Changeling/Theme/Courts/Winter Court/Politics

The politics of the Winter Court are both not as complicated as they lead outsiders to believe, and far more complicated.

Rituals

• The Shortest Day - During the day of the Winter Solstice, Winter Courtiers ensconce themselves together, isolated from other Courts; they fast together as a Court, speak in whispers, and prepare for the coming season with the death of Autumn. When the Crown manifests on the Queen's brow at sundown, the Courtiers retire to a massive feast, to which the rest of the Freehold is invited -- The Long Midnight.
• Long Midnight - After the crowning of the Winter Queen, the Court emerges from their isolation to a feast full of light and community. Winter is not just the Court of Secrets and Sorrow; it is also the Court of Yule and Solstice and Christmas. Long Midnight occupies the moment of tension where men light candles to drive out the shadows of the longest night, and make sacrifices so that the sun will come up in the morning. The Sages of the Onyx Mirror lead the Freehold in not only revels but divination. The Freehold gathers for the Return of the Sun, and just before sunrise lights a bonfire into which each Freeholder tosses a symbol of some part of the past year that he does not wish to carry into the coming year: a photograph of a love that ended badly, a broken practice weapon from the time she lost her temper while sparring. It is considered bad manners to bring a symbol that does not burn cleanly, after someone brought a piece of polyester clothing one year. (The Sages still rant about how much everyone stank for days.)