The
custom is still kept up very commonly in the district. Cats used to
be burnt in the fire or roasted to death by being held over it; and
while they were burning the shepherds drove their flocks through the
smoke and flames as a sure means of guarding them against sickness
and witchcraft. In some communes it was believed that the livelier
the dance round the fire, the better would be the crops that year.
In the French province of Franche-Comt?, to the west of the Jura
Mountains, the first Sunday of Lent is known as the Sunday of the
Firebrands (_Brandons_), on account of the fires which it is
customary to kindle on that day. On the Saturday or the Sunday the
village lads harness themselves to a cart and drag it about the
streets, stopping at the doors of the houses where there are girls
and begging fora faggot. When they have got enough, they cart the
fuel to a spot at some little distance from the village, pile it up,
and set it on fire. All the people of the parish come out to see the
bonfire. In some villages, when the bells have rung the Angelus, the
signal for the observance is given by cries of, "To the fire! to the
fire!" Lads, lasses, and children dance round the blaze, and when
the flames have died down they vie with each other in leaping over
the red embers.
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