Held six months later after Waking Day, at the autumnal equinox, the bears are sent off to sleep with the Final Feast. Again, the stanitsa gathers and leaves offerings of meat, fish, and vegetables, which are piled high in the forest for the bears to eat before they hibernate, ensuring they come through the winter healthy and strong.[1a]
In Kislev, the Final Feast was so encouraged by Tzar Boris that it became a competition between the boyars to see who could show their devotion the most. Each year, the houses desperately try to outdo each other, producing more elaborate and enormous offerings. Last year, the talk of the city was a life-size model of a cave bear, made entirely from fish paste and garlic, and everyone is keen to see if that spectacle can be exceeded.[1a]