Midsummer's Night
Midsummer Night is one of the Tween Days and unsurprisingly marks the half way point between the Summer and Autumn seasonal Stellar Days occurring on the 26th day of the month Thrimlich on the secular calendar and the 16th day of the month of Greymoria on the Zodiac calendar.
While different cultures all have their own take on this holiday, there is usually an upbeat attitude and an air of revelry.
Most cereal crops won't be harvested till the fall but a lot of fruit harvests occur around this time. Since this day occurs near the end of Thrimlich and Thrimlich is known for rich pastures (that is why it is named "the month of three milkings"). That means there is lots of butter, cheese, and cream to go around. Fresh fruit and cream is found on the dinner tables of peasants and princes a like on this. This food is considered by many to be aphrodisiacal.
"With all the fresh fruit and butter available, this is a very busy work for those in my profession, we work long hours in the days and weeks leading up to Midsummer Night but we are paid quite well. The local dragon bloods often want to show their generosity by bestowing sweet treats on the peasants on this day."
"I'm personally more interested in the jousting tournament, grand melee, and archery contest, but there is plenty to do. In most of Kantoc this is the biggest festival of the year. There are jugglers, acrobats, illusionists, singers, and acting troupes all pushing their own form of entertainment and the air is filled with the scents of baking sweet meats and pies. A fine day with something for everyone, whatever your tastes are." -Sir Derecho, Knight of the Red Lion
There is no immediate analogy to a real world modern holiday, but in many ways Midsummer Night is akin to Valentines Day or Carnival. It is considered a couples holiday, both for long-term couple and more casual couples. Even uptight or repressed cultures are likely to give people more leeway to stray on this day. People who tend to be more sexually liberated really cut loose on Midsummer Night.Part of their ritual is to drink every last last drop of the previous years stock of related spirits and to open the casks for the new batches to taste the first of the new year's spirits, a fine ritual.""I'm all for eating fresh fruit when the opportunity presents itself. We dwarves don't get to enjoy fresh food very often, but while fruit can be eaten as is, Nami often decrees fruit be a more divine purpose, by fermenting into spirits. I'm not a big fan of Uskala in general but there, Midsummer Night is dedicated to Nami in Uskala, so as a circuit priestess I am often there this time of year.
"As if humans needed another excuse to be drunk and promiscuous! This day is a farce, an excess that we elves barely tolerate to appease the baser instincts of the Empire's human subjects. I usually make sure to be far away from port when Midsummer Night is coming up." -Almon Genmaer, grey elf sailor
"A true warrior lives every day to fullest for tomorrow we may die but everything has a time and a place. But if there is any day to live life to fullest, it is Midsummer. On Midsummer the Nine shower their blessings on all the people. We feast, we drink, we sing, we brawl, we mate. On this day...we live." -Dabub, orc hunterLike the other Tween Days, there is an uptick in Fair Folk visiting the material plane on this day, and unsurprisingly, the Fae are often in an amorous mood. In some ways amorous fae are as dangerous as angry fae since it is often difficult to differentiate between "courting" and "kidnapping." In some cases young adults and adolescents don't let the risk stop them from seeking Fair Folk lovers given how many are very handsome or beautiful. Or at least can wield illusions to appear beautiful.
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