At the end of the year 2015, the tradition of Brandon, a custom celebrated every year in the Pyrenees, has been officially registered in the intangible cultural heritage of UNESCO.
The file was brought before the international organization by the city of Luchon in the French Pyrenees, the city of Val d'Aran in the Catalan Pyrenees, Andorra and the Spanish autonomous community of Aragon.
Very well known in the Pyrenees, the festival is celebrated every year on the occasion of the feast of St. John.
The Brandon refers more particularly to the large wooden trunks worked on site to light the Midsummer Solstice fires, which are set ablaze during these summer solstice fire celebrations.
Just before the solstice, the brandon is erected on a square and straw is added in the cracks. At the foot of the trunk, straw and small woods create a base that the officials of each town or village set ablaze on the festive evening.
It is said that if the brandon falls on the side of the thermal baths, the season will be good... From 9 pm, the parade starts with fire-eaters, folklore groups... and the famous guides on horseback.
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