Religion Usurps Pagan Custom

FIRES

  At midnight tonight, big bonfires are lit.

  Crowds gather around them.

  This night will cleanse houses and souls. Old junk and old desires, things and feelings worn out by time, are tossed into the fire to make room for the new to be born.

  From the north this custom spread all over the world. It was always a pagan holiday. Always, until the Roman Catholic Church decided tonight would be Saint John's Eve.


From Eduardo Galeano's 'Children of the Days'