Chase of the Hallowed Hog

Stemming from the Winter Hunts of the old day within the Cantho Isles, the Chase of the Hallowed Hog festival is an extensive and widespread culmination of regional customs, political practices and time honored traditions.

History

Within the Eastern regions of the continent of Occidentra, the people of the Cantho Isles developed a winter tradition, in which settlements would release captive boars into the wild and the men of the settlements would participate in the "Winter Hunt." As time passed, and the event became more extravagant, new practices were implemented, with parades, post-hunt feasts, and fancy cloaths and costumes becoming a norm to the tradition.
As the Cannothans spread out across the mainland, subjugating the Hokkaran and many other ethnic groups, they shared this tradition, allowing the peoples of these younger settlements to participate in the event, while having the feast act as a tribute to the Cannothan lords and leaders of the settlements. And as the tradition continued and was expanded upon, it continued to spread, eventually leaving the domain of Cahokia, and spreading to other nearby countries such as the Unified Kingdoms of Eskonia.
As for why the hogs are now dressed in red robes and given false white beards, it is believed that a circle of druids once tried to interfere with a prominent cities Chase of the Hallowed Hog one year, allowing the hog to escape, while a druid wild shaped to distract the hunters. The story goes that the hunters slew the druid in the end, and the city proceeded to eat his corpse in place of the hogs that year. While quite gruesome, it has become a tradition since to dress the hog as if it were a person. Perhaps to show to any interfering druids that the people care not if the hog is animal or not.

Execution

The Chase of the Hallowed Hog festival takes place the day before the winter solstice, starting in the early hours of daylight, the town provides a minimum of one hog for the festival. The hog is walked through the streets of the village, with a parade crafted by the townsfolk and villagers following behind, celebrating the arrival of the festival.
Once the parade finishes, the town/ village will gather on the edge of town, where a local priest or preacher will bless the hog, reading to it its divine rights as stated by the God of the Hunt's tenents, and praying for its success through the day, utilizing a holy symbol of the God of the Hunt, that it may live a long life and outwit the hunters for the current year. The hog is then dressed in the divine garb, and set loose to run into a nearby forest or fields.
The hog is given a 5-minute head start, though some locals give it longer, and the hunters are let loose to see who will capture the hog and be crowned the red prince for that year. The hunters are given until sunset to catch the hog, with a hog's successful escape signifying a long cold winter, that will be four weeks longer than normal, and with no red prince. If the hog is caught or slain, then the hunter who said or caught the hog with being dawned in red robes, and is rewarded as the guest of honor for the night's feast, gaining the second dish of the night, right after the towns lord.

Components and tools

The Chase of the Hallowed Hog festival has many important components and tools, many of which are listed in the following:

• Costume of the Hallowed Hog (Red Robe, White Beard, potential sleeping cap)

• Chase of the Hallowed Hog Traditional Priests Robes

• Chase of the Hallowed Hog Red Prince's Robes

• Sigil of the God of the Hunt

• Tenents of the God of the Hunt

Additional homemade sweets, dinners, and floats are utilized throughout the festival.

Participants

The Chase of the Hallowed Hog festival is open to all, with villagers and those who do not participate in the hunt playing games and socializing at the edge of town while the hunt goes on. Beyond that, the key roles of the festival are the Hog, the Priest, The Lord, The Hunters, and the Red Prince.
The hog is the basis for the hunt, the Priest is there to signify the hogs allowing, the lord is the guest of honor at the feast, the hunters are the core participants, and the Red Prince is the hunter who wins the festival.

Observance

The Chase of the Hallowed Hog Festival takes place from sunrise of the day before the Winter Solstace, to the night, and often flows into the solstace itself. The parade always takes place at sunrise, and the hunt always ends by sunset. Beyond these times and dates, the specific timing of the Chase of the Hallowed Hog festival does not truly matter.

Primary Related Location

Cantho Isles

Important Locations

• Errathan Sea
• Fendu Bay

Related Ethnicities

• Cahokian
• Cannothans
• Eskon
• Hokkaran