The Biikebrennen Biikebrånen (in North Frisian

North Frisian language

North Frisian is a minority language of Germany, spoken by about 10,000 people in North Frisia. The language is part of the larger group of the West Germanic Frisian languages.-Classification:...

) or Pers Awten (in Danish

Danish language

Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...

) is an annual celebration held on 21 February in North Frisia

Nordfriesland

Nordfriesland, English "Northern Friesland" or "North Frisia", is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It includes almost all of traditional North Frisia along with adjacent areas to the east and south and is bounded by the districts of Schleswig-Flensburg and Dithmarschen, the North Sea and...

, in the German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 state of Schleswig-Holstein

Schleswig-Holstein

Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...

 and in South Jutland.

At Biikebrennen, nearly all North Frisian towns, and many isolated farmhouses as well, light their own bonfires, the biike, at or shortly after sunset. In many places, additional traditions have developed over time. On the islands Feer/Föhr

Föhr

Föhr is one of the North Frisian Islands on the German coast of the North Sea. It is part of the Nordfriesland district in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein. Föhr is the second-largest North Sea island of Germany....

, Oomram/Amrum

Amrum

Amrum is one of the North Frisian Islands on the German North Sea coast, south of Sylt and west of Föhr. It is part of the Nordfriesland district in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein...

 and Söl/Sylt

Sylt

Sylt is an island in northern Germany, part of Nordfriesland district, Schleswig-Holstein, and well known for the distinctive shape of its shoreline. It belongs to the North Frisian Islands and is the largest island in North Frisia...

, it is a sport for the island youth to try to take down the biikes of neighbouring villages before it is lit. In some mainland villages, theatre, cabaret and dance have come into tradition.

The origin of Biikebrennen is unclear. The observation that in some places a strawman symbolising the winter is burnt, is likely to lead one to the conclusion that the celebration dates back to a pre-Christian midwinterfeast or lightfest. A connection with the medieval habit of 'waking up the earth' with torches lies at hand.

An often-heard alternative account for the origin of Biikebrennen is related to the festivity's name. As the Frisian word biike means beacon, the bonfires can well have derived from light beacons set out for North Frisian whale catchers during the 17th and 18th centuries.

On the North Frisian isles Biikebrennen has a century-long tradition. On the mainland the tradition faded away in the early 20th century, but was restored after the Second World War.