Festival of Gathering

It had been several years since Jasper Appleblossom returned to his home county of Lullin; his tailor shop in Halfing Hills had taken all his attention. This year, however, the crisp arrival of fall had hit differently than usual. His busy hands stilled while his mind wandered to the days of his youth, working from dawn to dusk and celebrating through the night.
The next day a sign could be seen hung on the door of Jasper's Clothing: Tailored To Your Needs.

On Vacation

Back after Harvest

Fall comes sooner for the halflings in the north west of Aureon than the rest of the continent, and they welcome the change of season with the Festival of Gathering. While the Festival of Gatherings is celebrated mainly by Halflings, human who live near Halflings have begun to take on the festival for themselves.

Execution

As the fall harvest approaches, halflings, even those who have moved to cities far from their ancestral homes, return to their shires in preparation for the Festival of Gathering. Each attendant is assigned either an even or odd number in a large ceremony where each team is gathered on either side of the town square. Each team appoints a champion who engages the other in a wrestling match. The winning team starts the festival in the homes while the losers immediately head out to the fields to begin the harvest. Those that stay in the village begin cooking for the night's feast. Water and food is run out to the fields throughout the day.
As evening falls, the workers come in from the fields and the night's feast begins. All through the night the village is lit with torches and course after course is brought out. Most halflings will fall asleep on or under the tables. When the next day dawns the two teams switch, with those who stayed at the homes heading to the fields. Those who harvested the previous day begin cleaning the leftovers and cook for the next night's feast. This continues until the harvest in completed.

Observance

1 Wintergilth