The Celebrations of Babblebrook Musin

[ArgentEra 459]

The following are a list of festivals celebrated in the Musin Town of Babblebrook throughout the calendar year. Some of these events harken back to the first rendition of Babblebrook in Dunfarthing, though many are new additions. Most festivals are open to guests from all nations.
 

The Bee Festival

A festival celebrating the bees first awakening from the winter months, and as such, is held in early Spring.

The Bee Festival is one of the primary events in Babblebrook, with residents encouraged to bring out bottles of mead and honeyed wines made in the past year, to share amongst the community, either for trade or feedback from the more discerning residents.

Of course, this means drinking contests held at the tavern, as they empty some of their more plentiful stock from stores.

The Honey Festival

A festival celebrating the harvest of honey in the highlands and welcoming the first harvests of Autumn. Often held in late Summer and Early Autumn, the festival is accompanied by raucous music, dancing, and tastings of various food and drinks.

It is believed that the more lively the celebrations, the more bountiful the autumn harvests will be, all thanks to the bees that call the Highlands their home.

The Sweet Berry Festival

A festival about sweetberries of course! A favorite of many musin, especially those in the highlands, sweetberry flavored drinks, foods, and more are served as festival food as members of the community get together for a celebration. 

The exact time of year depends on the climate, and where the musin have decided to settle.

The Mask Festival

The Mask Festival is a day dedicated to, well, masks! The community dons wooden masks of various kinds, and enjoys a day of events held by local artisans and community leaders, oftentimes for promises of a reward.

The primary event of the Mask Festival is “The Merry Masks”, in which community members give gifts to someone they are assigned. These can vary from treats to trinkets or larger, more fancy items. 

“The Merry Masks, a spritely band,

Whose laughter rings across the land,

We’re known to all, ne’er seen by eye,

Our glee spreads cheer up t’ the sky.
 

But if we’re caught, oh do not fret,

For we will find it fun I bet!

The masks enjoy to laugh, you see,

A day of fun, and utmost glee!”

       —An unknown musin poet 

The Highland Games

A series of competitions held over the course of several Giant’s days, where winners are named, drinks are had, and rivalries grow. 

Many of the games are traditional strength and dexterity-based competitions one might expect, such as archery, tug-of-war, hammer throwing, and caber tossing, as well as others. All of which have size-appropriate tools for those who wish to participate.

Greater Celebrations

Heroes' Day

An annual day of celebration held shortly after the first green shoots appear in the fields in summer, Heroes' Day is, compared to many other festivals, treated with extreme reverence by the Musin of Babblebrook.

It is a day to honor the ancestors of modern Musin, those freed Ratiki slaves that escaped to Almaris under Musin the Brave and Crumlin the Sailor's guidance.

The community as a whole remembers the two heroes, with memorials being placed around town for Musin and Crumlin, often depicted side by side for their pivotal role in their freedom.

Many families have their own way of honoring these ancestors amongst others, often including meals, offerings, even promises for the future. To be invited to a family's private celebration of these ancestors is considered the highest of honors.

Day of Honor

A Day of Honor is an extremely rare occasion, in which the Musin of Babblebrook honors a Musin as a hero, bestowing upon them a title that recognizes some great feat they have performed in their life for the betterment of Babblebrook, all of Musinkind, or the world.

Babblebrook hero culture is one of deep pride, and the naming of a true hero is seen as a celebration beyond all others by the residents, even the ascension of their own kings. It is a belief of the current line of kings, that to hold a hero's title for an act of service to their people is the highest honor they can hope to achieve.

To be bestowed a hero's title by the Musin of Babblebrook is to be remembered for generations to come, your name to be written in their histories. It is a thing of extreme reverence.

The ceremony in which one is named a hero, known as "Naming", or the titling ceremony, is a practice not often seen by non-musin. To be invited to attend as a non-musin is something that must be done by either the honoree themselves, or by those bestowing the title.

The Naming ceremony is held most commonly in the keep, in which the reigning king or queen presents the Musin to be honored to the community, telling a tale of the feat(s) the individual has performed. Then, in the eyes of all present, grants them a title fitting their actions.

It is written that should the king or queen feel another member of the community is better fit to present the hero to the people, that they may be granted such an honor, though what defines one as "fit to present" is not formally written.

The granting of the title is always performed by either the acting monarch, or by one appointed to the task.

It is noted that titles do not bear with them any additional land or duties in these cases, unless desired by the one bestowing this title.

Following the ceremony, a great celebration is held.

[Note from the Library's Archives: At the time of this being shared there are no recorded non-musin heroes in the Babblebrook Histories, save for the Giant, and we are still deciding if he counts.]

 

 

Edited April 15, 2025 by ArgentEra