All sailing and land travel arrangements have to bear this in mind. It was also interesting watching the characters, from a northerly area with a real winter, trying to figure out a Mediterranean climate. That's something that only happens in mountains. They didn't recognize a lot of the vegetation and animal life. Coming home again and reacting to the more familiar enviroment was neat.
Every Earthly culture has festivals.
There seem to be candles in every window and doorway. There are also quite a few anxious people hanging around with buckets of water. The mood is both tense and exuberant.