Controlled outdoor fire
"Bond fire" redirects here. For the wildfire in Orange County, California, see
Bond Fire
.
A
bonfire
is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used either for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration.
Etymology
[
edit
]
The earliest recorded uses of the word date back to the late 15th century, with the
Catholicon Anglicum
spelling it as
banefyre
and
John Mirk
's
Book of Festivals
[2]
speaking of a communal fire in celebrations of
Saint John's Eve
that "was clene bones & no wode & that is callid a bone fyre".
[3]
The word is thus a compound of "bone" and "fire."
[4]
In 1755
Samuel Johnson
misattributed the origin of the word as a compound of the French "
bon
" ("good") and the English "fire" in
A Dictionary of the English Language
.
[5]
Regional traditions
[
edit
]
In many regions of continental Europe, bonfires are made traditionally on 24 June,
[
citation needed
]
the
solemnity
of
John the Baptist
, as well as on Saturday night before Easter.
[
citation needed
]
Bonfires are also a feature of
Walpurgis Night
in central and northern Europe, and
the celebrations on the eve of St. John's Day in Spain
. In Sweden bonfires are lit on
Walpurgis Night
celebrations on the last day of April. In
Finland
and
Norway
bonfires are tradition on
Midsummer Eve
and to a lesser degree in Easter.
Alpine and Central Europe
[
edit
]
Bonfire traditions of early spring, lit on the Sunday following
Ash Wednesday
(
Funkensonntag
, otherwise called
Quadragesima Sunday
), are widespread throughout the
Alemannic German
speaking regions of Europe and in parts of France. The burning of "winter in effigy" at the
Sechselauten
in
Zurich
(introduced in 1902) is inspired by this Alemannic tradition. In Austria, the custom of the "
Osterfeuer
" or Easter fires is widespread, but also regulated in some cities, districts and countries to hold down the resulting annual peak of PM10-dust emission. There are also "
Sonnwendfeuer
" (
solstice
fires) ignited on the evening of 21 June.
Since 1988 "
Feuer in den Alpen
" (fires in the Alps) have been lit on a day in August on mountains so they can be seen from afar as an appeal for sustainable development of mountain regions.
[6]
In the
Czech Republic
the festival called "Burning the Witches" (also Philip and Jacob Night,
Walpurgis Night
, or
Beltane
) takes place on the night between 30 April and 1 May. This is a very old and still observed folk custom and special holiday. On that night, people gather together, light bonfires, and celebrate the coming of spring. In many places people erect
maypoles
.
The night between 30 April and 1 May was considered magical. The festival was probably originally celebrated when the moon was full closest to the day exactly between the spring equinox and summer solstice. People believed that on this night witches fly to their
Sabbath
, and indeed this is one of the biggest pagan holidays. People also believed, for example, in the opening of various caves treasures were hidden. The main purpose of this old folk custom was probably a celebration of fertility.
To protect themselves against witches, people lit bonfires in high places, calling these fires "Burning the Witches". Some people took to jumping over the fire to ensure youth and fertility. The ash from these fires supposedly had a special power to raise crops, and people also walked their cattle through the ashes to ensure fertility.
Australia
[
edit
]
In Australia bonfires are rarely allowed in the warmer months due to fire danger. Legislation about bonfires varies between states, metropolitan and rural regions, local government areas, and property types.
[7]
For example, in urban areas of
Canberra
bonfires may be lit around the
King's Official Birthday
if local fire authorities are notified; however, they are banned the rest of the year.
[8]
Smaller fires such as
campfires
and outdoor
barbecues
are usually permitted outside of fire restriction periods. In the state of Queensland, the rural town of Killarney hosts an annual Bonfire night for the greater community; proceeds support the town's aged care facilities.
Canada
[
edit
]
Due to their historic connection to Britain and Ireland, the province of
Newfoundland and Labrador
has many communities that celebrate bonfire nights, particularly
Guy Fawkes Night
; this is one of the times when small rural communities come together. In the province of
Quebec
, many communities light bonfires on 24 June to celebrate
Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day
.
France
[
edit
]
In France the bonfire celebrates
Jean le Baptiste
during the
Fete de la Saint-Jean
("St John's Day"), first Saturday after the solstice, about 24 June. Like the other countries, it was a pagan celebration of the
solstice
, or
midsummer
, but Christianisation transformed it into a Catholic celebration.
India
[
edit
]
In India particularly in
Punjab
, people gather around a bonfire and eat peanuts and sweets during the festival of
Lohri
to celebrate the winter solstice which occurred during the Indian month of Magh. People have bonfires on communal land. If there has been a recent wedding or a new born in the family, people will have a bonfire outside their house to celebrate this event. The festival falls in the second week of January every year. In the northeastern state of
Assam
, the harvest festival of
Bhogali Bihu
is celebrated to mark the end of the
harvest season
in mid-January. In southern India, particularly in
Andhra Pradesh
, Tamil Nadu and
Mumbai
, the Bhogi Festival is celebrated on the last day of Maarkali, which is also the first day of the farming festival of
Pongal
. People collect unwanted items from their houses and throw them into a bonfire to celebrate. During the ten days of
Vijayadashami
, effigies of
Ravana
, his brother
Kumbhakarna
and son
Meghanad
are erected and burnt by enthusiastic youths at sunset. Traditionally a bonfire on the day of
Holi
marks the symbolic annihilation of
Holika
the
demoness
as described above.
[9]
Iran
[
edit
]
Chaharshanbe Suri
is a fire jumping festival celebrated by Persian people, Kurdish people and some other ethnicities. The event takes place on the eve of the last Wednesday before
Nowruz
. Loosely translated as Wednesday Light, from the word
sur
, which means light in Persian, or more plausibly, consider
sur
to be a variant of
sorkh
(red) and take it to refer either to the fire itself or to the ruddiness (sorkhi), meaning good health or ripeness, supposedly obtained by jumping over it, is an ancient Iranian festival dating back to at least 1700 BCE of the early Zoroastrian era. Also called the Festival of Fire, it is a prelude to Nowruz, which marks the arrival of spring. The words Chahar Shanbeh mean Wednesday and Suri means red. Bonfires are lit to "keep the sun alive" until early morning. The celebration usually starts in the evening, with people making bonfires in the streets and jumping over them singing "
zardi-ye man az toh, sorkhi-ye toh az man
". The literal translation is, my yellow is yours, your red is mine. This is a purification rite. Loosely translated, this means you want the fire to take your pallor, sickness, and problems and in turn give you redness, warmth, and energy. There are Zoroastrian religious significance attached to Chah?rshanbeh Suri and it serves as a cultural festival for Iranian and Iranic people.
Another tradition of this day is to make special Chaharshanbe Suri Ajil, or mixed nuts and berries. People wear disguises and go door to door knocking on doors as similar to Trick-or-treating. Receiving of the Ajeel is customary, as is receiving of a bucket of water.
Ancient Persians celebrated the last 5 days of the year in their annual obligation feast of all souls,
Hamaspathmaedaya
(Farvardigan or popularly Forodigan). They believed Faravahar, the guardian angels for humans and also the spirits of dead would come back for reunion. There are the seven Amesha Spenta, that are represented as the haft-sin (literally, seven S's). These spirits were entertained as honored guests in their old homes, and were bidden a formal ritual farewell at the dawn of the New Year. The festival also coincided with festivals celebrating the creation of fire and humans. In Sassanid period the festival was divided into two distinct pentads, known as the lesser and the greater Pentad, or Panji as it is called today. Gradually the belief developed that the 'Lesser Panji' belonged to the souls of children and those who died without sin, whereas 'Greater Panji' was truly for all souls.
Iraq
[
edit
]
In Iraq, Assyrian Christians light bonfires to celebrate the
Feast of the Cross
. In addition to the bonfire, every household traditionally hangs a lighted fire in the roof of their house.
Ireland
[
edit
]
Throughout Ireland bonfires are lit on the night of 31 October to celebrate
Halloween
[10]
or
Samhain
. Bonfires are also held on 30 April, particularly in
Limerick
to celebrate the festival of
Bealtaine
and on St. John's eve, 23 June, to celebrate
Midsummer's eve
, particularly in
County Cork
where it is also known as 'Bonna Night'.
[11]
In
Northern Ireland
, bonfires are lit on
Halloween
, 31 October, and each 11 July, bonfires are lit by many
Protestant
communities to celebrate the victory of
Williamite
forces at the
Battle of the Boyne
, which took place on 12 July 1690. This is often called the "
Eleventh night
". Bonfires have also been lit by
Catholic
communities on 9 August since 1972 to protest and commemorate
Internment
.
Israel
[
edit
]
In Israel, on the eve of
Lag BaOmer
, bonfires are lit on to commemorate the
Mishnaic
sage Rabbi
Shimon Bar Yochai
who according to tradition died on
Lag BaOmer
. Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai is accredited with having composed the
Kabalistic
work The
Zohar
(literally "The Shining" ? hence the custom of lighting fire to commemorate him). The main celebration takes place at Rabbi Shimon's tomb on
Mount Meron
in northern Israel, but all over the country bonfires are lit in open spaces. Linked by Modern Jewish tradition to the
Bar Kokhba Revolt
against the
Roman Empire
(132?135 CE),
Lag BaOmer
is very popularly observed and celebrated as a symbol for the fighting Jewish spirit. As Lag Ba'Omer draws near, children begin collecting material for the bonfire: wood boards and planks, old doors, and anything else made of wood. On the night itself, families and friends gather round the fires and youths will burn their bonfires till daybreak.
Italy
[
edit
]
In
Northeast Italy
the celebration
Panevin
(in English "bread and wine"),
Foghera
and
Pignarul
is held on the evening of
Epiphany
(5 January). A straw witch dressed with old clothes is placed on a bonfire and burned to ash. The witch symbolizes the past and the direction of the smoke indicates whether the new year is going to be good or bad.
The Northern Italian
La vecchia
("the old lady") is a version of the
wicker man
bonfire
effigy
, which is burned once a year as part of town festivals. As depicted in the film
Amarcord
by
Federico Fellini
, it has a more pagan-Christian connotation when it is burned on Mid-
Lent
Thursday.
In
Abbadia San Salvatore
, a village in the south of
Tuscany
, bonfires called
fiaccole
up to seven meters high are burned during Christmas Eve to warm up people around them waiting for the midnight, following a millenary tradition.
In Southern Italy, traditionally bonfires are lit in the night between 16 and 17 January, thought to be the darkest and longest night of the year. The celebration is also linked to the cult of
Saint Anthony The Great
.
Japan
[
edit
]
Every 16 August the ancient city of
Kyoto
holds the
Gozan no Okuribi
, a
Buddhist
bonfire-based spectacle, which marks the end of the *
O-Bon
season.
Luxembourg
[
edit
]
The Luxembourgish town of
Remich
annually holds a three-day-long celebration for
Carnival
(called
Fuesend Karneval
in
Luxembourgish
). The celebration of the Remich Fuesend Karneval celebrations concludes with the Buergbrennen, a bonfire that marks the end of winter. Such bonfires are also organised by others towns and villages throughout Luxembourg around the same time, although they only last an evening.
Nepal
[
edit
]
Bonfires in Nepal are taken almost synonymous with camp-fire. During winter months it is quite common to have a bonfire in hotels, resorts, and residential areas, as well as private properties.
Bonfires are also lit during
Siva ratri
in the evening. This holiday is based on the lunar calendar and often falls during month of February.
Nordic Countries
[
edit
]
In
Iceland
, bonfires are traditional on New Year's Eve, and on 6 January, which is the last day of the Icelandic Christmas season.
[
citation needed
]
In Norway and Denmark,
[
citation needed
]
large bonfires are lit on 23 June to celebrate
Jonsok
or
St Hansaften
the evening before John the Baptist's birthday. As with many other traditions in Scandinavia, St. Hans is believed to have a pagan origin, the celebration of midsummer's eve.
In Sweden
Walpurgis Night
is celebrated on 30 April, and festivities include the burning of a bonfire. In Finland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania,
Midsummer Eve
is celebrated with large bonfires.
[12]
Lithuania
[
edit
]
In
Lithuania
bonfires are lit to celebrate
St John's Eve
(aka:
Rasos
(Dew Holiday)) during the
midsummer
festival. Bonfires may be lit to keep witches and evil spirits away.
Poland
[
edit
]
In
Poland
bonfires are traditionally and still enthusiastic burned during
Feast of Saints Peter and Paul
,
Pentecost
day and
Saint John Night
as
Sobotki
,
[13]
ognie ?wi?toja?skie
[14]
(
?l?sk
,
Małopolska
,
Podkarpacie
),
Palinocka
(
Warmia
,
Mazury
,
Kaszuby
) or
Noc Kupały
(
Mazowsze
and
Podlasie
) on 23/24 June.
On 23 and 24 June, according to ancient custom, an immense number of Polish persons of both sexes repaired to the banks of the
San (river)
,
Vistula
and
Odra
river, to consult Fate respecting their future fortunes, jumping through a fire on the Eve of Saint John's was a sure way to health. The leaping of the youths over fire (
sobotka
) must be a custom derived from remote antiquity.
Jan Kochanowski
, who died in 1584, mentions it in a song from an ancient tradition. Varro and Ovid relate, that in the
Palilia
, celebrated in honour of the goddess
Pales
, on 20 April, the anniversary of the foundation of
Rome
, the young Romans leaped over burning bundles of hay. In modern Italy, this kind of saltation is continued by the name of
Sabatina
,
[15]
though
Pope Sergius III
prohibited it.
Romania
[
edit
]
In
Romania
, in
Arge? County
, a bonfire is lit on the night of 25 October every year, as a tradition said to be done since the
Dacians
. It consists in burning of a tall tree, which resembles the body of a god. It is usually done on a high peak, to be seen from far away.
Slavic Europe
[
edit
]
In
Bosnia and Herzegovina
,
Croatia
,
Serbia
and
Slovenia
, bonfires are traditionally lit on the evening before 1 May, commemorating Labour Day
[
citation needed
]
. Bonfires are also being built on the eve of the Christian holiday Easter on so called
Holy Saturday
and are lit next day early in the morning. This bonfires are called
vuzmenka
, or
vazmenka
. The root,
Vazam
is the Serbo-Croatian word for Easter. Their burning symbolizes the
Resurrection of Jesus
. In villages far from cities, this tradition is still active. Young men and children all gather on some plane remote from village and start building a bonfire by collecting logs of wood, or pruned branches from
vineyards
and
orchards
. Bonfires are also lit on the evening before
Saint George's Day
on so called
Jurjevo
(in Croatia, on 24 April according to
Gregorian calendar
) or
đurđevdan
(in Serbia, on 6 May according to
Julian calendar
). Idea for all this bonfires are probably taken from old Slavic tradition where bonfires were lit to celebrate the arrival of Spring.
[16]
In Russia, bonfires are traditionally burned on 17 November.
[
citation needed
]
Czech Republic and Slovakia
[
edit
]
In the
Czech Republic
and
Slovakia
, bonfires are also held on the last night of April and are called 'Phillip-Jakob's Night' (
FilipoJakubska noc
) or "Burning of the Witches" (
paleni ?arod?jnic
). They are considered to be historically linked with
Walpurgis Night
and
Beltane
.
Turkey
[
edit
]
In Turkey bonfires are lit on
Kakava
believed to be the awakening day of nature at the beginning of spring. Kakava is celebrated by the
Romani people in Turkey
on the night of 5?6 May.
United Kingdom
[
edit
]
In the United Kingdom and some
Commonwealth
countries bonfires are lit on
Guy Fawkes Night
[17]
a yearly celebration held on the evening of 5 November to mark the failure of the
Gunpowder Plot
of 5 November 1605, in which a number of
Catholic
conspirators
, including
Guy Fawkes
, attempted to destroy the
House of Lords
in London.
In
Northern Ireland
bonfires are lit on
Halloween
, 31 October.
[18]
and each 11 July, bonfires are lit by many
Protestant
communities to celebrate the victory of
Williamite
forces at the
Battle of the Boyne
,
[19]
which took place on 12 July 1690. This is often called the "
Eleventh night
". Bonfires have also been lit by
Catholic
communities on 9 August since 1972 to protest and commemorate
Internment
.
[20]
Historically in England, some time before 1400, fires were lit around
Midsummer
as a wake in the vigil for
St John the Baptist
.
[2]
Folk would awake in the evening, and make three manners of fire: one with only clean bones ("bonys") and no wood called a "bonnefyre", one with clean wood and no bones called a "wakefyre", and the third with both bones and wood, called "Saynt Ionys Fyre". Apparently the original wake fell into "lechery and gluttony", so the church deemed it instead as a fast.
[2]
The annual rock and dance music
Wickerman Festival
takes place in
Kirkcudbrightshire
, Scotland. Its main feature is the burning of a large wooden
effigy
on the last night.
[21]
The Wickerman festival is inspired by the horror film
The Wicker Man
, a film itself inspired by the Roman accounts of the Celtic Druids ritual burning of a wicker effigy.
A ship is also burnt as part of the mid-winter
Up Helly Aa
festival.
In Biggar, Lanarkshire, a bonfire is lit on Hogmanay (New Year's Eve) to celebrate the end of the old year and the beginning of the New Year. The bonfire takes almost a month to build using whatever combustible materials can be found. It is lit by a senior citizen of the town who is accompanied to the bonfire site (which is by the Corn Exchange in the centre of the town) by the local pipe band and several torchbearers. The celebrations are attended by hundreds of drinking and dancing revellers. During the war years, when a bonfire wasn't allowed, a candle was lit in a biscuit tin to keep the tradition of "burnin' oot the auld year" alive.
United States
[
edit
]
In
New England
, on the night before the
Fourth of July
, towns competed to build towering pyramids, assembled from
hogsheads
, barrels and
casks
. They were lit at nightfall, to usher in the celebration. The highest were in
Salem, Massachusetts
, composed of as many as forty tiers of barrels. The practice flourished in the 19th and 20th centuries, and can still be found in some
New England
towns.
[22]
On Christmas Eve in Southern
Louisiana
bonfires are built along the
Mississippi River
levees
to light the way for
Papa Noel
as he moves along the river in his
pirogue
(
Cajun
canoe
) pulled by eight alligators. This tradition is an annual event in
St. James Parish
, Louisiana.
[23]
(See
Aggie Bonfire
)
One of the oldest traditions at
Texas A&M University
involves the building of a bonfire by students to be burnt before their annual game against
The University of Texas
. The tradition began in 1909 as little more than a burning trash pile. Eventually students began clearing land in the area, by hand, to harvest thousands of logs needed for its construction. In 1969
Aggie Bonfire
set a Guinness world record for tallest bonfire at 109 feet. In 1999, there was an
accident
where the stack collapsed during construction, killing 12 people and injuring 27 others. The accident led to the university to no longer sanction the building of Bonfire. Since 2002, the student-sponsored group
Student Bonfire
began building an annual bonfire in the spirit of the original.
Farm and garden bonfires
[
edit
]
Bonfires are used on farms, in large gardens and
allotments
to dispose of waste plant material that is not readily
composted
. This includes woody material, pernicious weeds, diseased material and material treated with persistent
pesticides
and
herbicides
. Such bonfires may be quite small but are often designed to burn slowly for several days so that wet and green material may be reduced to ash by frequently turning the unburnt material into the centre. Such bonfires can also deal with turf and other earthy material. The ash from garden bonfires is a useful source of
potash
and may be beneficial in improving the soil structure of some soils although such fires must be managed with safety in mind.
[24]
Garden and farm bonfires are frequently
smoky
and can cause local nuisance if poorly managed or lit in unsuitable weather conditions.
[25]
See also
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Bonfire
.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Largest bonfire
,
Guinness World Records
. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
- ^
a
b
c
Mirk, John; Erbe, Theodor (1905).
Mirk's Festial: a collection of homilies
. p. 182
. Retrieved
21 June
2022
.
- ^
"The Secret History of 'Bonfire'
"
.
Words at Play
. Merriam-Webster
. Retrieved
26 January
2022
.
- ^
Liberman, Anatoly (25 March 2015).
"While dancing around a bonfire, beware of analogy"
.
The Oxford Etymologist
. Oxford University Press.
- ^
"Etymology Corner ? 'bonfire'
"
.
Language Lovers
. Collins Dictionary. 28 October 2016.
- ^
Organizers of "Feuer in den Alpen"
, see: "Hintergrunde"
- ^
"Bush Fire Danger Period and Fire Permits"
. NSW Rural Fire Service
. Retrieved
3 January
2019
.
- ^
Canberra.
"Bonfires in the ACT"
.
www.accesscanberra.act.gov.au
. Retrieved
15 April
2021
.
- ^
Origins of Holi
BBC
.
- ^
Allison Bray (2 November 2010).
"Council faces €1m clean-up bill after Halloween horror"
. Independent.ie.
- ^
"Crackdown after €66k Cork bonfire clean-up"
. City Local ? Cork. 24 May 2013. Archived from
the original
on 24 May 2013.
- ^
Dunford, George (15 June 2011).
"Finland's Midsummer Madness"
.
LonelyPlanet.com
. BBC Worldwide
. Retrieved
23 June
2011
.
- ^
"sobotka ognisko palone w wigilie ?w. Jana, przy ktorym odbywały si? obrz?dy i zabawy zwi?zane z odej?ciem wiosny i nadej?ciem lata, kontynuacja poga?skiego zwyczaju ludowego. " in: Marian Kucała. Słownik polszczyzny Jana Kochanowskiego. 1994 s. 560
- ^
"In the south of Poland, from the
Silesian
frontier as far as the bend of the San river including the districts of mountains and foothills,
Whitsun
and Saint John's fires were customary. In the low country both kinds of annual fires were called
sobotki
; in the mountains term like
ognie, fakty, składanie watry,
and
palenie watry were usedes sobotki.
" in: Zeitschrift fur Ostforschung, t. 22, Johann Gottfried Herder-Forschungsrat. wyd. 1, 1973, str. 115
- ^
"Włochy maj? Sobotki pod imieniem Sabatina; znane s? i w Niemczech." in:
Oskar Kolberg
. Dzieła wszystkie: Mazowsze.; "sobotka, ital. sabatina, cat. coena sabbathina" in:
Samuel Bogumił Linde
. Słownik j?zyka polskiego R-T;
- ^
"Easter Bonfire Vuzmenka/vazmenka/vuzmenjak"
. hr?ak. 23 June 2006.
- ^
"Guy Fawkes Night"
. Bonfirenight.net. 13 April 2008
. Retrieved
13 September
2010
.
- ^
Halloween fire calls 'every 90 seconds'
Archived
2 November 2010 at the
Wayback Machine
UTV News
- ^
[1]
"Quotes Library ? Most Beautiful love & inspirational"
.
Archived
from the original on 7 November 2015
. Retrieved
7 November
2015
.
- ^
"Internment Bonfires"
. 9 August 2012. Archived from
the original
on 3 May 2015
. Retrieved
6 November
2012
.
- ^
Gallery
Archived
29 October 2012 at the
Wayback Machine
, Thewickermanfestival.co.uk
- ^
"The Night Before the Fourth"
. The Atlantic. 1 July 2011
. Retrieved
4 November
2011
.
- ^
Stjamesparish.com
Archived
20 August 2008 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"Bonfire safety"
. Safegardening.co.uk. 29 October 2007
. Retrieved
13 September
2010
.
- ^
"What's wrong with Bonfires?"
. Environmental-protection.org.uk
. Retrieved
13 September
2010
.
External links
[
edit
]
Look up
bonfire
in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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