In a short time, the first hour of the New Year will strike, with the twelve strokes of midnight, and everyone – wherever we are, whatever our beliefs – will celebrate this event with lights, torches, fires and “firecrackers”. There’s no point in pretending… fire is fascinating. And it has always fascinated precisely because of its connection with ancient rites. Ancient rites that, especially in Sicily and on Mount Etna, resist against every modern advance. Let’s see together what the meanings of some typical customs of our territory are.
Fire is sacred
We read on a page of the website I RACCONTI DAL BORGO that << the rite of the sacred fire survives in every part of Italy, from the Alps to Etna. The period with the greatest frequency of celebrations related to fire is winter, when light and heat are more vulnerable than ever. Celebrations such as the winter solstice and the Sole Invitto are replaced by Christmas (December 24 and 25), the Immaculate Conception (December 8), Saint Lucy (December 13), Saint Nicholas (December 5 and 6) and Saint Anthony the Abbot (January 16 and 17). The sacred fire also illuminates the spring celebrations of Saint Joseph (March 19, equinox) and Saint John (June 24, solstice), the summer ones such as Ferragosto (August 15, Ferie Augusti) and the autumn ones dedicated to Saint Martin (November 10 and 11) that close the peasant year. Thus, year after year (…) we too, children of the digital age, repeat those gestures >>.
Fire and “good luck”
Fire has always been linked to propitiatory rites for “good luck”. Peasant customs identified the act of burning with the cleaning of the fields, freed from weeds and rotten fruit. The passage of fire left fertilizer on the ground to make new grass grow. And that is why with fire, with its light, with its heat we try to lay the foundations for a better future.
Rituals related to fire
In winter, the farmers of Etna “burn the branches”. Obviously there is nothing magical about this: it involves eliminating dry leaves, fallen branches, residues from the passage of storms that can pollute the fields. But these residues are also present in other seasons. So why do they “burn the branches” mostly in winter? Precisely because of a link with ancient propitiatory rites that offered sacrifices to the gods to obtain, in exchange, an excellent harvest the following year. And winter, a “dormant” season, favored these prayers and these hopes.
The advent of Christianity changed the rituals a bit but not their meanings. From bonfires in the fields we moved on to sacred fires, which are lit throughout the Etna area, in the presence of bishops and authorities. The new symbol of fire is the Light of Christ. But the meaning of the ritual is the same. We pray for a better year.
In more modern times, fireworks have taken the place of bonfire rituals. It is no coincidence that on New Year’s Eve, fires are set off and torches are lit almost everywhere. The light, the heat and even the noise of fireworks celebrate the joy of a “better year”. The ritual does not change, even if the “shape” of the fire changes.
The fire of Etna
It does not always happen, but sometimes even our volcano Etna takes part in human celebrations and propitiatory rites. In the past, there have been eruptions, or the beginning of eruptions, precisely in the period between the end of the year and the beginning of the new year. And it must not be denied that almost all of us, on these magical evenings, look to the “mountain” with the hope that it will give us some light show! (PHOTOS BY G MUSUMECI)