The Pignarul!

Another great reason to come to Udine? Why, the Pignarul fires of course! The Pignarul ritual takes place every January 6th, the day of Epiphany, when an old witch brings either gifts or coal to children (depending if they’ve been good or bad). The old Pignarul ritual, which has Celtic roots, was used in order to chase away negative “vibes” by burning old shrubbery (in modern times a witch doll is place on top of the Pignarul). This Pignarul consisted of old wooden crates, the ones used for selling fruits and vegetables! It was also lit up by none other than Udine's mayor, Furio Honsell.

The Pignarul was also used as a way of invoking the benevolence of Belen, the God of fire. Depending naturally on the way the wind blows, the direction of the smoke and flames will determine the positive or negative outcome of the entire year: if the smoke blows to the east, the year will be a good one. If the smokes instead blows to the west, the year won’t be one of the best (all pics by M. Rimati).