Burning the Clocks is a
winter solstice
The winter solstice, or hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's geographical pole, poles reaches its maximum axial tilt, tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern Hemisphere, Northern and So ...
festival that takes place each year in
Brighton
Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
, England. It has taken place since 1994 as a response to Christmas commercialisation.
The event
Founded in 1993, the celebration is based on a procession of lanterns and costumes, made from
withies (willow canes) and white tissue paper, led by local bands with a carnival atmosphere. The procession makes its way through Brighton city centre to the seafront where the festivities culminate in a lantern bonfire, accompanied by fireworks. The costumes all include a clockface to represent the passing of time, although each year has a slight change of theme.
Same Sky, an arts initiative first organised the event with Brighton Co-op to commemorate the founding of the Co-operative Movement, 150 years before. Brighton Co-op provided the finance for the firework display and Same Sky organised local schools producing the lanterns for the parade. They explain:
"Burning the Clocks is an antidote to the excesses of the commercial Christmas. People gather together to make paper and willow lanterns to carry through their city and burn on the beach as a token for the end of the year ... The lantern makers become part of the show as they invest the lanterns with their wishes, hopes, and fears and then pass them into the fire. Same Sky reatenew urban rituals to replace those traditional festivals that were lost in the dash to be new and non-superstitious."[Burning of the Clocks homepage](_blank)
accessed 23 November 2007
In 2000,
Brighton Museum commissioned a costume from Same Sky artist Nikki Gunson. She created "Mother Time Keeper" and performed it in the parade before returning to the museum. Incidentally the festival took place on New Year's Eve' that year. Local colleges also participate;
Sussex Downs College have been contributing since 1998.
The event was cancelled in 2009 due to snow and low temperatures making the streets and pavements of the city unsuitable for the processions and anticipated crowds, and in 2020 and 2021 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.
Ethos
The Same Sky arts initiative describes the festival as "the giving and sharing of thoughts and wishes… and put them into a
secular
Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...
format that can be enjoyed by all regardless of faith or creed" and says that the intention is to "
reatenew urban rituals to replace those traditional festivals that were lost in the dash to be new and non superstitious".
Brighton newspaper ''
''The Argus'''' argue that the event "
reatesnew urban rituals to replace traditional festivals lost in the politically correct drive to be modern, secular and non-superstitious."
"Huge crowds turn out for Burning the Clocks procession"
as published in ''The Argus'' accessed 23 November 2007
References
External links
SameSky – Burning the ClocksPhotos of Sussex Downs College students in costume
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burning The Clocks
Winter festivals in the United Kingdom
Festivals in Brighton and Hove
1993 establishments in England
Recurring events established in 1993
Festivals established in 1993
Winter in England
Winter solstice