Spring Flower Ritual
The spring flower festival is a celebration of rejuvenation and fertility returning to the land. Traditionally, young people go into the fields to "pick flowers" and enjoy the seasonal weather.
Generally, this happens in the Halcyon days, when the weather has turned. Individual villages hold their spring flower festivals rather spontaneously, as the unreliable spring weather can make them hard to predict!
Common activities:
- Wine tasting
- Music & dancing: while not as elaborate as the Blossom Ball (see below)
- Flower arranging competitions: from simple posies to elaborate architectural creations
- Spring cleanathon: villagers compete to see who has the cleanest house! Competition is sticky 0.0
Common Foods:
- Spring wine: traditionally, the first casks of the autumn wine yield are tasted at the festival. If the wine is found to be sour, it's often combined with honey and herbs to take the edge off.
- Flower honey cakes! These cakes are made with the early honey yield, scented with spring flower pollen
- Spicy radishes: spicy radishes are in season in the spring, and a refreshing snack
The Royal Blossom Ball
The Spring Flower Ritual is celebrated annual by the Blossom Ball at the Palace of the Fire King. This lavish event often doubles as an opportunity to strengthen diplomatic ties with neighbouring kingdoms. The celebrations take place in the ballroom and terrace of the Fire King's Palace .
The finest musicians are retained to play the latest melodies, and stories of rebirth and rejuvenation are told by the best orators of the land.
The royal family and other guests of royal blood are also often invited to perform their magical talents for the crowd - particularly the younger ones who are looking for a marriage prospect.
Dainty food and fine wine is served to the guests, and often novel centrepieces include stuffed swans, edible flowers, and rains of candied petals!
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Cool article the spring cleaning competition made me laugh because I started thinking about it would be a Butler that is a master of cleaning that would be the judge going to each houses with his white glove finding the smallest amount of dirt and grime and taking points off in such a Respectable way. “Madam you did excellent job, you just forgot a little dirt right under your sink -3 points better luck next year”