Whether you’ll be attending the Yale game or not, hopefully you’re excited about the (very real) possibility of having a Bonfire (yes capital b) next week. Here’s a brief history of the Bonfire, according to the Princetoniana website:
The Bonfire used to celebrate baseball, not football, victories. And if you were a freshman, well, you had to do some of the grunt work; freshmen were tasked with gathering wood from the surrounding area. So current frosh, start looking for wood now. I mean Hurricane Sandy already did most of the work for you…
An additional feature of the Bonfire celebration used to include an effigy of John Harvard and/or a Yale Bulldog.
From 1950 until 1966, the University had seven bonfires. But since then, there have only been four. Here is proper protocol for the Bonfire, according to Sam Howell ’50:
- Schedule the Bonfire for the Thursday or Friday following the Yale Game, and treat it as both a Big Three celebration and a rally for the season finale.
- Assign the Freshman Class to collect scrap lumber, crates, and pallets from University workers, town merchants, and other local sources.
- Seat a stuffed bulldog in the outhouse.
- Begin the festivities by unleashing the Band to roust students from across campus.
- At the foot of Blair Arch, hold a pep rally at which the head coach and team captain make brief remarks.
- Follow the anointed flarebearers to Cannon Green for ignition.
The last Bonfire occurred in 2006. Come on, Tigers, time to crush Yale!