Holidays and Festivals

Winter solstice
The winter solstice started as an Elven, gnomish and Halfing holiday rooted in the renewal of Valis, in modern times Olena has taken over Valis's duties so the holiday has shifted to celebrate Olenas victory over the corrupted god Valis which ended the years of eternal winter and allowed spring to return to Gadriel.

Small evergreen plants are brought into peoples homes, in order to provide shelter for the fledgling plants until the warmth of spring arrives. Large feasts are prepared, usually consisting of gourds, nuts, berries and winter roots.

Since Olenas victory the holiday has taken a slightly more sinister aspect, as during the month of Rifinn the 4th moon of Gadiel, Jolana passes through an unstable pocket of energy left over from Valis the former god of nature on Gadriel. During this month a link to the abyssal plane, Valsharon (the frozen plane) where Valis made his new home after Olena drove him from Gadriel. During this time demons and frigid elementals invade the realms of Gadriel.