Note 28 — JOURNEYS IN PERSIA AND KURDISTAN (continued 4)
Reading edition
On the eve of the day, the last of a festival of ten days, the common people kindle rows of bonfires and leap over them; and, though not on the same day, but on the night of the 25th of February, sacred in the Armenian Church as the day of the presentation of our Lord in the temple, large bonfires are lighted on the mud roofs of the Armenians of the Persian and Turkish cities, and the younger members of the households dance and sing and leap through the flames. Meanwhile the Moslems close their windows, so that the sins which the Christians are supposed to be burning may not enter. Whether these "Beltane fires" are a relic of the ancient fire worship or of still older rites may be a question. Among the Christians the custom is showing signs of passing away.