The Night of the Faugni

Every year, at dawn on December 8, the ancient folk tradition of faugni (from the Latin "fauni ignis," meaning Faun's fire) is repeated in Atri. Peasants would light fires, before the winter solstice, in honor of Faunus, a pagan deity associated with the fertility of the earth! On the evening of December 7, the parish priest blesses the bonfire that will be used to light the Faugni, and during the night there will be a very festive procession of the Faugni (which can sometimes number as many as 100) through the streets of the city, becoming real "rivers" of fire. The procession will end in the Cathedral Square, where bundles of burning reeds will form a large bonfire.