Merry Berry Day

Merry Berry Day is a holiday celebrated mostly within Lutum.

Nu Si'ana Křaw
Nu Si'ana Křaw, or “The White Sand” in Travler’s Tongue, is a weather event that only occurs once every 11 Berrist Years (84 Traveler Years) and lasts about 1 (7 Traveler Years.) No one is certain as to why it occurs, but there are a couple theories; some believe Nu Si'ana Křaw comes from the McClarky Curse manifesting itself physically, a side-effect of the imperfect curse. Others think it may be a divine act of Da Berry itself, reminding the world that it's still there. A select few even think it's a cause of the si'ana rakaka, ancient creatures of sand native to the Hařos & Hařimo Deserts. Whatever the cause may have been, it doesn't make much of a difference now.

Nu Si'ana Křaw is a horribly cold time, especially in the land of Lutum; Maddrak as a whole might get chillier, but Lutum is hit especially hard. Sand begins falling from the sky, slowly at first, for a couple days, but it grows angrier. The falling sand during Nu Si'ana Křaw is not the type you'd find in your average desert, it's whiter than the brightest pearl and frozen to the touch like an icy-blue glacier. The skies gray, and the days shorten; eerily, the moon also looks larger during the season.

During Nu Si'ana Křaw, most types of crops fail, animals die, and water sources freeze over. One of the few foods available is the thorned berry bush. Because of this fact, the Mřau –and later, the Gnomes & Humans– have developed various recipes involving them, with a significant amount containing almost nothing except for the berries themselves prepared in different manners.

The Mřau, having experienced this phenomenon throughout the ages, have developed various traditions surrounding it, and due to Lutumite culture osmosis, many of their practices persevere to this very day.

Merry Berry Day
Due to the high prevalence of berries during the cold season, Most people attributed their survival through Nu Si'ana Křaw to Da Berry, feeding them when times were most dire. Because of this, the holiday known as “Merry Berry Day” was born. It takes place during the coldest week of Nu Si'ana Křaw year, when it overlaps with winter. The Lutumites of old would gather at their city’s town square and share different cooking recipes by a large, decorated bramble of berries. After some chit chat, they would all cook tons of food and celebrate in each other's company for a week, with alcohol more often than not being heavily involved. Today, Merry Berry Day is celebrated similarly; Lutumites from all around will gather at Lutumshire, near a massive bramble of berries, and from there, everybody catches up with each other, bakes food, drinks alcohol, and exchanges gifts with their loved ones. This last tradition is a new one, and it originates from the times of the 1st Phoenix Crisis, where Lutumites would give each other supplies for building or working.