ritual or memorial
Fires in the middle of high traffic roads in Duluth or almost any other city would be prohibited. Tonight we saw a large fire in the street right outside of our hotel. They were burning large wicker items along with flowers and greenery. I really have no idea why they were doing this but I do have a few assumptions. My first is that someone’s life was taken in that exact spot where the fire was lit. As they lit the fire and kept it under control there was a man yelling on the side. As he yelled people lined up on their knees would bow over and over again. I figured it might be a religious way of honoring a family member or friend who has passed. But what I thought was weird was that after they stopped bowing they got up and all left right away, except for the people controlling the fire. During the fire we also saw a man who was receiving many hugs from different people, so we figured it was the main person who lost a loved one. This also could have been a ritual that is performed by these people every year for some reason. I was very surprised when we were walking back and were lucky enough to see the fire and everything take place. I have never seen anything like that before and am very interested and curious to what was actually going on, and if it is a common thing.