Religious ideas were connected with the festival, for the benefits imparted to mankind by the new fruits were the gifts of the sun, which was symbolized by the fire burning in the centre of the square. The new fire meant the new life, physical and moral, which had to begin with the new year. Everything had to be new or renewed; even the garments worn heretofore were given to the flames. The pardon granted to offenders gave them a chance to begin a new and better course of life. It was unlawful to pass between the fire in the area and the rising sun, for this would have interrupted the mystic communication existing between the two. The rigorous fasting observed also fitted the people to prepare for a new moral life, and made them more receptive for the supernatural; the convivial scene which closed the busk typified the idea that all men, whether low or high, are born brethren. The black drink was the symbol of purification from wickedness, of prowess in war and of friendship and hospitality.