The Sixteenth Winter of the Morningstar

Among the faith of the Morningstar Pilgrims, for girls and boys reaching adult maturity at 16 - whether or not they have had their name day or not, on the sixteenth winter after their birth, they must walk away from their nomadic families and prove their independence through a trial of survival and companionship.
As younger Anointed novices, on the last day before the last month of winter - their nomadic families will have already gathered at a sacred grove, glade or wild space & speak to a local dryad or naiad. Usually, in groups of three, male or female, each will be made to foster a bond with a recently newborn animal, bird or beast of the area who has been orphaned from the cold winter or abandoned. They must spend the month, working together, caring about the newborn until the coming of the Vernal Restoration within the wilderness. This marks their first step away from their families and made to work together without any help. Though they are given the means to call upon the local dryad or naiad, it is perceived as shameful for having failed to truly show their independence and ability to grow, both on themselves and their family - as they have to call upon the aid of nature to help them survive, rather than live in harmony with them.
Boys and girls also have faced the troubles of adversity, not only of the winter but also the lessening of their spirits to the potential of nearby Dark Fey that may serve the Winter Court. Also, they must not waiver in the adversity of their own emotions, as they are at times tempted by the Dryad four times (once a week) to stand and sit with her, potentially neglecting the newborn for an undisclosed time. Of course, no malicious actions are intended, but winter is harsh and cruel, and dryads always prefer company and forget time is different to humanoids.
At the end of the month, upon the Vernal Restoration, it is said that these creatures form a bond for life with the young Anointed, in which they are declared to be fully-fledged Morningstars. During the Vernal Restoration celebrations and festivals, there are ceremonies that typically honour the youth that has faced their sixteenth winter, and provide a fun opportunity to wear their own new style of traditional dress. Each one receives the first wreath of their Springcloak vestments and an embroidered cap that they spend their lives reknitting and stitching to extend and make Phrygian caps.
However, not all of these children pass the coming of age tradition - whether some have shamefully called for the aid of the Dryad, fallen for their enchanting charms and neglected their newborn charge. The newborn charge may die for whatever reasons, and thus they hold a small ceremonious funeral in the natural wilderness. The trio may squabble and act unharmoniously to nature, become lost or become sick. Sometimes it has been known that the Dark Fey come against the teenage Anointed, or others have been killed by natural predators - and the spring comes with a sad time for their family, and host a tree burial in the sacred sanctuary. They understand that some beginnings are not always the best, nor the brightest. But life continues on, in spite of it.