Harvest Festival
Harvest is the big, widespread gift-giving holiday. It's a national holiday observed all across the Empire (which is more than can be said about most holidays) on the 32nd of the month of Harvest. The celebration includes a day-long festival of feasting, music, games and recreation, parades, and, gift-giving.
Exchanging gifts is meant to symbolize the bounty that comes with the season. Individual exchanges are generally informal throughout the day. However, it is not uncommon for families or other groups to exchange gifts in a more ceremonial fashion just before the Harvest feast. When the nobility comes into play, this becomes even more lavish, often with processions and grand shows made of gift-giving... a practice that is more about the gesture itself than the actual gifts exchanged.
Typical gifts usually include tokens such as beads or treats. However, gifts can get increasingly extravagant according to culture and social status, spanning the gamut from nice jewelry to livestock. It is not uncommon for business deeds and marriageable daughters to exchange hands in the Dusk Isles and the Vale, respectively.
A close friend or love interest may be hurt if they do not receive a small token of some kind, but as these exchanges are casual, there is no stigma about not giving gifts. However, the higher classes make more of a game out of the tradition... the upper class often spends the weeks following Harvest gossiping about who under-gifted or snubbed whom and the hidden meaning behind certain gifts.
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