The new year begins, five days after the last one ended, with the sacrifice of an Aelf on the high altar of the Gods. The first season of the year is the turning of the chill end of autumn to harsh and hideous winter, the season when the snow thickens and icy winds howl through the Wildwood. The first feast of the year is held in what seems to be the middle of this terrible season, but in truth it is held at the point where the season begins to lose its most vicious bite, when the Aelfar beg the Green Man to exert His force on the world and make it bear fruit once more. Winter loses its grip and turns fully into spring, the snow melting just before the next Aelfar feast is held at the peak of this growing season, when the seeds in the fields are starting to grow and the blossoms begin to bud. Twin bonfires are lit and the entire Court walks between them, one by one, from the Arawn to the livestock, as the Courts prepare themselves for the season of war with a baptism of flame. At the height of summer the Courts give thanks to the Green Man for his blessing, and revere Him according to his lights in order to assure his blessing for the next year's harvest. And in the depths of Autumn, the Horned God is revered once more with the Great Hunt. The feast of the Horned God is also the day of the dead, the last day of the year. This is the day when the excess livestock are slaughtered and their meat salted for winter; this is the night when the Wild Hunt rides forth, creating terror in the darkest hours. For five days after the Hunt, the Aelfar wait for the new year with fires extinguished and all struggles stilled, for anything that happens outside the year only serves to warn an opponent, since nothing can be gained or lost when time as such does not exist. And then, with the sacrifices on the high altars, the year begins once more.