The reaping is dangerous for Gale and Katniss because it is the day that the tributes for the Hunger Games are chosen, and they are both eligible to be chosen. In District 12, each year, one boy and one girl are selected to participate in the Hunger Games, which is a brutal competition where 24 tributes from different districts fight to the death until only one remains. Gale and Katniss are both teenagers who are old enough to be chosen as tributes, so they are at risk of being selected. If either of them is chosen, they will be forced to leave their families and friends behind and face almost certain death in the Hunger Games. This makes the reaping a dangerous and stressful event for both of them, as well as for all of the other teenagers in District 12.