It was a pleasure to burn

This week, we mark the decennial of a seminal moment in history: the Burning of Gabriel Jones, an event laced with legend and memorialized through music, poetry, and art.

For those of you not familiar with the mythology, Let me explain. [pause] No, there is too much. Let me sum up:

President’s Day Weekend, 2005. Provo Canyon. Sputtering bonfire (as could be expected in three feet of snow). One can of gasoline, applied liberally. Too liberally, as the can lit on fire, and was subsequently punted towards the river, where one Gabriel Jones was conscientiously retrieving water in case that exact thing happened. Gas, meet Gabe. Gabe, now alight, stops-drops-and-rolls right into the icy river.

And thus the Burning of Gabriel Jones was sparked, and has been rekindled in our collective hearts each February since (and at least once reenacted—like a civil war battlefield). But it was not until I moved to Luxembourg that I learned that Gabe had pulled a fast one on us, and was ingeniously observing the medieval midwinter solstice celebration of Stréimännchen or “straw man.” From the delightfully-titled local paper The Luxembourg Wort:

The end of the Carnival period is officially marked by the burning of the Stréimännchen or “straw man.” An effigy of a man is made with straw, which is then carried aloft through the streets in a torch-bearing parade down to the Moselle River. Once at the river, the Stréimännchen is ceremonially set on fire and thrown into the river.”

Ooh, that clever, clever Gabriel Jones.

It turns that the Luxembourgeoisie really like to light things on fire this time of year—probably because it is freezing and feels more so due to registering les temps in Celcius (2 degrees... really?!). In commemoration of the 10th anniversary of TBOGJ, Star and I will go to the local Buergbrennen. Back to the Wort:

Translated as “burn the fort”, Buergbrennen takes place in Luxembourg on the first Sunday after Carnival. Enough to raise a thrill in adults and children alike, this event has all the appeal of a pagan ritual with burning torches, processions and crowds. Large structures are built in the shape of huge crosses, constructed from wood (often crates and dried out Christmas trees) donated by local residents and businesses of the commune. The wooden cross, usually large enough to be seen for quite a distance, is then filled with straw to ensure an easy burn.

Pageantry, processions, and burning crosses? You may think it sounds like a Klan rally, but to me—it feels like a little piece of home here in...(wait for it)...this far green country. Thanks, Gabe. (And Steven Joel Jensen, the Cordelli, RD, Ash, Chlarson, and the whole 177th.)

#russ #holidays