The Nytarfest

"At the turn of the year, when an old age ends and a new one begins, we resolve to fulfill what we could not in the previous one. As the new sun and moon rise, we drink and feast and pledge to fulfill our dreams for this year, and we shall fulfill it indeed, if we have the will to do it"
A Sanguinian Chieftain, giving a speech on the New years feast

In the darkest and coldest days of winter, life in the North of Inaria can often be incredibly harsh. Bone chilling temperatures, violent snow and hailstorms and deadly blizzards are the norm there. Anyone who wants to go out has to come back as quickly as possible, lest they want to find the very blood in their veins turned to ice
Yet amidst those cold and dark times, the people of Northern Inaria often look up to the last day of the year. The day a mighty feast will begin. A feast which almost everyone in the continent would take part in and have lots of fun, as well as adopt resolutions for the new year
This is the New years feast, called the Nytarfest in the language of the Sanguinians. People drink, eat, booze, fight, play and in general have fun in the great feasting halls where the feasts take place. They discuss issues, play boardgames and most of all, just take a break from all the seriousness of life and be happy for once. Friends hug and eat with each other, whilst lovers often share a quiet corner to kiss and adopt resolutions for themselves for the new year.
When midnight strikes at the end of the last day, the entire halls light up in jubilation and they all go outside to see the new years aurora, a beautiful radiant light that shines across the night sky heralding the birth of another year. This marks the end of the first phase, after which there is another feast till dawn when the first sunrise of the year happens, which everyone also goes to observe. This marks the end of the festival, as the people return to their lives in a happy mood basking in the ray of the new years sun