A Guide to the Midwinter Festival

"And with that, fellow Skydwellers, I say we let the celebrations begin!"

The Midwinter Festival is one of the most joyous celebrations in Skydweller life. Every year, for ten days starting halfway through the third week of December and right before the new year, people gather together to celebrate the past year with a culmination of all their favorite festivities. It is a place where new friends meet, people start off successful careers, favorite memories are made, grand victories achieved, and the the Skydwellers can come together as one people.

---

The Wonderbuild

The Wonderbuild is special - rather than happening every year, it occurs every four years and is a sky-wide competition that takes engineers, architects, and business owners from each City and gives them a prompt for a building to add to the City of Wonders. These magnificent buildings will be worked on for years, and everyone looks forward to the Wonder Day, a day added on to the Midwinter Festival when the new buildings become open to the public and judges decide on which City created the best building. Wonder Days are a favorite, especially as everyone enjoys the excuse to visit the City of Wonders, which has a destination for everyone.

---

Skyball and Wingspin Tournaments

One of the most popular events of the Festival, the Tournaments pit Cities against each other in one of the most epic competitions there is - sports. Skyball and Wingspin, the two most popular Skydweller sports, hold games on alternating days throughout the week, culminating in their final competitions. Everyone shows up for at least one game, excited to cheer for their City. Currently, the Swiftwind City holds the record for most wins in a row at eleven - though that's to be expected, as their whole shtick is sports and athletics in general.

---

Shopping

A multitude of booths and shops are set up for the Midwinter Festival - some with special deals, others with regular (but useful) merchandise, and others still that only show up this once a year. People all around save up to get new clothing, dust, gear, books, and other curiosities. Though this is mostly a human thing, dragons also indulge in food shops, sashes, books, and other items. Similar to the ground dwellers malls, the shop booths are extremely popular and are always bustling with activity.

---

Games

The Midwinter Festival is enjoyed with family and close friends. What better way to build fun memories than to play together? Board games, card games, and dice games are all played throughout the Festival - their are huge booths built that provide people with an access to a variety of games - almost like game libraries - that are visited frequently throughout the days of the celebration. People also play other games, too - simple playground ones, word games, and riddle games, too. Some large groups even gather together in game tournaments.

---

Food and Dining

Another popular activity is to sample the food - people come from all over the Cities with recipes of the sweet, spicy, tangy, savory, and even salty. From simple snacks like fresh powder snowdrops to the restaurants packed with people eager to taste stardew chowder, everyone is eager to sample the food provided at the Festival. Many successful restaurants have had their starts in the Festival with winning recipes, and everyone is eager to try their hand at haggling for just a portion of the recipe to such delicious foods, though very few succeed.

---

Storytelling

Stories are one of the most valuable things in the Skydweller world. Knowledge is power, after all. Public speakings from some of the most renowned storytellers are a regular part of the schedule - including the Grandking and the man only known as Mr. Norcox. Theaters are also built for people to watch popular plays, scenes from historical events, and other shows.

---

Groups and Gatherings

Of course, there are many other activities that are so numerous that it would take too long to write about. Suffice it to say that many groups get together during the festival on certain days to host competitions, tours, group activities, and other events. Religious groups will host scripture study sessions and service projects, though those are less common nowadays. More popular are some of the minor sports groups and other individual groups associated with careers - writing, architecture, science, flight, and even historical tours.

---

Races

What would a festival be without races? There are almost twenty-five separate races held through each Festival. Some are for professionals, others for thrill seekers, and others for youth groups. Some of them will be tri-wing races, some group races, and others solo races. There are a multitude of prizes to be won, as well, and large crowds frequently show up to watch.

---

New Year!

People always say, go out with a bang. That's what the Midwinter Festival does. Rather than let its cheer slowly die out, the tension instead builds as people look forward to the new year's celebration, where they all party with everything they have - eating, playing games, posting competition scores, flying (of course) and generally making merry. The festivities last all the way up to midnight, where they celebrate the new year with songs and bells and dragon fire and fireworks - which, dear reader, in my humble opinion, is the best and only way to hold a new year's celebration, and to hang with the ground dwellers seeing it!