The Teleri have a yearly festival dedicated to the hatching of sea turtles, on the beaches south of Alqualondë. It pre dates the rising of the sun and moon by centuries. Turtles would typically hatch when the light of Telperion was waning just as they would later learn to follow the moon towards the ocean.
Nests are carefully guarded, marked by rocks with silver spirals painted upon them. Disruption of the nests is forbidden.
Maiar of Ulmo occasionally attend the festival, sometimes among the Teleri and sometimes from the ocean, taking the forms of fish, turtles, or even currents.
Sea turtles themselves are a common motif in Telerin art and lore. Mosaics and murals colored from malachite, ash leaves, and foxgloves can be found within Alqualondë.
The festival didn’t occur for several years after the darkening and the first kinslaying though the practice of marking the nests remained. Although it did finally resume, the absence of some, and the new light from the moon, gave the festival a melancholy atmosphere for many years to come.
