A creative and sustainable contribution to tradition: Used jute coffee sacks from the Kuntrawant roastery are being used in a special way for the Sacred Heart fires. Instead of being disposed of, the robust sacks are being reused – as a valuable component for lighting the traditional mountain fires.
The jute sacks serve as wick material for handmade candles. New wax is melted from leftover candle wax in tin cans, into which wicks made from the cut-up jute sacks are then incorporated. These homemade candles can be used to create shapes and religious symbols as part of the Sacred Heart fire.
This creates a meaningful interplay of sustainability, traditional customs and regional commitment – a true upcycling with heart and symbolic power.
The tradition of "Sacred-Heart-Sunday"
On the second Sunday after Corpus Christi, mountain bonfires are traditionally lit in South Tyrol – a custom that dates back to the Sacred Heart Vow of 1796. At that time, the Tyrolean Estates met in Bolzano to discuss the threat posed by French troops under Napoleon. Abbot Sebastian Stöckl of Stams Abbey proposed entrusting the region to the Sacred Heart of Jesus to seek divine protection. The fires symbolize this union and have been renewed annually ever since. Originally, they stemmed from pre-Christian solstice rituals intended to bring fertility and protection. With Christianization, they were reinterpreted religiously and eventually integrated into the Sacred Heart tradition.
