Humans have long worshipped fire—on the most basic level, for giving us warmth, and on a more spiritual level as a means of purifying the soul, warding off evil spirits, and preparing for what is to come.

Fire is celebrated boldly and brightly with festivals and rituals around the world, so we’re taking a look at the most interesting and exciting flame fiestas to light up your life at home and away.

Bolas de Fuego - El Salvador

One story goes that the eruption of El Playon volcano from 1658 to 1671 was so aggressive that it buried the town of Nexapa. The town’s inhabitants relocated to Nejapa, near San Salvador, and since 1922 have commemorated the great eruption with the Bolas de Fuego festival.

Another version of the story goes that during the eruption of El Playon, St. Jerome, the area’s patron saint, fought the devil inside the volcano. His supposed weapon of choice was the fireball, which brings us to the next part—what actually happens at the festival.

Locals divide into two teams, and hurl palm-sized flaming, kerosene-soaked balls at each other. Yep, they throw balls of fire at their friends and family (and presumably also their nosy neighbours and that annoying kid down the road), and somehow people rarely get hurt. But just to be sure they’re not too flammable, competitors do soak their clothes in water in advance.

The festival takes place on 31st August each year, and visitors are welcome to go along and watch—we’d recommend you don’t try to join in with this one, though!

Hiwatari Matsuri - Japan

Atop Mt. Takao, outside Tokyo, sits the old Buddhist temple of Takao-san Yakuo-in. Each year, on the second Sunday in March, worshippers gather at the temple to pray for safety for themselves and their families—and, more specifically, safety from traffic accidents.

The culmination of the festivities comes when certain monks, known as yamabushi, walk barefoot over smoldering coals. Ritual chanting is performed as the monks each take their turn at the fire walk, which is believed to have a purifying effect.

Once the pros have had their turn, other participants follow behind. Worshippers and visitors are also given the chance to cross the coals, but only after the fire has been extinguished. We're assured it's more "warm" than "scorchio" by that point!

Stonehaven Fireballs - Scotland

Fireworks are common all over the world at new year, but few places celebrate quite like Stonehaven in the northeast of Scotland.

The small town celebrates Hogmanay in its own fiery way—not with explosives or bonfires, as is common across the UK, but with a procession of giant, flaming balls being swung around in the air.

Participants, aka "swingers" (ahem), create wire cages full of flammable materials to a recipe of their own design. These are then attached to a wire handle 2–3 feet long, suitable for keeping the flying, flaming balls at a safe distance.

Thousands of people arrive to watch the procession, which kicks off at midnight of the New Year, burning away the spirits from the previous year and welcoming in the new one afresh. The tradition comes from more superstitious times, when small fishing communities used fire to ward off bad luck and summon health and prosperity.

Tar Barrels of Ottery St. Mary, England

Guy Fawkes Night in the UK, more commonly known as Bonfire Night, is celebrated across the country with bonfires and fireworks displays, celebrating a failed plot to blow up the parliament in 1605. In Ottery St. Mary in East Devon, however, things are done a little differently.

Village veterans are given the honour of running through the streets carrying blazing barrels of tar on their shoulders. As if that weren’t perilous enough, hundreds of spectators gather to cheer them on, making the already narrow streets even harder to navigate.

The tar barrels make up just one element of the festivities, with a fairground and food stalls completing the event. That said, the flaming tar really is the main spectacle, and it will be in close proximity. If that sounds a little too hectic for you, maybe sit this one out!

North Carolina has quite the résumé of American treasures. They’ve got the birthplace of Nina Simone and Pepsi, and the beach where the Wright Brothers flew their first aeroplane.

It’s also this Carolina that James Taylor went to in his mind (sorry, South).

And the state’s ties to Americana stretch even further back – the legendary Roanoke colony that vanished without a trace was in modern day Dare County, NC.

Today, the Tarheel State (nickname meaning debatable) wins most of its visitors with its impressive coastline. A string of barrier islands called the Outer Banks stretches for 120 miles down North Carolina’s coast, providing incredible beaches and herds of wild horses.

Strong winds and pride in their local flight history make this a primo destination for airborne activities like kite flying, windsurfing, and hang gliding.

You’ll find natural wonders inland, too – the state includes a region of Appalachia called the Great Smoky Mountains, colloquially known as the Smokies. This range is shared with Tennessee and provides a home to the largest salamander population outside the tropics, including some with bright yellow polka dots.

After a less slimy experience? Check out the Biltmore Estate. This huge mansion would look right at home in 18th century Europe. Well, except for the (surprisingly bougie) McDonald’s. If Louis XIV ever wanted a Big Mac, we imagine he’d eat at a place like this.

Biltmore also houses a winery, one of many in NC. Sipping on vino is one of the most beloved pastimes for visitors to the state, which hosts a rare variety of flavours. Popular wines produced in NC’s vineyard valleys include Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon, Muscadine wine, Bordeaux, and many other words that make you sound cultured when you pronounce them correctly.

But if all those highfalutin’ French phrases leave you yearning to burn off some steam, it’s time to make a beeline for the track.

NASCAR is about as American as it gets. The sport evolved during the prohibition, when bootleggers would soup up their vehicles to better outrun the cops. Today, the Charlotte Motor Speedway hosts high speed races, monster truck rallies, and car shows.

Visit on the right day, and you can even get behind the wheel of a race car yourself – if you haven’t hit up the winery yet, of course.

All the important (or silly, or strange) travel news from across the web this week.

• Italian cities are bringing in a raft of new rules and regulations in an aim to curb mass tourism and make sure visitors behave themselves. Unfortunately, that means there’ll be no more wandering naked through the streets of Venice for us!
• A passenger with a severe allergy found herself in a bit of a nutty situation, when the crew onboard her Eurowings flight ignored her request that they not sell nuts during the trip to Dusseldorf. The woman felt the only logical solution was for her to buy every single bag of nuts herself to prevent anyone else doing so.
• Anyone with plans to travel to Hawaii in the near future should keep their eyes on the latest information regarding wildfires across the islands. Both Maui and the Big Island have been affected, with winds from hurricane Dora very literally fanning the flames..
• And finally, if you'd like to become a millionaire while travelling the world, it turns out you can—so long as you're not scared of a little good old-fashioned housework. Auri Kananen from Tampere, Finland, cleans up houses around the world for free, then posts transformation videos on her social media pages. You could say, they’ve made her filthy rich!