Schar's Eve

Schar's Eve is a semi-somber, semi-fun festival in the Blazennian pantheon, as it is believed to be the start of Njolfrost's rise in power during winter but also represents the tail end of the harvest. This festival, traditionally occuring a week after the first frost of the year, is held to honor the goddess Wirtschar, who is the goddess of the harvest and autumn. It is believed to show the gratitude of her worshippers towards the harvest and the fall season. While much of the grain harvest will have been long since brought in by this time, many other important facets of harvest time, such as the culling of animals, collection of grain tithes or taxes, and storage and preservation of goods must also finsihed before the celebration is held.

The festival also includes general worship of all Blazennian deities as a thanks for them defending against Njolfrost's powers and allowing time to get the harvest in. Therefore, the deity Salamandrake is also honored at this time for his victories over Njolfrost during the summer and autumn, keeping the sun shining strongly and holding back the frost. Despite being a theologically somber occasion as it is the start of the winter season, reckoned as a season of evil in Blazeological tradition, the festival is actually better known for its fine dining and celebration, with its connection to the harvest. Occuring just after the harvest season, it is a time to eat foods that will spoil over winter, enjoy a feast of fresh goods, and slaughter animals that won't make it through the hard months ahead. It's also seen as a time of tricks, with the trickster goddess Wirtschar being honored by playing pranks on people. Over the years, Schar's Eve has also become a time of spooks and tales of horrors, with long epics about devils and demons being popular, songs of woe and misfortune being played, and, in some places, costumed plays of theological events performed. Comedic plays are also popular, especially involving a conniving or trickster protagonist. Often such a protagonist will be set up with Njolfrost as his or her foe.

Winter's Eve used to be performed at different times in each locale based on the first frosts, but due to clerical centralization and the festival's conformance with the seasons once the Blazennians adopted a calendar it has slowly moved to being the night before the first day of winter, instead of the week after the first frost. Given its date as just before winter, the festival is considered to be one of the Three Winter Festivals, despite not technically being a part of winter. Though still held in its traditional manner in many smaller towns, larger cities and in the colonies have led the charge in standardization. After all, not all of Blazennia even has a first frost every year.