Summer Solstice

The summer sun lingers in the sky, relishing every moment of its longest day. The day is Midyear 16th, and people mill about in preparation for the nighttime sunfires. Children stay surprisingly still as they put the finishing touches on their wicker offerings. Locals collect logs into large piles, felling and debarking trees if necessary. Barrels of alcoholic beverages are consolidated in the general vicinity of the celebrations. And once the sun is below the horizon, the log pile is smothered in pitch and set ablaze.

Components and tools

Large numbers of logs
Large quantities of alcohol
Wicker likenesses

Participants

The only specific function to be served for the holiday is performed by children

Observance

Summer Solstice is one of the few holidays in Yvard where alcohol consumption is prioritized over proper feasting. Food is readily available, but proportionately people drink much more than they eat. The drinking begins lightly but constantly throughout the day, and ramps up once the sunfires are lit at sundown.
Sunfires are massive piles of logs to be lit once the sun has left the sky on its longest day, as a respect to the sun as it begins to be dominated by long nights of winter. To have a sunfire go out before dawn the next morning is a great shame believed to ensure a catastrophe befalls the village, town, or city that has just offended the sun.
The hands of local children begin working during the days leading up to the solstice. They collect materials to weave wicker likenesses of people, animals, or things they consider important. Once the sunfire is lit, they throw their creations into the blaze as a way of asking the sun to remember to shine on these things they hold dear even though its time is dwindling. Once the wicker offerings are all given, the party explodes into booze-fueled dance and song until the sun comes up again.