Category: Fire

Easter Witches in Sweden

Published March 31, 2008 in CULTURES, CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS, Candy, Childhood, Fertility, Fire, HOLIDAYS, Spring, Swedish | Comments [1]
Most Christian holidays have pagan roots and traditions, and Easter is no exception. In Sweden, it is said that this is the time of year that witches mounted their broomsticks and flew off to Blockulla – the mystical meadow where witches gathered to dance with the devil. This piece of folklore is commemorated in Sweden [...] Read More »

Up-Helly-Aa

Published January 20, 2007 in CULTURES, CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS, Fire, HOLIDAYS, Parades, Scottish, Viking, Winter | Comments [0]
Scene from a video posted on YouTube by Gary13579, showing the burning galley at the 2006 Up-Helly-Aa festival: If you’d like to dress as a Viking, carry a burning torch in a procession through villages and towns, and then throw the torch into a replica of a Viking longship to set it alight before sending it [...] Read More »

The Yule Log and La Bûche de Noël

Published December 21, 2006 in American, Belgian, British, CULTURES, CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS, Celtic, Christian, Christmas Traditions, European, Fire, French, HOLIDAYS, Lanterns and Lights, Winter, Yugoslav | Comments [0]
At Christmas time, people all over France and Belgium serve the “Bûche de Noël” – a cake shaped and decorated to look like a tree trunk. In Anglo-Saxon cultures, many people still burn a “yule log” in their fireplace at Christmas. There is even a television station in New York that shows a [...] Read More »

Halloween: Spirits, Costumes, Bonfires, Apples and Jack o’ Lanterns

Published October 24, 2006 in American, Autumn, CULTURES, CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS, Celtic, Costumes, Fire, HOLIDAYS, Lanterns and Lights, New Year Celebrations | Comments [0]
On October 31, Americans celebrate Halloween, which has become an extremely popular holiday. In the evening, children dress in costumes and go trick or treating – walking from house to house, knocking on doors and receiving candies as rewards for their costumes. The costumes range from the stand-by ghosts and witches, to costumes resembling popular [...] Read More »