November 5th marks the celebration of Guy Fawkes day in the U.K., in which bonfires are lit to celebrate the capture of the titular royal traitor and the subsequent preservation of the life of King James I in 1605.
Of course, lighting things on fire to commemorate dates isn't limited to the Brits: every October 30th, Detroit, Michigan braces for "Devil's Night," where structures are randomly torched by vandals and other assorted ne'er-do-wells. The night originally had gentler, more mischevious overtones when it began in the 1930s, but reached a dangerous zenith in the 1980s. By 1995, the mayor of Detroit launched "Angel's Night" to combat the fires, although acts of arson still occur.
And then there's Burning Man, the annual desert concert/DIY/pop-up village held at the tail end of August in Nevada in which giant artworks (and many of the attendees) get toasted.
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Not quite the same, but it does involve burning: one of my favorite pieces of art, William Lamson's A Line Describing The Sun, in which the artist burns a line into the soil of the desert in California.
There is also the Hindu festival Vijayadashami, also known as Dussehra.
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