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.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.