Broodfeest
For the People of the Wolf, winters are hard and often long, leading to many lean years as even the best preservation methods don't always keep enough food through the planting season in spring. (This is why the People of the Wolf are such notorious raiders, but I digress.) When the planting season begins, the foods that most easily grow in cold climates are planted, making rye, barley, and potatoes common crops along with assorted fruits and vegetables. Wheat is grown occasionally as well. This is noteworthy because the harvest festival that occurs shortly after Arawn's Ascension (a holiday midway between the autumnal equinox and winter solstice) traditionally boasts two foods in abundance: fresh meats from the animals slaughtered before winter, and a nearly endless variety of breads and pastries.
To outsiders, the diet of the northernmost peoples seem bland and uninspired, consisting mostly of pork and fish dishes with few spices. Broodfeest comes as a shock to visitors for not only its variety but the clever recipes and exotic ingredients; many families will hoard a little bit of ginger or cardamom won from a trader years ago to ensure that their entry on this day will remain true to the family recipe, and every family has recipes passed down for generations that detail how to make loaves of sweet or savory breads and biscuits. Sugar or honey is often used and most confections come with a recommended side or beverage as well. (Coffee is quite popular this far north, if rare, though different tea or cocoa drinks can also be found).
Nearly every village has friendly competitions (the spilling of blood over Broodfeest is considered an affront to the ancestors, and on this day holmgang is forbidden), and visiting merchants who have heard tales of Wolvish ferocity in raiding are often shocked to see smiling and laughing faces dressed in bright colors and urging everyone around them to stuff their faces with biscuits.
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