Emergency fire

In the Germanic cult , the emergency fire was a fire that was originally lit when an epidemic broke out among people or cattle.

The emergency fire is mentioned as Niedfyr or Nodfyr ("Reibefeuer", from the Old High German hniudan "rub", ie fire created by the friction of dry wood) as early as the 8th century and has survived into the 20th century . From the fires that were lit on special occasions, an annually recurring emergency fire developed, which was lit at the beginning of summer, where, according to popular belief, dragons and evil spirits were in the air. In many areas this was then set on St. John's Day and this resulted in the so-called St. John's fires , which were also often called emergency fires .

literature

• Johannes Reiske : Kurtze as well a historical as a reasonable investigation, of the old German common heydnischer Nodfyr, and the emerged today's emergency fire . Frankfurt 1696
• Ulrich Jahn: The German sacrificial customs in agriculture and animal husbandry . Wroclaw 1884