The Festival of the Hearths
Winters can be brutally cold and unforgiving in The Dales. The Gelendry have prospered in the Dales even after the Binding of Sestus. This is partially because the Warden's children are a hardy folk that live off of the land and adapt to the seasons well. The Warden's heart for others is the other reason. After the Binding, he saw how his children were struggling to survive during the winters. He shaped a new path down to the rest of Merida and gave them new traditions to support them during the harsh winters.
One of the traditions was The Festival of Hearths. The festival occurs during the winters and was once celebrated across most of Merida, but now is mostly celebrated in small villages and in The Dales, where the Gelendry still struggle to survive in the winter months. This is the only festival that the Gelendry include those that are not part of their towns.
A disciple of the Order of the Warden is generally relied on to coordinate and get all of the families of the village to participate. On the shortest day of the winter, when the snow is nearly frozen over, the disciple of the Warden starts a procession outside of the temple of the Warden. They (he or she) carries a tall pole that has a lantern hanging from from a hook at the top, he begins to walk around the village, knocking on doors and inviting people to join his procession. The traditional exchange is:
* Are any inside that wish to join us at the Warden's Hearth?
If there are, they respond:
* We will gladly join you and we have gifts to give
And the gifts are generally food and blankets (as the festival is a huge potluck). If the household has nothing to give, they still repeat the line as they have their presence to give to the festival. They come with their lanterns, single people, fathers, mothers and children. They join the procession and continue around the village. As more and more children join, they tend to run along with the Disciple of the Warden and knock on the door and shout out the exchange, so the procession tends to move faster as the line gets longer. This is a good thing because the winter nights in The Dales are extremely cold. The outsiders who have agreed to join the festival, come to the Temple and walk with the Disciple at the beginning.
The processions ends in the Town Hall, where all gather and the fireplace in the Hall is lit and the tables are ready to receive the pots and dishes that were brought with the people. Everyone walks through the line, buffet style and eats at the broad tables. Aval Blanc is served from the Order of the Blessed Lady (to the adults of course) and various villages sing or recite poems or play music so that people can dance. At the end of the night, those that live within the town leave and walk back to their homes. Any outsiders that live so far away that their walk would take an hour or more are free to sleep in the Town Hall with the blankets that were brought by others. The disciples of the Order of the Warden stay in the Town Hall, both for the safety of the outsiders and to ensure that the outsiders refrain from mischief and obey village rules.
One of the traditions was The Festival of Hearths. The festival occurs during the winters and was once celebrated across most of Merida, but now is mostly celebrated in small villages and in The Dales, where the Gelendry still struggle to survive in the winter months. This is the only festival that the Gelendry include those that are not part of their towns.
A disciple of the Order of the Warden is generally relied on to coordinate and get all of the families of the village to participate. On the shortest day of the winter, when the snow is nearly frozen over, the disciple of the Warden starts a procession outside of the temple of the Warden. They (he or she) carries a tall pole that has a lantern hanging from from a hook at the top, he begins to walk around the village, knocking on doors and inviting people to join his procession. The traditional exchange is:
* Are any inside that wish to join us at the Warden's Hearth?
If there are, they respond:
* We will gladly join you and we have gifts to give
And the gifts are generally food and blankets (as the festival is a huge potluck). If the household has nothing to give, they still repeat the line as they have their presence to give to the festival. They come with their lanterns, single people, fathers, mothers and children. They join the procession and continue around the village. As more and more children join, they tend to run along with the Disciple of the Warden and knock on the door and shout out the exchange, so the procession tends to move faster as the line gets longer. This is a good thing because the winter nights in The Dales are extremely cold. The outsiders who have agreed to join the festival, come to the Temple and walk with the Disciple at the beginning.
The processions ends in the Town Hall, where all gather and the fireplace in the Hall is lit and the tables are ready to receive the pots and dishes that were brought with the people. Everyone walks through the line, buffet style and eats at the broad tables. Aval Blanc is served from the Order of the Blessed Lady (to the adults of course) and various villages sing or recite poems or play music so that people can dance. At the end of the night, those that live within the town leave and walk back to their homes. Any outsiders that live so far away that their walk would take an hour or more are free to sleep in the Town Hall with the blankets that were brought by others. The disciples of the Order of the Warden stay in the Town Hall, both for the safety of the outsiders and to ensure that the outsiders refrain from mischief and obey village rules.
What a welcoming festival! I could imagine the children running ahead. Delightful.