Description

Blazes of St. Joseph

Print photos on  Satin Photo Paper 20×30 cm

The St. Joseph’s Day or Father’s Day, (March 19) is characterized in Palermo use with the so-called “flashes of St. Joseph.” It is true bonfire, made with everything that you can collect to be burned. Especially children collect objects of various kinds, which are used to feed the bonfire, with which, the day before the party, he announces the arrival of the anniversary.

The use of fire is related to traditions that are lost in the mists of time and that have to do with the worship of the sun, but also with a magical conceptions, which attribute to the fire a purifying function, able to ward off forces of evil. Among other things it has to consider that the flames of St. Joseph are put in place at a particular time of year, almost coinciding with the day of the vernal equinox.

So one way to significantly celebrate the passage from death to rebirth of nature, promoting soil fertility and abundance of fruits. rural traditions and concepts inspired by the magic thus contribute to explain the tradition of the flames, which in any case also constitute a fundamental moment of social aggregation.

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