Unsealing Day
Among the Zeselnik, winter means sealing their homes and riding out the deadly cold months indoors, only able to leave in short bursts, and even then only when supported by specialized suits. Food is prepared and store away for months in advance of this period, packed in salt or soaked in brine to preserve them for as long as possible. Every family - or settlement, in towns lucky enough to have been able to join their homes together for events such as this - has their own special way of passing the time. Some play games, other tell stories, other still develop new skills that would be seen as wasteful during the working months. But as the sun breaches the horizon again and the freezing winds die down somewhat, there will often still be food left over from the winter's stores. And so Unsealing Day begins.
On the final day of Winter, when it's finally deemed safe to leave home without excess protection, a chosen individual from each household will elect someone to don the pressurized suit one last time. These chosen few will then band together in order to hunt or fish or gather the first fresh food of the new year and return with it in tow. Combining this fresh new ingredient with everything that remains of the winter's preparations, a feast is prepared and brought outside to be enjoyed together, as a single, unified family. Usually this initial meal is a rather quick affair, as even when 'safe' it's often a bitter cold outside and requires thick clothing not conducive to eating. Still, families will be free to mingle away from their own homes and learn what everyone else has been up to during the pseudo-hibernation nature forced upon them.
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