Each year on the planet Barrayar, the Winterfair holiday takes place on the occasion of the winter solstice. The festival is celebrated with cardamom bread and brillberry syrup, as the children wait for Father Frost to deliver his gifts. It also marks the yearly Imperial Ball, a popular wedding day for high-ranking citizens such as Miles Vorkosigan.
To celebrate: Since we can’t be sure when the winter solstice on Barrayar is, this holiday can be assumed to fall on the publication date of the first book in the Vorkosigan Saga, so why not throw a sci-fi Christmas party at the beginning of June?!
(Vorkosigan Saga, Book series, 1986-Current)