Bonfire
A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used for waste disposal or as part of a religious feast, such as Saint John's Eve.
Etymology
The earliest attestations date to the late 15th century, with the Catholicon Anglicum spelling it as banefyre and John Mirk's Book of Festivals speaking of a communal fire in celebrations of Saint John's Eve that "was clene bones & no wode & that is callid a bone fyre". The word is thus a compound of "bone" and "fire."Samuel Johnson's 1755 Dictionary incorrectly analyzed "bon" as the French bon 'good'.
Regional traditions
In many regions of continental Europe, bonfires are made traditionally on 23 June, the solemnity of John the Baptist, as well as on Saturday night before Easter. 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
Bonfire traditions of early spring, lit on the Sunday following Ash Wednesday, are widespread throughout the Alemannic German speaking regions of Europe and in parts of France. The burning of "winter in effigy" at the Sechseläuten in Zürich 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" ignited on the evening of 21 June.Since 1988 "Feuer in den Alpen" 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.
In the Czech Republic the festival called "Burning the Witches" 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
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. 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. 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
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
In France the bonfire celebrates Jean le Baptiste during the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, 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
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.Iran
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 and take it to refer either to the fire itself or to the ruddiness, 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 Chahārshanbeh 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. 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. 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
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
Throughout Ireland bonfires are lit on the night of 31 October to celebrate Halloween 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'.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
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. 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, 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
In Northeast Italy the celebration Panevin, Foghera and Pignarûl is held on the evening of Epiphany. 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 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.