most villages have their own unique traditional dance, as well as a few others which are common among all birdfolk. These are typically partner dances, but can be modified to suit larger groups. These dances usually involve the tailfeathers and wings more than simply hands and feet, and some believe they are based on ancient courtship dances originated from millennia before the Vanishing. The different subspecies of birdfolk employ different movements and some even involve the voice as well. The dances are accompanied by a small handful of traditional birdfolk stringed instruments, accordions, or on occasion pipes.

Birdfolk summer celebrations are a fascinating experience especially for non-winged folk, and occasionally travellers will happen upon a village in the midst of its festivities. These outsiders are welcomed in with great cheer and allowed to join in on the feasting and dancing. It is usually not recommended for non-winged travellers to compete in the flying competitions, however, and those with wings are usually outpaced and outmatched by the birdfolk, who are after all experts at navigating mountain winds.