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Uncanny Archaeology of Halloween

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Author Topic: Uncanny Archaeology of Halloween  (Read 4314 times)
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Vlad the Impaler
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« on: October 30, 2009, 01:58:49 am »

What was the significance of lighting bonfires?  There are many reasons why bonfires might be lit. One practical one is for warmth--the end of October is a cold, dark time. Around a fire is a traditional setting for storytelling sessions and the light and heat from a large fire add to the festive atmosphere. There's an Irish custom that it is good luck to jump the flames of a bonfire. There have been suggestions that the ancient practice of lighting fires on the hills of Ireland was to do with symbolically mirroring the light and color of the sun in the sky in a ritual that perhaps was part of a sun-worshiping religion.

In Neo-Paganism, the magical element of fire is connected with strength and passion, inspiration and spiritual illumination. Fires may be lit as part of a ritual designed to draw on this magical fire-energy. Some believe that the fire is purifying and thus may be used to cast away negativity in an area before a ritual begins.

There is some influence on the Irish Halloween from the English Bonfire Night in the U.K. Guy Fawkes Day on November 5 is a time when large fires are lit (in which effigies of "the Guy" in memory of the 1605 Gunpowder plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament). Fireworks displays are now part of Halloween here in Ireland so there is a possible connection between these events.

The more macabre significance of the fire as a way of disposing of heretics in medieval times also comes into play in regard to the imagery of Halloween and associations between fire and witchcraft.
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