Holidays

Sorel has several major holidays that are celebrated across the continent, seasonal holidays that vary their exact timing by region, and minor holidays that are only celebrated in certain regions or in response to certain events.

Flourish - Last week of Second Seed
Flourish marks the peak growing season in Sorel, and is celebrated with a week of revelry. With some regional variations, Flourish festivals feature flowers, food, crops, livestock, and crafts. Popular activities include parades with carts bedecked in flowers to kick off the celebrations, livestock competitions, and large dances. Smaller settlements and common folk tend to celebrate with public events, but nobility often host elaborate galas or garden parties.

Flakefall - Evening Star 2/Winter solstice
Flakefall is a celebration of community in the depths of winter. It originated in small villages where communal sharing of food and supplies was all that kept people alive when the farms were dormant, and eventually spread throughout Sorel.

Traditionally, each household decorates their home with flowers, greenery, cloth, or whatever is regionally produced. Gifts are exchanged between family members and friends during the day. Tables are then set out before each house with as much seating as can be found—the idea is to have a nearly-continuous table lining the street. Food is prepared and displayed in quantity by each family, with traditional Flakefall treats varying by region. Each table is open to all as they circulate through the street, neighborhood, or city as they choose, staying at each table for as long or as little as they like (although staying for less than half an hour is usually taken as an insult). To be specifically invited to another household's table is a friendly gesture; likewise, to be refused a seat or asked to leave is a serious rejection.

Yearspring - Evening Star 28 to Morning Star 1
Unlike Flakefall, which is all about community, Yearspring is a more private time of reflection. Households usually keep to themselves, although wishing each other a happy Yearspring in the preceding and following days is conventional. Inclusion in another household's Yearspring is a sign of deep, sincere friendship, more so than sharing a table at Flakefall. The exception to this is nobility, who generally include some of their advisors or close connections' families in their celebrations for political purposes rather than genuine sentiment.

All Yearspring celebrations share one trait—the performance of some symbolic action at midnight on Yearspring Eve, which can be done in reverse. For example, in Ysas, celebrants will sheathe or draw a decorative weapon; in Hanton, glass lanterns will be lit or snuffed; in Helmfirth and most of Cenard, everyone (or at least every household) has a ribbon or garland to be tied in a knot or untied. Drawing your weapon, lighting your lantern, tying your knot, or whatever the local symbol is, means that you wish to continue the fortune you've experienced in the previous year. Doing the reverse means you are releasing your luck for the year and hoping for a change.

Brightmoon
Recognized whenever both moons are full, although not usually formally celebrated. Generally seen as a sign of good luck, good weather, good spirits, or all of the above. In some regions, a Brightmoon in a certain season means different things.

Honey Moon
Celebrated in Hanton, Trale, Driding, and parts of Cole, a Brightmoon in spring with a golden tint is a Honey Moon and indicates luck in love.This is a time of romantic overtures, declarations of love, and country weddings.

Thunder Moon
Celebrated in Staad, Cenard, and Ysas, a Brightmoon in summer with a greenish tint is a Thunder Moon. This is a sign of coming rainstorms, and celebrated with a level of joy proportional to how long the dry season has lasted, with special drinks and foods. Those in the more arid parts of Ysas and Staad generally set up ceremonial rain barrels in preparation.

Gale Moon
Celebrated in Hanton, Staad, and Cenard, a Brightmoon in autumn with a red tint is a Gale Moon. This is a sign of particularly favorable trade winds which can carry ships at great speed both to other continents and around the edge of Sorel to the southern states. Merchants may or may not put their faith in the Gale Moon, but those who do rush to stock their ships and get their ledgers in order.

Thaw Moon
Celebrated in Trale, Cole, Driding, and Cenard, a Brightmoon in winter with a bluish tint is a Thaw Moon. This is a sign of a warm snap or an early spring thaw, and is usually celebrated with feasting and special warm drinks.

Lunar Vigil
Recognized when Selene is full, but Falconer new. Legend has it that Falconer, the smaller moon, is Selene's bird of prey, and has a longer cycle because she sends him hunting across the land. But every time she sends him out, Selene grows lonely, and when she knows he is farthest away she stays awake a full night to keep watch for him.

Lunar Vigils are rarely formally celebrated, but most treat them as a time of reflection and there is a general air of solemnity around these nights. Many use them as a reason to write distant family members and spend time with loved ones.