Highsummer Night (CTD)

Highsummer Night, July 17th, is a Festival of the Kithain celebrating freedom.

Overview

This festival is planned to coincide with the hottest part of the summer and epitomizes laughter, joy, and freedom. It also provides an excuse to gather as much Glamour as possible from the heat dreams of humans and while the festival continues the fae are permitted to toy with any mortal they encounter.  The Highsummer festivities of the Seelie allow them, for one brief day, to use mortals unashamedly as playthings, and indulge in jests and pranks. The Unseelie version of Highsummer, however, contains a touch of desperation that casts a dark shadow upon their outwardly joyous celebrations.

Pooka consider this their own special holiday and call it "Pranksgiving," holding great competitions to see who can play the most outrageous prank on a human. The winner gains much prestige. The pranks can, at times, turn malicious even when practical jokes that result in serious injury or loss of life are considered inartistic and tasteless. Tangled romances, mistaken identities, transformations, and theft all have great appeal to the pooka.

Shadow Court Variations

The hot days of summer mask the swift approach of cold weather, and the Unseelie realize that the year turns unstoppably from one season to the next. Glamour is the most important “crop” under constant cultivation, and Highsummer represents an early harvest of the dreams of mortals to fuel the magic of the fae. Unseelie Kithain immerse themselves in an orgy of Glamour-gathering, holding special Ravaging parties disguised as street dances and block parties, inviting all mortals in the area. The most intense of these celebrations are hosted by House Leanhaun, who see Highsummer as a license to seize as much Glamour from unsuspecting mortals as they can through their House’s brand of direct inspiration.

Unseelie pooka consider “Pranksgiving” their special time of year, not holding back at all in their prankish natures. Unlike their Seelie counterparts, Unseelie pookas couldn’t care less about the consequences of their jokes and the resulting mayhem and violence only induce them to greater heights of malicious behavior. Many join with local beastie packs, reverting entirely to their animalistic natures and rampaging throughout the land on their version of the Wild Hunt.

References

1. CTD. Changeling: The Dreaming Second Edition, p. 82.
2. CTD. The Shadow Court, p. 47.