Bonfire Night Irish Style

                   I relocated to Ireland from England in 2004 , My Father was born here.

                   During that time I have become more aware in the Heritage and
                   Cultural differences between the two countries , more than you would firstly
                   think , one of those being Bonfire Night .

                   At sunset on June 23rd , another of the ancient fire festivals begins. This 
                   midsummer festival was known as St. John's eve , or Bonfire Night, and not 
                   that long ago, it was a wide- spread tradition throughout Ireland , mainly 
                   confined to the west these days.

                   People would gather in there villages on this day ,young and old . Exactly at                
                   Sunset the Bonfire would be lit which had been built by the locals. Prayers use to      
                   be said to obtain God's blessing on the crops, then at the peak point of summer 
                   bloom.
                   There was much fun , music and storytelling , to neglect this ritual people 
                   believed would be seen as disrespect and lead to a bad harvest or for the fish not 
                   to swim up stream and spawn.
                   People threw into the fire specimens of the most troublesome weeds in the district
                   - this was supposed to protect the fields from weeds.
                   Celebrating this Celtic Festival would continue until sunset the next day , people
                   would then take the ashes from the fire then extinct on  St. Johns morning to
                   scatter them on their fields. Some would take them home to bring them good 
                   fortune , others would set a fire in a new house to bless it and bring good luck.

                   People still meet up now for St. Johns Eve but I feel its more to have a drink and
                   catch up on local gossip whilst watching the packaging burn that you received 
                   your most recent order from Amazon.  

                 

                 I celebrated St. John's Eve with my Mother ( sadly my Dad passed away 5 years
                 ago . R.I.P. Dad x. ) and our donkey Daisy-Mae whilst burning the old bathroom 
                 and praying for good weather . I have not decided what to do with the ashes yet ?
                                  LUCKY IRISH ASHES FOR SALE 10 EUROS A BAG !!!
                                                   ( SOUNDS LIKE A BARGAIN ??? )

                                                                                                                                    23.06.13