Society Norms and Taboos (CBGH)

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: "As pleasant as his burrow was, Littleman often felt there was something missing as he sat alone by his hearth. It wasn't long before he realized that he was lonely, and it wasn't long after that till he knew he'd found the perfect person to cure his loneliness—Melindy, the fairest maiden among all his neighbors, she of the plump, red cheeks, bouncing curls, and smoothest downy fur on the tops of her feet. But, as luck would have it, she was already being courted by another—stolid Genrill, a farmer and herdsman of good wealth and solid standing in the community.
: "Naturally, Genrill objected to his newfound rival but—alas for him—Melindy's heart was swept away by the dashing Littleman, with his tales of travel and adventure, his ready laugh, and his warm smile."
: "But Grandmother—did Genrill not fight for his love? Didn't he bash Littleman over the head... or something?" wondered Kepli.
: "Posh, child—you talk like a human! Of course he didn't. Melindy made known her choice, and she became Littleman's bride. Genrill himself provided the roast beast for the wedding feast!" 
Though they have no lack of courage, halflings shun violent or aggressive behavior in social settings.  They are slow to anger and always ready to seek a negotiated solution to any dispute.
A halfling feels no sense of shame if he or she chooses to leave the presence of some obnoxious bully rather than getting involved in a fight—even a fight the halfling thinks he or she can win. Fortunately, because of their communal village upbringing, few halflings are this rude, and such situations mainly arise when the halfling mixes company with humans, dwarves, or goblinoids.
Personal insults delivered to a fellow villager are considered low class, reflecting more poorly on the one who makes the insult than the target. Politeness is much admired, and one who shows tolerance to a neighbor who has wronged him is considered to be the epitome of a class act.
Parties among halflings are common and will be given for a variety of reasons. Birthdays are always cause for celebration, and with so many family members living together it's rare for a month to go by without several birthdays in it. Each community will also have many annual holidays. These vary by culture—there are no such holidays observed by halflings everywhere. Often the Small Folk will celebrate whatever festivals are popular among their human and demihuman neighbors, soon giving these observances a character all their own.
The hosts of a party are expected to provide food and drink—but much of this will be contributed by neighbors prior to the event. Thus, none of the guests show up with anything to contribute, but they've all provided a bottle, a wedge of cheese, loaf of bread, or the like beforehand. Indeed, this is one way halflings get invited to parties—if you find out that your neighbor is celebrating his birthday, for example, take over a small jug of ale in the morning and he can hardly turn you away when the festivities commence in the afternoon!
There is little sense of social status among the halflings in a village, aside from the amused tolerance shown by adults to children and the general respect for the elderly. Wealthy halflings are expected to throw bigger parties and to generally show generosity to those less fortunate—yet they are not accorded any 'upper class' standing because of this. The villagers may well elect a sheriff, mayor, or constable and give this individual nominal authority to arrest troublemakers. Rambunctious behavior is rare among halflings themselves, however, so the sheriff's main concern will be to control the behavior of humans, dwarves, and other possible troublemakers who come through the community.
==Joy and Humor==
Halflings are a folk who can derive pleasure from many simple things and are not afraid to show it—a halfling who is happy laughs; one who feels affection or love will express himself or herself with words or deeds.
The small folk love to tell and hear stories and will generally be attentive and silent when anyone spins a tale. Not surprisingly, they especially love stories in which the small and clever triumph over those who are physically larger and stronger but clumsier and less quick-witted.
Halflings also have a frank appreciation for bawdy humor and practical jokes. They have the ability to laugh at themselves, though one prank often leads to another in retaliation, and so on. Such good-natured exchanges have been known to continue, reciprocated back and forth, for decade after decade.
==Sorrow and Anger==
: "There came a time of troubles to the Green Fields. In the first year, bitter winds blasted from the highlands, drying out the fields and leaving no grain and no fruit to harvest in the fall.
: "But Littleman turned to his bride, Melindy, and he said—'we've still got our sheep, and our pony, and our plow. We'll have a good crop next year!' And she smiled at him, and they waited.
: "Then, when spring came, it brought the rains in a flood, and with them came a sickness of flies across the land. They bit the animals, and the sheep and the ponies all got the evil sickness. They wasted away and died, even before the crop got in the ground.
: "So Littleman turned to Melindy and he said—'be happy, my wife. We still have our stream, and our flowers.' And again she smiled at him, and they waited for the flies to go.
: "Which they did, but only when the frosts came to freeze everything across the land. The stream dried away, caught in the highlands in a grip of ice, and all the flowers and even the grass withered away and died.
: "This time Littleman turned to his wife and he soothed her fears: 'Don't worry, my dear—we have our hearth, and our burrow to shelter us.'
: "But next came the storms, with such wind, such power, that the very roof was torn from the burrow, and the stones of the hearth fell down into a great pile, nearly crushing the two of them before they could flee from the broken wreckage of their home. At last they stood outside, shivering and desolate, with no food, no animals, and not even a shelter over their heads."
: "Then what, Grandmother?" asked Kepli, wide-eyed and sorrowful. "Then did Littleman know sorrow and grief?"
: "You might think so, Sprout—but you'd be wrong. For even then, with all of his life in ruins around him, he turned to Melindy, and he said: 'Be happy, my love—all we have lost we shall regain, in years to come. And for now, we still have each other.' 
The small folk know the same griefs as humankind—death and illness, partings, natural disasters, and other tragedies. Though they, as a people, are deeply affected by such misfortune, halflings tend not to display their grief as openly as do humans. Halfling villagers who have just lost several neighbors and friends to marauding bandits will shuffle around as if they are in shock—there will be few tears, little wailing or crying.
Even more surprising, there will be few expressions of outright anger or hostility. Revenge is not a great drive to most halflings, though occasionally a wrong will be judged so heinous, so unforgivable, that retribution is required (deliberate murder is a prime example). Loss of possessions, however—whether due to accident or the malicious acts of others—tends to be greeted with a more relaxed attitude of 'easy come, easy go.'
In their day-to-day lives, halflings are remarkably impervious to frustration and depression. Members of the small folk show a remarkable ability to adapt to the circumstances of their surroundings. If the crops fail and food is short, they derive that much more pleasure from the meager fare that they eat. If the roof caves in and the family has no place to sleep, they will remark how fortunate they were that no one was seriously hurt—and they'll mean it!
==Riddles==
: "Did you ever try to get a straight answer out o' one of the little maggots? I know I have, and I ain't succeeded yet! Why, they'll answer a question with another question sure as the sun goes down at night! Most irritatin' thing I ever done was ask a halfling for directions!
: "'Where can I find the mayor?' I said, straightforward-like.
: "'Which mayor is that?' says the little runt.
: "'The mayor o' this town, o' course,' I told the dummy, nice as you please.
: "'Why, do you want to see her?" says the dang fool.
: "'Course I do!' I said, trying to resist the urge to wring his scrawny neck. 'Why else would I be askin'?'
: "'Don't you know?' he has the gall to ask me!
: "I tell you friend, if the mayor hadn't come walkin' down the street that very moment, I think that scene might have ended in bloodshed!"
:: — Dwarven wayfarer, describing his unwitting participation in the Question Game. 
A favorite form of contest among halflings of all subraces is the exchange of riddles. These can vary from simple questions and answers to complex puzzles involving clues vague and obtuse. It's not uncommon for a halfling to spend an hour or more pondering such a problem in silence punctuated only by his or her frequent admonitions: "don't tell me the answer!"
Even more baffling to nonhalflings is the Question Game, a contest in which each participant must answer a question with another question. Each response must be a complete sentence, relevant to the one that preceded it, and delivered within ten seconds, or the player loses a point. Experienced players can continue the game for hours; one legendary brother-and-sister team are rumored to have carried a game on every time they met for the last twenty years of their lives. Some halfling enthusiasts of the game will treat every question addressed to them as an invitation to play, with sometimes regrettable results