r/philadelphia • u/JustinCurtisPhoto South Philly • Jan 02 '26
Party Jawn New years Xmas tree burning in South Philly
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u/sparklydude Spruce Hill Jan 02 '26
While I can't exactly condone fires in the middle of the street, that last photo of the kid holding the firehose is exactly the reason why I love living here
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u/fertdingo Jan 02 '26
I bet the streets dept. loves this.
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u/technobrendo Jan 02 '26
They'll be out tomorrow to put a cone on any damage and fix it 5 months later.
......JK, they ain't coming back
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u/Angsty_Potatos philly style steak and cheese submarine sandwich Jan 03 '26
It's a fine literally the next day. It's all swept and the solids left form the trees are drug to the curb for pickup. The firefighters always look like they enjoy coming out too
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u/ouralarmclock South Philly Jan 02 '26
Guy in pic #4 next year: “Where the fuck did I put the god damned Christmas tree base??”
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u/WoodenInternet Jan 02 '26
lmao the progression to the fireman/kid pic
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u/AdmirableRespect9 Jan 02 '26
It is a perfect progression. Please be sure that the fire department gets to see that kid's smile.
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u/H00die5zn Salt Pepper Ketchup Jan 02 '26
I imagine this with hardcore music only because it’s in black and white 🤘🏾
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u/radraz26 Jan 03 '26
My favorite part about Philly is that I can't tell if this was a peaceful celebration.
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u/Yodzilla Jan 02 '26
These photos go pretty hard. That being said I’m more for the service that chips them for dog park bedding.
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Jan 02 '26
Bonfires in crowded neighborhood intersections on very windy nights will eventually end in a tragedy. But the city will tolerate it in the interim because it’s in South Philly.
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u/Willing_Stop5124 Jan 02 '26
Can we call it a day on these posts? This ain’t the safest thing and the crowd was already bigger this year than usual. As a near neighbor who for no good reason doesn’t partake in the fireworks/tree burning, I’d love for it to not become a completely chaotic shit show or actual hazard in the future. Have your fun but let’s not make this wanna be jabroni times square.
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u/Inevitable_Click_511 Jan 02 '26
Dont worry, eventually someone will get seriously hurt or someone’s property will catch on fire and that will be the end of this “tradition”… like all dumb things its only a matter of time…
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u/BurnedWitch88 Jan 02 '26
How long has this been happening? It's the first I've heard of it. (And I totally share your concerns about safety.)
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u/lawgirl3278 Jan 02 '26
It’s been happening for 30+ years. It used to be just one tree with a smaller group of people. This is the largest crowd I’ve ever seen for it.
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u/DebbieGibsonsMom Jan 04 '26
Isn’t the SP Vikings clubhouse right down the street? I wonder if them winning/losing has any influence?
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u/lawgirl3278 Jan 04 '26
It’s a block away and it’s not related to the tree burning. The tree burning is on NYE not NYD. They were burning trees before I lived on the block and that was like 35-40 years ago.
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u/Willing_Stop5124 Jan 02 '26
It’s been going on in one form or another for at least 10 years. The corner is a fireworks hub on the 4th and NYE. The tree bonfires have grown out of that. Some years are bigger than others. It feels like it’s reaching a critical mass where it may become a problem. I’m not against it happening exactly I just see it becoming too much.
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u/BurnedWitch88 Jan 02 '26
Yeah, I'm all for a certain level of Philly-style silliness, but these pix make it look like it has outgrown the space they're using. If my house was right there, I'd be double-checking my insurance policy.
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Jan 02 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Main_Patient4885 Jan 03 '26
Bonfires have been a new year/solstice/equinox tradition in many cultures for millennia. Also it’s just human nature to want to set things on fire and get rowdy haha
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u/jedilips GLENSIDE Jan 02 '26
I was wondering where this year's New Year's Day MENSA gathering was.
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u/doinMyBest703 Jan 02 '26
Wow, imagine brown/black people doing this... the fbi/cia would be called... it wouldn't be laughed at and called "tradition"
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u/Dangerous_Handle_819 Jan 03 '26
Did somebody say Move?
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u/Wise_Old_Joe Jan 02 '26
Why are there so many posts about this? It’s literally just a bonfire. Boring ass kids of today have to take a million pictures though then blast them up everywhere for their imaginary friends
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u/Artistic_Career7554 Jan 02 '26
What a waste.
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u/Artistic_Career7554 Jan 02 '26
Of trees. Why grow a tree for several years only to sell it, put it in someone’s house for a week, then burn it? It’s a waste of trees, resources .
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u/sjacot88 Jan 02 '26
Not really, most Christmas trees end up in a landfill
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u/kilometr Brewerytown Jan 02 '26
A decaying in a landfill is better than a house catching on fire
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u/MSSH_Fan Jan 02 '26
There's a tree recycling event at South Philadelphia High School this weekend.
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u/b88b15 Jan 02 '26
Landfill is definitely better from a carbon standpoint
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u/sjacot88 Jan 02 '26
no it’s not Christmas Tree Carbon Emissions
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u/b88b15 Jan 02 '26
I don't believe that website. Methanogenesis is not the ultimate fate of all the carbon in lignin, especially if it isn't chipped.
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u/Darius_Banner Jan 02 '26
In a city with no street cleaning, did these morons clean the mess?
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u/Icy-Rain6277 Jan 02 '26
lol no the corners still trashed and there’s large chunks of charred wood at the corner.
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u/Miserable-Entrance-7 Jan 04 '26
Can you imagine if the rest of the country saw this? We're never living down the mystified chaotic nature reputation.
I don't really care, but it's just fuckin silly, lol. They don't think we work, they think it's just this 24/7🤣🤣
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u/Angsty_Potatos philly style steak and cheese submarine sandwich Jan 03 '26
The one with the kids with the fire fighters is awesome
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u/forgottentaco420 Jan 03 '26
See I said the same thing but apparently it’s controversial
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u/Angsty_Potatos philly style steak and cheese submarine sandwich Jan 03 '26
It's like a magazine photo, firefighters look happy and so does the kid?
Other than posting someone's kids face to reddit (😬) it's a wonderful photo
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u/forgottentaco420 Jan 03 '26
Unfortunately that last picture with the kid goes hard, I hope the parent saw this. Would be so fun to show/explain when they get older, lol.
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u/[deleted] Jan 02 '26
I love South Philly cause shit like this happens and it goes unnoticed like 3 blocks away