Nodvragoda's Summer Festival

Work in progress

Who does even sleep when summer comes?

— A random attendant of the festival while dancing

The Summer Festival is a celebration that usually takes place every year in Nodvragoda during Summer solstice. It is one of the cultural trademarks of the city and the only times it was interrupted was during the period 1362-1367 ad well during the Invasion of Peoples from the East. It is also one of the celebrations in where the Sun is protagonist.

History

Celebrations related to the change of seasons are as old as time and have been done by lots of cultures around the world. Moskovar people had celebrated the summer solstice in a big variety of ways during history and many of those celebrations have been influenced by the ones from other cultures.
Since ancient times, the Sun has been considered a Divine being and a creator entity in Moskova, and a plenty of symbols of the country show it. Traditionally it usually shared some celebrations with other stars
Communities from the area of Nodvragoda have been celebrating holidays related to the sun since the beginning of their existence, but is in the ninth century (some time after the city accepted founding) when documents began to mention a festival with specific activities. The amount and type of events done during the festival vary in most texts throughout the time and some events that used to be common back then (for example, sacrifices) are not as common or were replaced by other kind of activities.
This festival have been uninterruptible for long time, but wasn't celebrated in two opportunities, both related to military related conflicts. The first time was during the raid that took place during the Invasion of Peoples from the East and the other time was in the raid done by Ivar's forces.
Due to the raid to Nodvragoda which took place in 1362, the city had associated the festival itself with this traumatic event, preventing its celebration for a period of around five years.

Execution

The festival takes place during one week, beginning with the Summer Solstice. During this time, different activities are done by the citizens for welcoming a new summer and new harvest time.

The events are developed at day and night for seven days and everyone in the city and any visitor is welcomed to participate. The main place for the events is the plain by the lake which is located outside the city. There many stands are set up as well as a stage. The stands are set up by several families from the city in the form of a craft fair where people can buy a big diversity of items, from pottery to food and clothing.

Schedule

The festival got several activities that are done through the whole event such as craft trade and performance of folk dances and music, and them have varied through the years, but there's some activities that follow a specific schedule.

Day	Event
First day (summer solstice)	Festival's opening First Ceremony in honor of the Sun: First Prayer for the Sun. Blessing of the cereal grains. Burning and procession of the ceremonial flame from the main temple to outside the city. "Gifting event": Priests give people olive branches symbolizing prosperity. Dance and music performances. Second Pray for the Sun. Craft Fair's opening. Food Fair opening.
Second day	Second Ceremony in honor of the Sun: Second prayer for the Sun. Blessing of cattle products "Gifting event": Priests give candles to people. Games for attendants. Boat caravan in the lake: boat drivers carry lanterns at night, and they hang them on the Kremlin's walls, symbolizing the incursion of light into dark.
Third day	Puppet play about the beginning of summer. Cooking competition. Games for attendants. Music performances. Third prayer for the Sun at Sunset.
Fourth day	Dance competition. Storytelling time for families. Free food day. Music and dance performances.
Fifth day	Crafting and pottery competition. Fishing at the lake and fish offering as tribute. Music competition. Art showcase.
Sixth day	Releasing of eagles at the sunrise . Games for attendants. Flower giving day. Traditional ritual dance performance.
Seventh day	Last Ceremony in Honor of the Sun. Fairs closing and setting down of stages.

Observance

The first Ceremony in Honor of the Sun takes place in the sunrise of the year's longest day, in which is told that people "don't sleep" due to the high amount of daytime hours (around 15). The dates may vary but them are calculated in base of Moskova 's solar calendar.

by Gege16

Primary Related Location

Nodvragoda