Sing, laugh, be merry! Tomorrow may be chaos, but today we are light!
Traditional benediction at the beginning of festivities
Prazigal and
Ember Hollow might be sworn enemies, but for one week out of the year they remember those ancient days in which they were part of one country, and celebrate winter together.
As a gesture of kindness, Ember Hollow will ship some of its copious amounts of snow south, to their warmer neighbors. With the warmth from the volcanoes, the snow doesn't last long, but typically survives at least long enough for children to build snow salamanders. And this week is the one out of every year where it is assured that Prazigal will not attack their neighbor by any means.
It is a celebration of warmth, both internal and external, and finding it in the most unusual places.
Festivities
The first day of the celebration is marked by community gatherings. No one from either country, not even the most hardened of mercenaries, wants to be outside the country for the holiday, so the gatherings are quite packed. Traditional songs are sung, community leaders will give short speeches, and hot pear cider is served to all. It is customary for the families with extra room to shout loudly at corners, and those without a place to go will go with them. The sharing of hearths is a tradition of the holiday.
To those concerned about safety, I would add that the week before Fair Hearth is full of rather extensive pushes by the police organizations of both countries to weed out perverts and the truly evil. Others, such as thieves, vandals, and revolutionaries, are all let go, so that they might enjoy the holiday as well. In addition, those sharing their homes are fully permitted to maim or kill anyone defying the sanctity of the guest tradition by being so rude as to attempt some violence against the host.
The next five days are characterized by any number of activities. Shops are closed, people are home with their families, and if anyone was truly too short-sighted to have gotten enough food, or simply underestimated the number of guests, it is fully expected to go to one's neighbors and work together to feed all. Playing in the snow is a given. Songs will periodically break out.
Bonfires and magical displays of fire can be found everywhere in Ember Hollow, and in Prazigal there is an effort to tamp the flames enough to allow the snow to stick.
The Night of Larceny
The fourth night, the exact middle of the celebration, is a kind of sub-holiday amongst thieves. The tradition is to break into the warehouses of some larger company, take every last ware, and distribute the goods in secret amongst the community, typically by way of chimneys. In this latter task, they are often helped by the various spy guilds like the
Not an Actor's Guild or the Ninja Organization.
In more recent years, it has become a practice of the government to announce particular warehouses as specifically tempting targets, to spare smaller businesses, and to ensure that the people get good presents. In the past, some people have gotten piece parts to tractors thanks to the warehouse they raided. It is, of course, still set as a challenge to the thieves, with some of the best guards being posted.
Children and adults alike enjoy the surprise the following morning of finding out what was gifted.
The Final Blowout
The last day of the celebration is, for the most part, the quietest. The prepared food is running a little low at this point, and most people are a bit tired. Merry voices singing are usually replaced by recordings, to fill the air and calm restless souls. It is a day characterized by a lot of naps, to fill the silence with rest.
Well. It's quiet until the very end.
At 11pm on the last day, Prazigal and Ember Hollow alike set off the largest display of fireworks that you can imagine. It lasts for an hour, and covers the sky for miles. You cannot go anywhere in the country without seeing fireworks and magic from all directions. It is spectacular and loud to a breathtaking degree.
The end of the display, at midnight, is marked by the scheduled eruption of the Hearthstone Volcano, the closest volcano to Ember Hollow. A single blast is sent up to the sky, and the resulting earthquake is usually enough to knock down most holiday decorations. And so, with a mighty roar, Fair Hearth is concluded.
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