Rosica festival

What was once a solemn, state-sanctioned ritual performed by early Crienia settlers in a new region to cleanse the lands of bad spirits. It was carried out at the end of the summer months, and Crienia communities would burn bundles of sacred herbs and gather around large bonfires. It was believed that the smoke would chase the spirits away.   Over the years, the Rosica festival transformed from the solemn ritual it had been centuries before to a more vibrant festival that now celebrates the coming of change in the form of a new season, renewal of the land and letting go of old burdens. Likewise, the large bonfires have become the centre of the festival, and people gather around them to watch. In some regions, it's common that people toss in small figures carved from wood, into which they imbue their worries, they then toss them into the fire in the belief that the fire will burn their worries away. In other regions, its become a tradition to smear ash from the bonfire onto the forehead of a loved one, believing that that person will be protected.   Likewise, unlike the original, the Rosica festival now includes music, sweet wine, and games, typically competitions between the local youngsers and the local garrison.   In the border regions that border into the unknown, unclaimed land, aspects of the original ritual can still be observed as the people there still are in contact with the unknown, although they observe a more pure version of the Rosica, even that have not been imune to change and have become more lively with music and a more festival feeling than the original.     While the original Rosica festival are old, its believed that even the ritual in its origial form were a development of an even older tradition which name have since then been lost to history but some elven tribes perform a ritual that have more than one similarity with the original Rosica.