In 1860, I was residing near the head of Loch Tay during the season of
the Hallowe'en feast. For several days before Hallowe'en, boys and
youths collected wood and conveyed it to the most prominent places on
the hill sides in their neighbourhood. Some of the heaps were as large
as a corn-stack or hay-rick. After dark on Hallowe'en, these heaps were
kindled, and for several hours both sides of Loch Tay were illuminated
as far as the eye could see. I was told by old men that at the beginning
of this century men as well as boys took part in getting up the
bonfires, and that, when the fire was ablaze, all joined hands and
danced round the fire, and made a great noise; but that, as these
gatherings generally ended in drunkenness and rough and dangerous fun,
the ministers set their faces against the observance, and were seconded
in their efforts by the more intelligent and well-behaved in the
community; and so the practice was discontinued by adults and relegated
to school boys. In the statistical account of the parish of Callander,
the same practice is referred to.
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