Why St Joseph's Bonfire?

 

Why is there the tradition of St Joseph's Bonfire in Italy? What are its origins? Let's discover the evolution of this feast from a pagan to a religious celebration.

March 19.

St. Joseph’s day.

Father’s Day.

We get ready for the bonfire.

Leggi in italiano

When I was a child, this was the plan: we celebrated Father’s Day and reunited with friends for St. Joseph’s bonfire on the evening. Then I’d never asked myself the reason for this tradition: it was just a moment to stay all together around the bonfire laughing, joking, playing and eating. So, an evening of fun.

As I wrote many times on this blog, growing up I've developed a deep interest in folklore and traditions that animate peoples of different cultures and I’ve begun to look for their explanation. I've started from those that were close to me and  have begun to share them in this virtual space. In the period of St. Joseph, I think it’s appropriate to search for the meaning of the tradition of bonfire, which, let’s say it, has something mystical and hypnotic.

As most of our traditions, the origin of St. Joseph’s bonfire dates back to when the population was pagan and Christianity hadn’t converted ancient rituals in celebrations dedicated to saints or to religious rites, yet. In our culture, fire has always had a dual meaning: 1) the symbolic destruction of what anguishes the society; 2) the regeneration and the prosperity  of humans and animals. 

Let’s concentrate on the date: the 19^th of March is close to the vernal equinox, the moment in which the cold season, with its rigours, gives way to spring, to the rebirth of earth and to prosperity. Actually, celebrating around a bonfire in the past was a way to celebrate the passage from winter to spring, from the harsh and cold season to the warmer and more prosperous one.

We saw that there were other occasions to light a bonfire, for example during the night between the 31^st of October and the 1^st of November. That makes us understand that this practice represented a moment to outline the cycle of seasons in a more or less defined way. If we consider that these rituals were linked with rural tradition, a world closely connected with nature and its rhythms, it’s not strange that this custom has been preserved even with the coming of Christianity and that this last one felt almost obliged to convert a pagan rite in a religious celebration. Not by chance, the link with Christianity is represented by the fact that olive branches were burned in the bonfire  to make sure that the new season was florid thanks to heavenly assistance.

I remember with pleasure and light heartedness those moments, in which we reunited to stay together and to celebrate this day, all around the bonfire seeing it crackle in front of us.

Now, tell me, have you ever participated to a St. Joseph’s bonfire? Did you know the origin of this tradition? What do you do in your place? Let me know in the comments and see you in the next blog post!