evidence of human sacrifice among Celtic peoples, although it is rare. There is also evidence of Celtic animal sacrifice, sometimes by burning. Some modern historians and archaeologists stress that the ancient Greco-Roman accounts should be viewed with caution, as Greeks and Romans "had good reason to dislike a long-term enemy" and it may have benefited them to "transmit any bizarre and negative information" about the Celts. Their desire to depict Celtic peoples as "barbarians" may have "led to exaggeration or even fabrications". Modern There are accounts of large wickerwork figures being burnt in France during the 18th and 19th centuries. Wilhelm Mannhardt recorded that a wickerwork giant was burnt each Midsummer Eve in Brie. Until 1743, a large wickerwork figure of a soldier or warrior was burnt every 3 July on the Rue aux Ours in Paris, as the crowd sang "Salve Regina". At Luchon in the Pyrenees, snakes were burnt alive in a tall wickerwork column decked with leaves and flowers on Midsummer Eve. Young men with torches danced around the burning column, and the townsfolk and clergy sang hymns. An Englishman who watched the ceremony in 1890 said the figure was somewhat "shaped like a mummy" and stood about 20 feet tall. The British horror film The Wicker Man (1973) brought the wicker man into modern popular culture. In recent times, a wicker man (without human or animal sacrifices) has been burnt at some neopagan ceremonies, folk festivals, as well as festivals such as Burning Man in the United States and the former Wickerman Festival in Scotland. In Northern Portugal, the traditional Caretos Festival ends with the burning of a gigantic human effigy with horns while young people run around it. See also Beltane Bonfire Willow Man Burning Man Burning of Judas Giubiana Guy Fawkes Night Zozobra References External links Caesar, De Bello Gallico, English translation by W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn (1869); Latin text edition, from the Perseus Project Project Gutenberg text for Frazer's The Golden Bough Celtic mythology Druidry Rituals Modern pagan beliefs and practices Human sacrifice Traditions involving fire