The Bonfires of Halloween

The bonfire in Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

The Halloween sequence in the classic movie Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) remains for many the most memorable sequence in the movie. Among other things, the neighbourhood kids build a bonfire in the middle of Kensington Avenue. The Halloween sequence in Meet Me in St. Louis was based on the vignette "October 1903," one of a series of semi-autobiographical vignettes by Sally Benson published in The New Yorker from June 14 1941 to May 1943. While building bonfires on Halloween is no longer as common as it once was, the tradition goes back many years.

For those familiar with the history of holidays in Northern Europe, the building of bonfires on Halloween should not seem that unusual. The Third Council of Constantinople in 680 CE attempted to ban bonfires, "Those fires that are kindled by certain people on new moons before their shops and houses, over which also they use ridiculously and foolishly to leap, by a certain ancient custom...." Despite this, the lighting of bonfires on certain holidays would persist. Among King Henry VII's expenses listed for one Midsummer's Eve was for making bonfires.

It should then come as no surprise that bonfires were built for Halloween in Scotland, the country from which much of the United States and Canada's Halloween customs come. In  1772 Welsh naturalist and antiquarian Thomas Pennant wrote of the people of the Maylin, near Pitlochry in Scotland, "Hallow Eve is also kept sacred; as soon as it is dark, a person sets fire to a bush of broom fastened round a pole, and, attended with a crowd, runs about the village. He then flings it down, heaps great quantity of combustible matters on it, and makes a great bonfire.”

The custom of building bonfires on Halloween would be brought to Canada and the United States by Scottish settlers. The November 1 1864 issue of The Kingston Daily News from Kingston, Ontario states in their article, "Keeping Up Hallowe'en," "Bonfires were lit in several streets...." The custom of Halloween bonfires was known in the United States as well, even if at times it was discouraged. In the 1890 issue of The Minneapolis Star Tribune, bonfires are mentioned among the mischief performed in the night, "...to say nothing of an occasional bonfire worked on the sly, while the precinct patrolman is at the other end of his beat."

While Halloween bonfires were strongly discouraged in many cities, in other municipalities they became part of the official celebration of Halloween. The December 29 1920 issue of The Great Falls Leader out of Montana has a story on how tumbleweed burning will be held on October 30 of the following year as part of the close of Great Falls' Clean-up Week. The October 20 1930 issue of The Los Angeles Illustrated Daily News features a short article that reads, "FUEL TO FIRES! Halloween bonfires on city playgrounds and in community house fireplaces will burn brighter this year for a gift of several hundred railroad ties donated by Los Angeles Railway corporation."The October 30 1957 issue of The Enterprise-Record from Chico, California featured the headline, "Halloween Bonfire Slated for Ridge Tomorrow Evening." The Paradise Recreation District had a bonfire planned for the evening of October 31 1957

While the burning of bonfires would decline in the latter half of the 20th Century, the practice has not totally died out in the United States. As recently as October 12 2021, The Greenville Daily Advocate in Ohio mentioned a Halloween bonfire party to be held by Darke County SafeHaven in Piqua, Ohio. The origin of the custom of bonfires on Halloween is shrouded in mystery. Some would trace it back to the Celtic pagan festival known as Saimhainnin Scottish Gaelic, Samhain in Modern Irish, and Sauin in Manx. Some might give other explanations for the Halloween tradition. Regardless, while it might not be as common as it once was, it would seem that people will be burning bonfires on Halloween for many years to come.