FESTIVAL FASHION AND TRADITION
Of the many celebrations I’ve had the fortune to attend, Merrymead and Currentseve are two of the most memorable. Merrymead was started by Druma’s Caydenites, who had the brilliant idea to host a massive party to drink the remains of the previous year’s alcohol in a symbolic act of drowning unfinished business. Currentseve is more somber, as it’s a festival for sailors seeking the protection of Gozreh, deity of storms, to ensure a safe voyage. Like many holidays and festivals, both celebrations have unique garb and activities.
Handkerchief: Handkerchiefs are used to keep your tankard clean and your face and hands dry. They also serve a ceremonial purpose: surrender! Merrymead is rife with games, like spontaneous arm-wrestling, singing, and gambling competitions.
Stories to Share: Storytelling games are a cherished part of Merrymead, as nothing builds trust better than meeting someone and immediately lying to them. Storytellers get a card with a prompt. One must tell a true story and one must tell a lie; the audience has to figure out who told the true story. Whichever side loses, drinks!
Scarves: Merrymead is a pub crawl with outdoor activities that take place in the dead of winter. Given that, celebrants often wear scarves as big as blankets. It struck me as funny until I saw how the Caydenites invite strangers to embrace their scarves, sharing their warmth, food, and joy with the poor, the lonely, and the exiles—even half-orcs like me.
Merry Tunes: No procession would be complete without instruments. Celebrants like to carry small, portable instruments: a handheld wooden flute, an occasional fiddle, or, for the trained, a snare drum.
Ragged Coats: The Caydenites’ giving brings them into conflict with the followers of Kalistrade, who care only for amassing wealth. Further flaunting their disdain for Druma, the Caydenites wear dark coats of green or beige, often old and patched-up.
Pub Logs: Participants carry booklets meant for collecting stamps from the taverns they’ve visited. Besides it being a fun way to look back on previous Merrymeads, it also serves as a record of where you were in case you wake up without your shoes.
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