Sola's Festival

Cultural vegetarianism, except when they don't

In Lumin, it's difficult to know whether an animal in the forest is an animal or a Fey. A mistake is deadly, so the Luminese have developed their own special diet.
The Luminese diet consists mostly of herbs, fruits, and vegetables -- pretty much anything you can forage or grow in the nearby area -- as well as honey, and milk products from the specially bred Luminese sheep. The only meat they typically consume is that is that of the occasional bird that lands on the road or in the village. This is usually cut into small pieces and mixed into a larger stew, pot pie, or a pastie if it's leftover.
Lumin's coastal cities have some respite from this paranoia, as they have easy access to fish and trade goods such as dried meats, exotic fruits, and various other foods from around the Zetian Sea. Settlements further inland have become rather clever in their use of the local flora to make up for things they would normally lack. Solasigh seeds are ground up to make flour, for example, and certain tubers have a remarkably similar texture to meat when cooked certain ways.
The most notable break from this almost completely vegetarian diet is the three day Sola's Festival, held in late Autumn. During this time, sheep are selected from the local flock to be slaughtered and cooked for the occasion. Fey living in the forest nearby are invited to join the community for a rare chance to cordially intermingle with the human-folk for food, dancing, and games.

Execution

Because Luminese sheep are such a valuable commodity to the communities they live in, one is only slaughtered for special celebrations. This is typically reserved for Sola's Festival, but can also be done on solstice or midsummer if the village has a larger flock. This is done in offering to the Fey, who are allowed to pass over the solasigh hedges during Sola's Festival to join in the festivities.
Traditionally, the selected sheep will be slaughtered, and either the largest rack of ribs or the entrails (this is dependent on how many sheep are slaughtered at the festival) are harvested separately and washed, washed again with milk, then soaked in milk and honey. This will be left, raw, on the Fey's side of the solasigh hedges. This tells the Fey that they are welcome and the festivities are about to begin. This offering is always gone by morning, though no one ever sees it taken.

Components and tools

It is essential that a knife not made of iron be used in the slaughtering of the sheep. Typically one made of stone is used, though larger towns are known to use bronze knives in recent times.

Related Ethnicities

• Luminese