Remember to burn a witch tonight. If you don’t
have a witch or a bonfire, you should at least honor the day by smoking a cigar
. . .
For the Vigil of St. John (today, as I write) in the old Roman
Ritual the priest would once bless bonfires!
And in
Bavaria, witches are burned! A priest friend who shares my feast sent me
a spiffing photo (below – a little hard to see at this size, but I assure you,
there is a witch in there):
If you have any unwanted
witches, send them to Bavaria next year for a nice vacation.
In
other places, cast-off or unneeded things are burned… in a way parallel, I
suppose, to throwing things away at the other end of the year after the Winter
Solstice.
This is
custom calls to mind that many places celebrated the feasts of saints with
great festivity.
In any
event, have a nice bonfire! The evening is about as long as the year can
offer, so a great party could be had well into the night with much cooking in
the open and revelry.
The
blessing for the bonfire is beautiful. After the usual introduction, the
priest would bless the fire saying:
Lord God, almighty Father, the light that never fails and
the source of all light, sanctify + this new fire, and grant that after
the darkness of this life we may come unsullied to you who are light
eternal; through Christ our Lord. All: Amen.
At this point the fire is sprinkled with holy water and everyone
sings the hymn Ut quaent laxis which
is also the Vespers hymn.
It is almost
as if the fire, and our celebration, is baptized.
Build a fire tonight, even if you can’t burn a witch, and
sing something in honor of St. John! I will enjoy cigars, I think,
and maybe burn some old personal records I no longer need … and think about
witches.
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