the golden bough-第242章

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e　cowherds　used　to　go　round　their　folds　thrice；　in　the　direction　of　the　sun；　with　lighted　torches。　This　they　did　to　purify　the　flocks　and　herds　and　to　keep　them　from　falling　sick。

The　practice　of　lighting　bonfires　on　Midsummer　Eve　and　dancing　or　leaping　over　them　is；　or　was　till　recently；　common　all　over　Spain　and　in　some　parts　of　Italy　and　Sicily。　In　Malta　great　fires　are　kindled　in　the　streets　and　squares　of　the　towns　and　villages　on　the　Eve　of　St。　John　（Midsummer　Eve）；　formerly　the　Grand　Master　of　the　Order　of　St。　John　used　on　that　evening　to　set　fire　to　a　heap　of　pitch　barrels　placed　in　front　of　the　sacred　Hospital。　In　Greece；　too；　the　custom　of　kindling　fires　on　St。　John's　Eve　and　jumping　over　them　is　said　to　be　still　universal。　One　reason　assigned　for　it　is　a　wish　to　escape　from　the　fleas。　According　to　another　account；　the　women　cry　out；　as　they　leap　over　the　fire；　I　leave　my　sins　behind　me。　In　Lesbos　the　fires　on　St。　John's　Eve　are　usually　lighted　by　threes；　and　the　people　spring　thrice　over　them；　each　with　a　stone　on　his　head；　saying；　I　jump　the　hare's　fire；　my　head　a　stone！　In　Calymnos　the　midsummer　fire　is　supposed　to　ensure　abundance　in　the　coming　year　as　well　as　deliverance　from　fleas。　The　people　dance　round　the　fires　singing；　with　stones　on　their　heads；　and　then　jump　over　the　blaze　or　the　glowing　embers。　When　the　fire　is　burning　low；　they　throw　the　stones　into　it；　and　when　it　is　nearly　out；　they　make　crosses　on　their　legs　and　then　go　straightway　and　bathe　in　the　sea。

The　custom　of　kindling　bonfires　on　Midsummer　Day　or　on　Midsummer　Eve　is　widely　spread　among　the　Mohammedan　peoples　of　North　Africa；　particularly　in　Morocco　and　Algeria；　it　is　common　both　to　the　Berbers　and　to　many　of　the　Arabs　or　Arabic…speaking　tribes。　In　these　countries　Midsummer　Day　（the　twenty…fourth　of　June；　Old　Style）　is　called　l'ánsara。　The　fires　are　lit　in　the　courtyards；　at　cross…roads；　in　the　fields；　and　sometimes　on　the　threshing…floors。　Plants　which　in　burning　give　out　a　thick　smoke　and　an　aromatic　smell　are　much　sought　after　for　fuel　on　these　occasions；　among　the　plants　used　for　the　purpose　are　giant…fennel；　thyme；　rue；　chervil…seed；　camomile；　geranium；　and　penny…royal。　People　expose　themselves；　and　especially　their　children；　to　the　smoke；　and　drive　it　towards　the　orchards　and　the　crops。　Also　they　leap　across　the　fires；　in　some　places　everybody　ought　to　repeat　the　leap　seven　times。　Moreover　they　take　burning　brands　from　the　fires　and　carry　them　through　the　houses　in　order　to　fumigate　them。　They　pass　things　through　the　fire；　and　bring　the　sick　into　contact　with　it；　while　they　utter　prayers　for　their　recovery。　The　ashes　of　the　bonfires　are　also　reputed　to　possess　beneficial　properties；　hence　in　some　places　people　rub　their　hair　or　their　bodies　with　them。　In　some　places　they　think　that　by　leaping　over　the　fires　they　rid　themselves　of　all　misfortune；　and　that　childless　couples　thereby　obtain　offspring。　Berbers　of　the　Rif　province；　in　Northern　Morocco；　make　great　use　of　fires　at　midsummer　for　the　good　of　themselves；　their　cattle；　and　their　fruit…trees。　They　jump　over　the　bonfires　in　the　belief　that　this　will　preserve　them　in　good　health；　and　they　light　fires　under　fruit…trees　to　keep　the　fruit　from　falling　untimely。　And　they　imagine　that　by　rubbing　a　paste　of　the　ashes　on　their　hair　they　prevent　the　hair　from　falling　off　their　heads。　In　all　these　Moroccan　customs；　we　are　told；　the　beneficial　effect　is　attributed　wholly　to　the　smoke；　which　is　supposed　to　be　endued　with　a　magical　quality　that　removes　misfortune　from　men；　animals；　fruit…trees　and　crops。

The　celebration　of　a　midsummer　festival　by　Mohammedan　peoples　is　particularly　remarkable；　because　the　Mohammedan　calendar；　being　purely　lunar　and　uncorrected　by　intercalation；　necessarily　takes　no　note　of　festivals　which　occupy　fixed　points　in　the　solar　year；　all　strictly　Mohammedan　feasts；　being　pinned　to　the　moon；　slide　gradually　with　that　luminary　through　the　whole　period　of　the　earth's　revolution　about　the　sun。　This　fact　of　itself　seems　to　prove　that　among　the　Mohammedan　peoples　of　Northern　Africa；　as　among　the　Christian　peoples　of　Europe；　the　midsummer　festival　is　quite　independent　of　the　religion　which　the　people　publicly　profess；　and　is　a　relic　of　a　far　older　paganism。

6。　The　Hallowe'en　Fires

FROM　THE　FOREGOING　survey　we　may　infer　that　among　the　heathen　forefathers　of　the　European　peoples　the　most　popular　and　widespread　fire…festival　of　the　year　was　the　great　celebration　of　Midsummer　Eve　or　Midsummer　Day。　The　coincidence　of　the　festival　with　the　summer　solstice　can　hardly　be　accidental。　Rather　we　must　suppose　that　our　pagan　ancestors　purposely　timed　the　ceremony　of　fire　on　earth　to　coincide　with　the　arrival　of　the　sun　at　the　highest　point　of　his　course　in　the　sky。　If　that　was　so；　it　follows　that　the　old　founders　of　the　midsummer　rites　had　observed　the　solstices　or　turning…points　of　the　sun's　apparent　path　in　the　sky；　and　that　they　accordingly　regulated　their　festal　calendar　to　some　extent　by　astronomical　considerations。

But　while　this　may　be　regarded　as　fairly　certain　for　what　we　may　call　the　aborigines　throughout　a　large　part　of　the　continent；　it　appears　not　to　have　been　true　of　the　Celtic　peoples　who　inhabited　the　Land's　End　of　Europe；　the　islands　and　promontories　that　stretch　out　into　the　Atlantic　Ocean　on　the　North…West。　The　principal　fire…festivals　of　the　Celts；　which　have　survived；　though　in　a　restricted　area　and　with　diminished　pomp；　to　modern　times　and　even　to　our　own　day；　were　seemingly　timed　without　any　reference　to　the　position　of　the　sun　in　the　heaven。　They　were　two　in　number；　and　fell　at　an　interval　of　six　months；　one　being　celebrated　on　the　eve　of　May　Day　and　the　other　on　Allhallow　Even　or　Hallowe'en；　as　it　is　now　commonly　called；　that　is；　on　the　thirty…first　of　October；　the　day　preceding　All　Saints'　or　Allhallows'　Day。　These　dates　coincide　with　none　of　the　four　great　hinges　on　which　the　solar　year　revolves；　to　wit；　the　solstices　and　the　equinoxes。　Nor　do　they　agree　with　the　principal　seasons　of　the　agricultural　year；　the　sowing　in　spring　and　the　reaping　in　autumn。　For　when　May　Day　comes；　the　seed　has　long　been　committed　to　the　earth；　and　when　November　opens；　the　harvest　has　long　been　reaped　and　garnered；　the　fields　lie　bare；　the　fruit…trees　are　stripped；　and　even　the　yellow　leaves　are　fast　fluttering　to　the　ground。　Yet　the　first　of　May　and　the　first　of　November　mark　turning…points　of　the　year　in　Europe；　the　one　ushers　in　the　genial　heat　and　the　rich　vegetation　of　summer；　the　other　heralds；　if　it　does　not　share；　the　cold　and　barrenness　of　winter。　Now　these　particular　points　of　the　year；　as　has　been　well　pointed　out　by　a　learned　and　ingenious　writer；　while　they　are　of　comparatively　little　moment　to　the　European　husbandman；　do　deeply　concern　the　European　herdsman；　for　it　is　on　the　approach　of　summer　that　he　drives　his　cattle　out　into　the　open　to　crop　the　fresh　grass；　and　it　is　on　the　approach　of　winter　that　he　leads　them　back　to　the　safety　and　shelter　of　the　stall。　Accordingly　it　seems　not　improbable　that　the　Celtic　bisection　of　the　year　into　two　halves　at　the　beginning　of　May　and　the　beginning　of　November　dates　from　a　time　when　the　Celts　were　mainly　a　pastoral　people；　dependent　for　their　subsistence　on　their　herds；　and　when　accordingly　the　great　epochs　of　the　year　for　them　were　the　days　on　which　the　cattle　went　forth　from　the　homestead　in　early　summer　and　returned　to　it　again　in　early　winter。　Even　in　Central　Europe；　remote　from　the　region　now　occupied　by　the　Celts；　a　similar　bisection　of　the　year　may　be　clearly　traced　in　the　great　popularity；　on　the　one　hand；　of　May　Day　and　its　Eve　（Walpurgis　Night）；　and；　on　the　other　hand；　of　the　Feast　of　All　Souls　at　the　beginning　of　November；　which　under　a　thin　Christian　cloak　conceals　an　ancient　pagan　festival　of　the　dead。　Hence　we　may　conjecture　that　everywhere　throughout　Europe　the　celestial　division　of　the　year　according　to　the　solstices　was　preceded　by　what　we　may　call　a　terrestrial　division　of　the　year　according　to　the　beginning　of　summer　and　the　beginning　of　winter。

Be　that　as　it　may；　the　two　great　Celtic　festivals　of　May　Day　and　the　first　of　November　or；　to　be　more　accurate；　the　Eves　of　these　two　days；　closely　resemble