Ploughing and Feasting
On the first day of the sowing season, every village and farm throughout the land knows the importance of appeasing Feuyer (Few-Yair), the sun god, if they want a bountiful harvest. Even in the modern cities of Steeghan, the inhabitants celebrate the powerful Feuyer.
Hundreds of cycles earlier, right after the largest famine Steeghan had ever known, it was decreed by the king that the goddess of harvest, Heorte, would no longer be recognized throughout the land. Why wait in ignorance for the end of the harvest to confirm if thanks should be given? A pacified sun god will nurture the ground and provide fruitful harvests. From that day forward, Feuyer became the Deity of the land.
The night before the feast, the villages organize all of the lands that need ploughing and start their work at a frantic pace, working all through the night and well into the next day to finish the task thoroughly. During the day, the villagers, not ploughing, would start the preparations for the feast. Choosing a bull or a cow that can feed the entire village and that will most likely not survive the cycle, they spend all day roasting and basting it on a spit. Vegetables are prepared, breads and cakes are baked, wines are gathered from every household. All the food is assembled at the long tables set inside in the village square.
At sundown everyone gathers at the center of the village for the lighting of the bone fire, representing the sacrifice for Feuyer. Once the fire is set, the feasting begins. Food is served, wine is poured, music resonates far into the night. As the roast is consumed, the discarded bones are thrown in the fire for Feuyer's pleasure and to keep evil spirits away. Once all the bones have been thrown in, and the bone fire rages at it's full height, every villager makes a plea to the god of the sun for a bountiful harvest.
Throughout the cycles, there have been many changes to this custom. The personal pleas to Feuyer have been abandoned by most if not all. A full bull became a couple of lambs or pigs. Even the bone fires have been abandoned in most cities and villages. However, no matter if you believe in Feuyer or not, on the first day of the year, the merriment, the drinking and the feasting have remained until today.
Hundreds of cycles earlier, right after the largest famine Steeghan had ever known, it was decreed by the king that the goddess of harvest, Heorte, would no longer be recognized throughout the land. Why wait in ignorance for the end of the harvest to confirm if thanks should be given? A pacified sun god will nurture the ground and provide fruitful harvests. From that day forward, Feuyer became the Deity of the land.
The night before the feast, the villages organize all of the lands that need ploughing and start their work at a frantic pace, working all through the night and well into the next day to finish the task thoroughly. During the day, the villagers, not ploughing, would start the preparations for the feast. Choosing a bull or a cow that can feed the entire village and that will most likely not survive the cycle, they spend all day roasting and basting it on a spit. Vegetables are prepared, breads and cakes are baked, wines are gathered from every household. All the food is assembled at the long tables set inside in the village square.
At sundown everyone gathers at the center of the village for the lighting of the bone fire, representing the sacrifice for Feuyer. Once the fire is set, the feasting begins. Food is served, wine is poured, music resonates far into the night. As the roast is consumed, the discarded bones are thrown in the fire for Feuyer's pleasure and to keep evil spirits away. Once all the bones have been thrown in, and the bone fire rages at it's full height, every villager makes a plea to the god of the sun for a bountiful harvest.
Throughout the cycles, there have been many changes to this custom. The personal pleas to Feuyer have been abandoned by most if not all. A full bull became a couple of lambs or pigs. Even the bone fires have been abandoned in most cities and villages. However, no matter if you believe in Feuyer or not, on the first day of the year, the merriment, the drinking and the feasting have remained until today.
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