Both in Les and Arties, it survives the tradition of burning a fir trunk in the longest night of the year (the summer solstice night, on Saint John’s eve). It is a thousand-year-old tradition which was Christianized however its origins come from a Celtic tradition. The legend says that, when the world was created, a gnome called Erulet was rejected both in heaven and hell because of his wickedness and he was trapped in the Valley. Since then, the neighbours scatter the embers of the Haro throughout the streets and paths and dance around it, to the sound of accordions, to frighten away this evil spirit. Nonetheless, the Celtic tradition tells that burning the Taro or Haro fertilizes the mother Earth, so that good crops are foreseen.
