The Holiday Season

North America has a far more diverse climate than Europe, and this has resulted in some quirky habits. The best time for many to hold tournaments is right after the Harvest season. People have free time, the dys are getting shorter, and armies are ready to lie low. (But are still pretty restless) In today's Canada, they celebrate Thanksgiving around the time Americans celebrate Columbus Day, which generally makes sense as seasons are shorter and they wrap up the harvest much quicker. Thanksgiving is now across the Non-Denominational World, a late November holiday, and the residents of Ontario have largely adopted the custom, although Quebec retains its traditional early October Thanksgiving. Still, Canadians start their tournament/Holiday season rotation right around October--it's generally a good start for preliminary rounds.

Once we get to the Midwest, we see the transition from the more Autumnal festivals to the Yuletide ones, and the décor switches from pumpkins and haystacks to holly and evergreens. It's right around the December solstice that the majority of tournaments happen below the Mason Dixon line, with knights and nobles using it as an excuse to be snowbirds and holiday in the warmer climes.

The heart of the Deep South--the Carolinas, Georgia, Mississippi is where they have the Christmas Bowl tournament, and a week later, the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day itself. There's a little bit of tension from the religous folks, but it's better than slaughtering each other.

Once we head into January, we have the less "official" but still very prestigious Super Bowl tournament in January, and a few weeks later, around the Gulf Coast, there's the downturn in tournaments for "Mardi Gras", as that is not an official Non-Denom holiday. After that, the tournaments largely stop for the rest of the year while people cleanse their souls and sow their crops.