Heartwarming
Celebration
In the winter months, as the yearly cycle of months is coming to an end, Dwarves celebrate the Heartwarming. For five days, starting from the 29th of Dec to the 3rd of Jan, Dwarfs all around the world gather to celebrate family bonds, clan, and future of the clan in great festivities.
Execution
Heartwarming starts on the 29th of Dec when fireplaces warming the dwarven dwellings are warmed up and the fire will be watched through the whole celebration. Family members will take turns taking care of the flame and the family gathers around the fire to share stories, eat, and celebrate. Often, if not already there, a family altar for Moradin is taken to the same room.
As in all dwarf celebration, Moradin is considered to be present in the festivities, but also Berronar Truesilver is considered to have important role in first three days of the festivities, and Sharindlar in the last two. The celebration is one of love and family relations, and one of the major holidays for dwarven cultures.
The five days of celebration all have their own focus in the domain what dwarfs consider to be family:
First Day
The first day of Heartwarming is dedicated to family Ancestors and appreciating their journeys. On this day dwarves share stories of the legendary members of their clan, their long history, admire the handiwork they left behind and sing for their glory. Even if the year will change, their memory will guide the actions fo the clan.
Second Day
The Second day of Heartwarming is for the family members that have recently passed away. On this day, the family remembers grandparents, parents, siblings and other members they met in their lifetime but are now gone.
During the night family might gather around the heart and throw herbs and pieces of clay pottery to the fire, to receive through them the wisdom of the past members.
Third Day
As the third day arrives, the family celebrates one another, remembering each other with gifts, stories of each other's achievement and rejoice about the love and bonds they share.
Fourth Day
In the last days of Heartwarming, families gather together to celebrate the future and the starting year. The fourth day goes through games, preparation for the festivities, bragging battles and smelting tin that is then dropped in ice-cold water. Pieces of tin are then examined to divine events of the year.
Fifth Day
Finally, on the Fifth day of Heartwarming, whole city or stronghold rejoices together, and a massive feast is held from dawn to dusk. This involves a lot of drinking, dancing, and singing.
Traditionally, there is a lot of matchmaking involved in these feasts, as the clans try to seal their future with great marriages. Traditionally, many weddings are announced during the feast and it isn't really that unheard of that after some months after Heartwarming, a lot of babies are born.
Components and tools
Some of the traditions of Heartwarming require special components. Traditions may vary from region to region. These include things like:
Divining from tin
Clumps of tin are melted and thrown into ice-cold water. Shapes the tin makes are used to divine the events of next year.
Messaging Ancestors
Herbal compounds, pieces of pottery, and small amounts of liquids are thrown to fire, and sounds, markings, and movements flames do are read like messages from the relatives that are already gone.
Rock Candy
Delicious and hard candies that dwarven children love. Some special flavors are only saved for the Heartwarming.
Participants
Everyone takes part in the festivities in a different manner, but some have particularly important roles to make celebrations successful.
Clan elders
Clan elders are the vestiges of wisdom and have important roles in all the celebration feasts and preparations. As oldest and wisest they share the stories of ancestors and keep order during the holiday season.
Clergy
Servants of Moradin the all-father and Berronar, goddess of home are a particularly welcome sight during the holiday season and sometimes take time from their own celebrations to bless the masses.
During the last 2 days of celebration, priestesses of Sharindar are particularly busy at arranging the celebrations, dancing and matching the youngsters to make sure that the new year will see some fresh marriages.
Raise your pint to drink,
stay with us awhile
remember all the heroes
and the wives of golden time!Once my time is gone
promise it for me
remember me so fondly
at Heartwarming's eve.
Cold Heart
If the fireplace in heart of the dwarven home goes out during the festival, it is considered a bad omen. The family member responsible for it will do their best to appease the gods to reverse the effect. The mission to guard the fire is thus taken with great pride.
It the fire stays up during the whole celebration, and if warmth won't vanish after a day after the fire has let to dwindle down, the family knows they are truly blessed for the whole year.
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Author's Notes
This article was created for the Love Seasons Flash Challenge. Get more information here.