Fire of Spring
Fire. Purification. Sympathetic magic. To the ancient peoples of Europe, lighting a bonfire at certain times of the year was a way to burn out the evil spirits and call back the power of the sun to warm the earth and make crops grow. The most important bonfir es were at Midsummer and Midwinter. But there were also bonfires at the equinoxes. T he G uy Fawkes bonfires in Britain in November could well be the remainder of the fall equinox bonfire. And the Fall a s in Valencia are probably the remains of the vernal equinox bonfires that used to stud the Medi terranean like so many stars. There is really no way to know how far back the Falles have always been celebrated. B ut I think it's sa fe to assume that the origin of this celebrat io n stretches back to the pagan celebrat ion of spring and the re birth of plants and trees. The earliest mention of it dates back to the Middle Ages, when carpenters used to burn leftover wood in the streets in fro nt of their shops on the feast ...