Burning the Clocks, Brighton (5284087150)

Burning the Clocks is a

winter solstice The winter solstice, also called the hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere (Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the winter ...

festival that takes place each year in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, England, UK. 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 A withy or withe (also willow and osier) is a strong flexible willow stem, typically used in thatching, basketmaking, gardening and for constructing woven wattle hurdles.

(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
accessed November 23, 2007

In 2000,

Brighton Museum Brighton Museum & Art Gallery is a municipally-owned public museum and art gallery in the city of Brighton and Hove in the South East of England. It is part of the "Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton and Hove". It is free for local residents ...

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, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

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 ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

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 November 23, 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 events in England