While vampires may have been pushed back in most parts of the world, that doesn't leave them any less to be feared. There could be anything out there in the night, aiming to feed on the living and perhaps propagate its own numbers. So the short winter days, when daylight disappears rapidly, are feared by many. But worse are the dreadful cloudy spring and fall periods. When the sky is completely covered with clouds, stronger vampires will be able to venture forth even during the day. Only when the sun properly breaks through, do people dare breathe a sigh of relief.
Within the confines of the so-called dread realms, countries where vampires haven't been properly suppressed, these days are even more important. To the people living there, they do not act with care for a mere possibility. They act with care 'cause of the certain fact that vampires are waiting in the shadows, ready to devour all that slip. It used to be that dressing in light clothing was the thing to celebrate when spring arrives in kindness. Now, it's being able to meet up and party, during the day for the night is still a place of danger. Needless to say, this fact has greatly encouraged daytime drinking. After all, drinking excessively during the night can only be considered an act of natural selection. Drunks slip up, and that is the only chance a thirsty vampire needs.
An added bonus is that during the spring time, wild roses begin to bloom. Their value in suppressing vampires makes them a popular thing to obtain. So on the day of the first bloom, when the sun brightens everyone's day and wild roses bloom all around, that is when a relative freedom has arrived. So people dress nicely, venture forth, enjoy their daytime drinking in public places, smell the roses, take some leaves... And then, as the eve begins to show, they rush back to safety, preparing to dry out their rose petals to turn into a defensive powder. And they smile, knowing tomorrow will be a better day.
— The Van Helsing Guidebook
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