Marianne
    user portrait


My Page

    The Danish Bonfire

    Wednesday, June 17, 2009, 10:57 AM CET [General]

     

     

    The bonfires we have in Denmark is on the 23th. of June, on the longest day of the year, and the turn of the light. The bonfire is a celebration of the turn of the year. The bonfires are an old pagan tradition that goes back to the time of the Vikings. In Denmark most of our holydays are adapted to the old pagen traditions. When The Catholic Church came to Denmark in the year of 900, the Danes wouldn't move their old celebrations, so if the church wanted supporters, they had to adapt the Christian celebration to the old pagan traditions.
    We still celebrate Christmas on the 24th of December, because it is closer to the turn of the light than the 25th is.

    Some Danes burn a witch doll on the bonfire, this tradition is from the time, when the Catholic Church preformed the witch hunts all over Europe. Some have kept this tradition other like my self don't like it.
    We put fire works on the fire instead to welcome the turn of the light.

     

     
    0 (0 Ratings)
    Tags:
    [ 2 comments ] Leave a Comment

    It sounds like the bonfire is a fun and enjoyable event. I don't agree with the burning of witch dolls. I think that's a bad message to be sending out to young folks (and adults too). I think it should be sociably unacceptable now-a-days for them to allow it.

    Congratulations on Nidlongdir being featured in The Faerie Magazine. That's wonderful news. You deserve it! Nidlongdir is wonderful. ~applause~

    Deanna
    June 18, 2009
    02:30 AM CET

    No the witch doll tradition is a horrible idea that the Catholic Church invented in the middle-aged, to scare the farmers, so that they would pay taxes to the church. But at the end of the middle-aged the church lost its powers in Denmark, and we had the reformation and became Protestants. We still have Catholic Churches in Denmark and now days we live together in peace.

    The bonfire is very emotional for most Danes, because at the Second World War, all Danes protested against the German invasion, by having bonfires and singing the Danish national songs. A kind of peaceful demonstration against the war. The Germans didn't understand what was going on, if they had known most of Denmark had been deported to one of the concentration camps.

    Denmark has been at war many times in the past, and because we are a very small country, only 5 million Danes, we have very strong feelings about our old customs. Denmark has a church of its own; it is a Christian protestant church that is very free. You can go into a Danish church and take part of all the ceremonials with out being a member of the church or believing in God. We are not pagan but most Danes love the Norse mythology and our folk tales, and if we were asked to choose between the church and our old customs the church would loose most of its members. Danes just don't like to be put under any sort of restrictions.

    Marianne
    June 18, 2009
    08:18 AM CET