āMain 6 + Winter Holidaysā
note: December is a summer month in Vesuvia, because itās in the Southern Hemisphere. But for the sake of consistency, Iām grouping December-and-adjacent holidays like Hanukkah, Yule, Christmas, et al. together with the Winter Solstice/canon holiday of Midwinter. Yes, in Vesuvia, Midwinter would technically be in June - butĀ ātis the season.
His family doesnāt really have a major winter holiday; the biggest festival days in Zadith are in spring and fall
But he and Muriel grew up celebrating pretty much anything that had a festival on the street, and because Vesuvia is such a cultural hub, there was no shortage of winter festivities to duck into, besides the week-long Midwinter festival
If he isnāt invited to participate in anyone elseās holiday, he wonāt invite himself; heāll spend the holiday season at the street festivals, grab some latkes or glƶgg from a cart and sit up on a rooftop, watching dances in the Square
He loves learning about other peopleās personal and family traditions, though - heāll jump at the chance to help decorate or cook something, and the whole time you spend explaining your familyās traditions, stories, why you do things a certain way, heās listening with wide, eager eyes
Decorates the shop with snippets of his friendsā holidays - he getsĀ chocolate gelt from Julian and Portia to put in the candy dish, burns pine boughs in the fireplace to fill the shop with wintry smells, carves Kokhuri candles and puts them on every available surface - and loves explaining their meaning and origin to his customers
When heās traveling, itās all he can do to keep up with the calendar, and Hanukkah isnāt really a huge holiday, so he got in the habit of not doing terribly much for it
The most heās done on his own is teach some crewmates dreidel; elaborate candle-lightings arenāt the most practical ritual to maintain belowdecks on a wooden ship for doctors who tend to fall asleep at their desks
He likes to jump feet-first into the local holiday scene, wherever he ends up in the winter - he doesnāt need backstory to enjoy street food, dancing, the occasional parade or craft-making table
In Vesuvia, now that he has a more stable living situation, he puts the chanukiah in his window, and if Hanukkah coincides with the Midwinter festival, heāll stop home to light it before running off to catch the crepe-cart in the Square
Heās the last to show up to every home holiday celebration, because he always gets caught up at work - but heās also the last to leave, makes great winter cocktails, and insists on helping with cleanup
Since coming to Vesuvia, sheās quite gotten the hang of Midwinter; Prakra has some holidays in common, but the Solstice isnāt nearly as big of a to-do back home
As it stand, she doesnāt do much for the winter holidays herself (she does take trips home for the major Prakran holidays, but those are in fall and summer), but sheās always honored to be invited to her friendsāĀ
Some of her friendsā holidays involve gift-giving, and some donāt, but she doesnāt want anyone to feel left out, so she makes gifts for everyone, but keeps them modest so no one feels uncomfortable or obliged
Sheās always looking for suggestions to improve the Midwinter Festival - Vesuvia is a city of many cultures, and the more she can do to make everyone feel celebrated, the better
When sheās invited to her partnerās celebration, she has a million questions, and she takes careful notes - what should she wear, what will be served, what dish should she bring to pass, and so onĀ
She is determined to be the model girlfriend you bring home for the holidays. Itās not a competition, but sheās winning
In the past, heād watch the shop while Asra went festival-hopping, and otherwise avoided the Midwinter Festival like the Plague, except that he would rather catch the Plague than deal with that volume of people
Now that heās interested reintroducing himself to Kokhuri culture, he tries to incorporate some Kokhuri winter traditions - heās learned a surprising amount from the tapestries, and heās more eager to try new things than he lets on
It slips out when he teaches other people; he gets this sparkle in his eye when youāre out collecting holly and pine together, talking about what each plant invokes, and where theyāll be hung in his hut
The Kokhuri Midwinter has a lot of overlap with the Scourge celebration (with a few key differences - the Scourge burned pine trees, but there are no trees on the Steppe), so heās filled in some blanks in the tapestries by sending friends to interrogate Lucio on the sneak
Kokhuri Midwinter also involves a lot of hugging and visiting loved ones; heāll work up to the first part, but he compromises on the second by inviting people over for candle-making and mulled wine, and despite his house being full, he still seems content, even cheerful, like the old rites are helping him find comfort in togetherness instead of stress
She was very private about her winter celebration the previous year (she couldnāt risk someone recognizing her traditions and associating her with Julian), but now that she has her family back, in the same city, and not on trial for anything capital, just try and stop her
They spend so much time cooking together, Mazelinka basically moves in for Hanukkah - the Palace staff get to start every morning with homemade sufganiyot, fresh from the fryer and filled with her super-secret triple-berry jam recipe
For the first time since they were kids, she and Julian have the applesauce/sour cream debate (she is firmlyĀ in the applesauce camp), and this time she has bullet points on note cards
Lets it slip that she was working during the Midwinter Festival last year, and Nadia insists she take time off to experience it; itās magical to rediscover Vesuvian Midwinter through her eyes, everything for the first time
Her favorite part is the candle ceremony at the Palace, gathering outside the gates with steaming mugs of cocoa and watching it light up room by room - huge, elaborate candle displays reflecting in her eyes like starlight,Ā ātil the last light goes on in the Contemplation Tower, and everyone cheers and rushes the food carts
He stopped celebrating most of his tribeās holidays (and if you ask, heās never heard of them), but he sneaks little remnants of their Solstice traditions into his own Midwinter celebration
Just the things he likes - he does notĀ spend the night before the Solstice doing chores anymore, and you canāt make him, but he still loves mulled wine, and the Palace always serves roast reindeer for a Midwinter feast
Candles are the habit heās never been able to break; heās used to winters where the sun never fully rises on Jul - uh, Midwinter - so he fills the Palace with fancy candle arrangements, and keeps them burning for the duration of the festival, so it glows like a magical beacon you can see anywhere in Vesuvia
He wonāt bring it up, but if you ask, he does like teaching you some of his tribeās traditions - spicing logs together is a great excuse to get messy and lick stuff off each other (not that he needs an excuse)
Cackles like a hen at the look of horror on your face when he explains things like putting out a glass of water on the nightstand so the winter spirit doesnāt drink your bloodā¦yeah, thereās a reason he doesnāt celebrate many Scourge holidays
