Burning of the Clavie the annual Fire Festival held 11th January at Burghead, Morayshire. Grampian. Scotland. XPL 4489-424
Opinions differ as to the roots of the ancient festival of the Burning of the Clavie, condemned in the eighteenth century as "an abominable heathenish practice". But even in the third millennium it still goes Pictish, Celtic, Viking or Roman in origin, the Burning of the Clavie, which takes place at Burghead, in Moray, is without a doubt one of the most bizarre of Scotland's Hogmanay festivals. A group of grown men carting a barrel of fire around the town? It doesn't get stranger. Okay, maybe in Stonehaven The Ritual The event takes place on the night of January 11 (the original Hogmanay before the calendar changed in 1660). The "Clavie" is a half barrel filled with wood shavings and tar. In the past, it would have been a herring barrel. Today, iron-hooped whisky barrels daubed with creosote are used. The barrel is nailed onto a carrying post - the same nail is ritually used every year - which is hoisted onto the shoulders of a local villager. The clavie is then lit, traditionally by a peat from the hearth of an old Burghead Provost and from there carried by the elected Clavie King. Each of the ten or so men (traditionally fishermen) take it in turn to carry the burning clavie clockwise around the streets of Burghead, occasionally stopping at the houses of former eminent citizens to present a smouldering faggot of the clavie in the doorway to bring the household good luck for the year ahead. The men proceed to the stone altar of an old fort on the ancient Doorie Hill, the clavie is set down here and more fuel is added until the hillside is ablaze with a beacon of fire. The flaming embers are snatched up by onlookers and used to kindle a special New Year fire at home, kept for luck or are even sent to relations or friends who have moved away from Burghead. As well as drawing comparisons with the Celtic festival of Samhain, various theories link its origins to the Picts (there was once a Pictish fort at Burghead) and the Romans. The word Clavie may
Size: 5380px × 3573px
Location: Burghead, Elgin, Moray. Grampian Region. Scotland. United Kingdom.
Photo credit: © David Gowans / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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