The inaugural Columbus Christmas Tree Bonfire proceeded as planned Thursday night despite frigid temperatures that surely kept many would-be spectators from attending the event.

At 6 p.m., Mayor Robert Smith used an acetylene torch to ignite the blaze, which was made up of about 85 Christmas trees that citizens had dropped off at city garage and the Hitching Lot.

Mindful that few things burn quicker than a dried-out Christmas tree, a few large cedars harvested at the city landfill and some logs were added to the conflagration.

It was 25 degrees at 6 p.m., with wind-chill dropping the “feels-like” temperature to the teens. Even so, about 150 people gathered along the Old Highway 82 pedestrian bridge to watch the bonfire, which was staged on a piece of city-owned land near the banks of the Tombigbee River.

Old friends met along the bridge, although they were not always immediately recognizable, their faces being obscured as they bundled up in deference to the cold.

Councilman Bill Gavin served as a DJ, providing background music, including — appropriately enough — The Door’s “Light My Fire.”

The CVB provided hot chocolate and hand-warmers to grateful fire-watchers.

Fears that the fire would expire before the crowd dispersed turned out to be an unnecessary worry. Most of the spectators stayed a half-hour to an hour as the flames continued to leap high into the chill January air, casting its strange reflection on the muddy waters of the river below.

It was a low-key, genial gathering. By 7 p.m., most of the spectators had retired to the comfort of their car heaters.

Because the bonfire was hastily planned and executed, there were no real expectations as to how many people would show up or how long they would stay.

Even so, it’s fair to pronounce the bonfire a success.

There are two things to be noted, I think, when considering the event.

First, people continue to be obsessed with fire. It has always been so. From our most primitive beginnings, there is something about a fire that captivates our attention, something that goes far beyond its utilitarian purposes — warmth, cooking, light. Who doesn’t find himself gazing, transfixed, into a fire as its flames leap against the backdrop of the dark night? Little kids and old folks alike are mesmerized by its strange, ever-changing beauty and its all-consuming power.

The second thing to be noted is that humans often demonstrate an admirable defiance to the elements.

Although as Southerners we generally have a low tolerance for the cold, we are not always content to be prisoners of winters, ever banished to the warm comfort of our homes. So we bundle up and venture out rebelliously in the face the cold. We layer and bundle and take care to cover every inch of exposed skins. We complain and fidget about our cold noses and frozen toes, but we are generally smiling as we do it.

It is a happy defiance and the warm glow of a bonfire adds an element of magic to the atmosphere.

On nights such as Thursday, we find that it is good to be a little cold among friends and neighbors. It is something we share.

It’s a little thing, of course, but often it is the little things that make a community out of a collection of people who are otherwise strangers.

By that measure, it is hard to assess the city’s first bonfire as anything other than a success.

Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected]

Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].