bonfires were also used for rituals. the idea was that the fire would purify. it was used to consecrate things, or people, that is to make them sacred, in some way. in ancient times, cattle were important symbols of wealth and status. such cattle were led through the smoke of a bonfire. couples who were to be wed on may day would leap through the flames of the bonfire to seal their vows. coals from a bonfire would be taken home to light the fires in family hearths. this practice was thought to bring good fortune. people also believed that the residents of the faery realm were incapable of producing fire themselves; embers of bonfires would be carried to the underworld and tended there.