Burning the Clocks

THE DEATH OF TIME...

"As the solstice comes, time slows down and stops. This is the ebb time, the limbo between years and worlds. In this slack tide of the hourglass the impossible happens. The pendulum stops and we need all our energy to start it moving again.

"A stately cavalcade leads us and our lanterns to the beach. A mourning party plays deep dark drums as they beat out the ending of time. The lanterns are loaded and taken to the great pyre.

"Once we burn our hopes and fears the heat of the fire brings up the new sun, the pendulum starts, the clocks tick and all is saved. The silence is broken by the cheers and music of the new solar year." -- Same Sky



This, my friends, is Solstice done right. It's Burning the Clocks, a new tradition in Brighton, UK. The event is a fabulous brew of theater, art, music, myth, and magic sponsored by the community arts group Same Sky.

Participants create personal clock lanterns of paper and willow, each imbued with the hopes and dreams of its maker. They range from simple pyramids to elaborate sculptures of great size and ethereal beauty.

On Solstice night, the lanterns are lit and carried to the sea in a festival procession through the streets. Costumed dancers, music and drums accompany the journey from the dark streets to the waiting pyre. There, the lanterns are all given to the fire in one mighty blaze that celebrates the return of the light.

Here is the website link: Burning the Clocks. I highly recommend exploring the gallery, the videos, and the 2005 "Vocal Explosion" Soundtrack.

Here's another video that really shows off the lanterns and performers. Sadly, it has been stripped of its audio, but it's still wonderful to watch: Burning of the Clocks Part 2.

I wonder if we could pull this off in Indiana...