Midsummer Bonfires.
(Vol. xii., p. 315.)
I have lit upon what I cannot doubt to be an interesting survival of observing St. John's Eve in the valley of the Aberdeenshire Dee, and as "in Scotland the traces of Midsummer fires are few" (G. B. iii., 292), May and November being the general dates of bonfire celebrations there, it seems the more desirable to put it on record.
There died one hundred and fifteen years ago a Mr. Alexander Hogg of London, merchant, leaving among other benefactions to his native parish of Durris, Kincardineshire, ten shillings a year to the herds around the hill of Cairnshee (Fairies' Cairn) for the purpose of making a Midsummer bonfire, in remembrance of the fact that he as a boy herded cattle there. A further sum was left to provide barrels of ale, cheese, and bread for those who assemble to witness the celebration. This curious observance is duly followed every year, and forms one of the attractions of the district. As many as half a dozen musicians resort to the hill, and dancing is kept up till midnight or longer.
Can it be doubted that Mr. Hogg thus gave new life to an old custom which had been known to his boyhood? Let us note some particulars that go to prove its connection with prehistoric times.
The fire must be lit on the twenty-fourth of June just as the last limb of the sun disappears beneath the horizon.
The height on which the fire is lit is the highest eminence in the district from which the beholders come, and thus the sun would be seen at the latest possible moment.
The herds must, according to the conditions of the will, collect the fuel themselves, each bringing as many bundles as possible so that a large fire may result. As there are ten lads on the surrounding farms that now represent the herds of old days, the pile is often of considerable dimensions. Now we find from some of the survivals on the Continent that every one was expected to add his share to the heap of straw or firewood which formed the fire of St. John. Moreover, any one not doing so and omitting to be present at the lighting was doomed to have his barley full of thistles and his oats full of weeds.
