Hearthtide

Hearthtide is a holiday on the Summer Solstice celebrating the warmth and love of Cyridia. It is also the day before elections are held for the Triumvirate, Greater Assembly, and Common Assembly.

The festival involves horseshows as well as horse racing and displays of horse archery. Children are also given gifts by their family and gifts between lovers are also common. For playwrights, artists, and musicians, it is considered the most important festival of the year. New arts and works both secular and religious are unveiled on this day. Temple flames and streets are a myriad of colors on this day and clothing articles that would be gaudy in any other context are freely worn.

Trance dances often take place in rural areas much to the chagrin of the |Clergy. These dances tend to follow a pattern of shapeshifting, with one group becoming livestock, another group becoming wolves, and a third becoming aspects of Cyridia. Scholars argue that this tradition descended from pre-Cyridian rituals to protect the livelihood of farmers. The clergy tend to suppress these opinions.

Festival cuisine is often fragrant, using floral notes with millet and poultry. Pastries made with rice flour are served fruit sauce alongside teas. Edible floral arrangements are also common. Tea lovers rejoice as stalls serving new and experimental tea blends are served. Distilled spirits sell the best at this time of year.