Purity's feast

Purity's feast, aka the feast for the pure of heart, is a Daybreaker celebration specific to Tessia. It is an acknowledgement that the harvest is coming to a close and that winter will soon arrive, and in some towns serves the primary purpose as a harvest close tradition. However, it's more common and more religious narrative is more about sacrifice, greif, and how hard times drive people to desperation. It is also a day to celebrate and remeber the lives of the dead.
The central event is an animal show, of a small number of beasts of burden (usually oxen, and usually eight). They are groomed and paraded through the streets, and parents with young children tie coloured ribbons to them as a way of warding the chilld from suffering in the winter to come. In a central area they gather and are judged by a panel of local or religious elders, who decide which is the "best". The owner is given their prize (usually goods or gold but can be a ritually significant position in the festival), and the preist declares the winner "a great and noble beast" and "pure of heart". A short sermon is given that links to the theme of the festival, and then the prayer is spoken.
As the preist speaks the last words of the prayer (often said with one hand on the animal's forhead), they take a ritual knife from their belt and cut it's throat. A hymn is sung as the body is loaded onto a low cart, and pulled out of town by the remaining animals. Most people follow the procession in a more relaxed tone as they head towards the graveyard, where cooking fires are set up in a small area and the animal cooked and eaten.
The general tone is usually a celebration, and most day-to-day tessians find the somber nature of the sacrifice and sermon a moment of quiet reflection in an otherwise cheery and community-focused day.

Symbolism

Execution

The sacrifice is usually preceeded by the following prayer: (whT TE darkness brinds))

Observance

Date
While the key event is much the same across Tariksan and beyond, there are some notable variations of tradition.

In north point (northern district of Tariksan) is is common to hold the post-sacrifice celebration like a wake for the sacrificed beast, telling stories of it's greatness. These stories are often battle or at least warrior centric, and this tradition may be the cause of the lack of "purity" stressed in the sermon.