The Churning Festival

The Churning Festival represents tradition and unity, two things that the Thaumas family had previously heavily relied on in order to shape their relationships with the islanders and with each other. With the same pageants and dinners happening every year, the religious undertones to the First Night banquet, and the emphasis on spending time with family, Churning embodies much of the Thaumases' way of life. They are religious, believing in Pontus, they care deeply about one another, they observe traditions such as long mourning periods, and so on. As such, the Churning Festival embodies the adherence to old ways and the emphasis on togetherness which the Thaumases seem to value above all else. The disruption of the First Night feast by Ortun's outbreak does not undermine this, as later on in the narrative Annaleigh discovers that it is Ortun himself who contributed so greatly...