Preparations for the BorkumThe Easter fires begin shortly after New Year. Children, teenagers and young men collect the Christmas trees that have been cut down. BorkumOn Good Friday, the stored firewood is carefully stacked into a tall tower. Afterwards, the construction crews stand guard in front of their stack.
The individual Easter fires are in competition with each other. In the past, it often happened that opposing stacks were already ablaze. Today, this is generally no longer the case. Nevertheless, the nightly guarding of the fire pits is still part of the tradition. Before the fires are lit, the BorkumHe filled their woodpiles with a rag doll called Tom Dooley.
Tom Dooley comes from an American folk song. According to the lyrics, he was a murderer of women who was hanged from a white oak tree. Whether he actually stabbed his pregnant fiancée to death or lied for his jealous lover is not clear.
The Easter fires are lit on Borkum lit on Saturdays around dusk (approx. 19.30 p.m.).
