Kissing Festival

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The Kissing Festival happens at the very end of Chalice Rising (at the start of Aprilis) as a gateway from the religious holiday's austerity into the brighter, more cheerful celebrations of Spring Awakening.

The specific tradition originated in Wilhelm when a local woman, in a state of drunkenness after the tilling and planting was at last completed, moved from man to man securing a kiss from each person she encountered. Not to be outdone, the other women of the village followed suit, and it became a yearly tradition - particularly popular in the cities, where Spring Awakening is less tied to the earth.

One of the foremost insults in Wilhelm stems from this festival - 'You couldn't even get kissed at the Kissing Festival' (man to man), or 'I wouldn't even kiss you at the Kissing Festival' (woman to man), and 'You won't find me at the Kissing Festival' (man to woman [rare]) - and has been known to be the cause of quite a few fistfights and more in Wilhelm. Local midwives claim that nine months following the festival is their busiest season. Pregnancies soon after the Kissing Festival are looked upon with envy by other women, and the baby is considered to be one born in luck.