Burning the Witches in Czech Republic
Ask a Czech student what they learn in school about witches and they won't say a word about The Crucible. They'll tell you about April 30th: Čarodějnice, or Witch Burning; a national holiday held annually throughout the country in which (no pun intended) cities, towns, and villages gather together to celebrate a symbolic burning away of winter and a good excuse to drink Czech pivo (beer). Kids dress up and the locals parade through town with the "witch" (a doll filled with grass or paper) on a stake at the head of the party. Around dusk, a bonfire is lit, which was gathered throughout the day by the older kids, and the whole crowd cheers while the witch is burned to embers and a firetruck waits alertly by.