The Reaping
The Reaping is an annual event that takes place in each district every year before the Hunger Games; the chosen people will become the tributes for the next Hunger Games.
On the day of the Reaping all of the male and female children between the ages of twelve and eighteen are brought to the center of town where a representative for the Capitol City awaits upon a fancy stage. All of the names of the children that are eligible are placed inside of two large glass balls - one for the males and one for the females – based off of their accumulative number of entries. Once all of the children are placed in a secure area one name is drawn from each bowl and those two children are then escorted to the stage where they are declared the tributes for their district that year. Most people do not show any compassion for those who are chosen unless they are a part of their family simply because they are glad that their family has survived once more.
The only chance in which a child can escape their fate as a tribute is if another member of the district volunteers to take their place, though this is quite rare and almost never takes place. The only time that this does happen is when “Career Districts” – districts who train their children from birth to compete in the Hunger Games – have their child volunteer.
The Reaping takes place at different times in each district so the Capitol citizens can watch the event unfold live and so the train can travel from area to area. All citizens of the districts are required to attend unless they are deemed dying; those who do not attend the Reaping will be punished by death. However the Capitol does not want all their citizens to fear the Reaping so they encourage children to dress up and give gifts to one another, though this is more a forced action then a pleasurable one. The real celebration begins once the Reaping is over and all those who have escaped celebrate another year of life while those who have been chosen say goodbye to their loved ones for what is most likely the last time.
If a victor returns home from the Hunger Games and is still eligible for the Hunger Games, they will be exempt from all future Reaping events. The only exception to this rule could be if the Gamemakers decide otherwise, but this is extremely unlikely.
This event will take place in each district and all citizens are required to attend. If the name of someone else is chosen that it is plausible that another citizen can offer themselves as a tribute. All eligible citizens will have exactly twenty-four hours to respond to the initial Reaping before the tributes are deemed official.
