Fire festivals around the world

In my Simon in Germany post, Remember, Remember, the 5th of November, I wrote about Bonfire Night and the fires and fireworks of November.

In this lesson we’ll travel to six fire festivals around the world, learn vocabulary to describe festivals, and practise the present simple passive to say what is done and when.

Level: B1.

This lesson comes from my Simon in Germany blog post.

Read: Remember, Remember, the 5th of November

Activity

Why do you think people all over the world light fires to celebrate? Think of three reasons.

---

Listen and read along

Reading: Light in the dark

For thousands of years, people have used fire to celebrate. Sometimes it marks the change of the seasons. Sometimes it is meant to chase away bad luck or evil spirits. And sometimes it simply brings people together on a cold, dark night.

In Shetland, in the far north of Scotland, people celebrate Up Helly Aa at the end of January. Hundreds of people dressed as Vikings march through the town with burning torches, and at the end of the night they set fire to a wooden Viking ship.

In Luxembourg, on the first Sunday of Lent, towns and villages build huge bonfires for Buergbrennen. The fire says goodbye to winter and welcomes spring.

In south-west China, the Torch Festival lasts for three days. People carry flaming torches through the streets and villages, and there is singing and dancing all night. A few weeks after Chinese New Year, the Lantern Festival fills the sky with small paper lanterns.

In Nara, Japan, a whole hillside is set on fire every January in Wakakusa Yamayaki. Nobody is completely sure how the tradition started.

And in Germany? At Easter, many villages light an Osterfeuer, and on the North Sea coast, people light Biikebrennen fires in February to say goodbye to winter.

---

Simon says: In the UK, we only really have Bonfire Night. Here in Germany, there are fires in spring and autumn too. I’d love to see Up Helly Aa one day.

---

Listen and repeat

Vocabulary

Word / phrase	Meaning	Example
a torch	a stick with fire at the end that you carry	People march through the streets carrying flaming torches.
to mark	to show that something is important	So every year I buy sparklers to mark Bonfire Night.
to chase away	to make something go away	Sometimes fire is meant to chase away bad luck.
evil spirits	bad ghosts or powers that some people believe in	Some people believed fire kept evil spirits away.
a lantern	a light inside a small box or paper case	The Lantern Festival fills the sky with small paper lanterns.
a hillside	the side of a hill	In Nara, a whole hillside is set on fire every January.
to set fire to	to make something start burning	At the end of the night, they set fire to a wooden Viking ship.
to march	to walk together in a group, often in lines	People march through the streets carrying flaming torches.

Grammar: Present simple passive

We use the passive when the action is more important than the person who does it.

Form: am / is / are + past participle

People set a whole hillside on fire every January. → A whole hillside is set on fire every January.

They burn the Viking ship at the end of the night. → The Viking ship is burnt at the end of the night.

Practice A: Which festival?

1. People dress as Vikings.
2. A hillside burns.
3. It lasts three days.
4. Paper lanterns go up into the sky.
5. It welcomes spring on the first Sunday of Lent.

Show answers

1. Up Helly Aa
2. Wakakusa Yamayaki
3. Torch Festival
4. Lantern Festival
5. Buergbrennen

Practice B: Make it passive

1. People light bonfires in Luxembourg. → Bonfires ___ in Luxembourg.
2. They burn a Viking ship. → A Viking ship ___.
3. People carry torches through the streets. → Torches ___ through the streets.
4. Villages light an Osterfeuer at Easter. → An Osterfeuer ___ at Easter.

Show answers

1. are lit
2. is burnt (or is burned)
3. are carried
4. is lit

Practice C: Odd one out

Which word is different? Why?

1. torch, lantern, bonfire, hillside
2. march, burn, light, set fire to
3. Shetland, Luxembourg, Nara, Viking
4. Up Helly Aa, Biikebrennen, Osterfeuer, Torch Festival

Show answers

1. hillside (it doesn't give light)
2. march (it isn't about fire)
3. Viking (it isn't a place)
4. Torch Festival (it isn't in Europe)

This lesson comes from my Simon in Germany blog post.

Read: Remember, Remember, the 5th of November

Language learning can be really challenging. I know, because I’m a language learner myself. I hope the information and activities were helpful. Try the following:

Which festival would you most like to see, and why? Is there a fire tradition where you live? Write three or four sentences, using at least one passive sentence.

If you’d like to stay up to date with new posts, sign up below. You can also come and say hi on socials.

Image credit: Photo by Alexandre Castro on Unsplash
Alexandre Castro https://unsplash.com/@allecastro
Unsplash https://unsplash.com

More Bonfire Night lessons