Burning Man always ends with the burning of a Wicker Man, after which the festival is named as well. Besides the burning of the Wicker Man, they also burn a wooden Temple. This ritual started in 2000 and since then thirteen different temples have been burnt.
Burning Man started when a few friends decided to burn a wooden man and a small wooden dog on Baker Beach in San Francisco. After that each year more people wanted to join and the event devolped into the Burning Man we know nowadays.
Burning Man is described as an experimental society in which everyone is welcome, not caring about your ethnicity. Burning Man isn't set up with a particular vision or idea, so any kind of art can be shown or done. But besides that all 'Burners' must be able to take care of their own food, water etc. Because of that 'giving' is a natural source for all your demands. The only way to get things from other Burners is to be given something, a huge difference with the daily life. Money is not allowed in this desert, except at some points where ice is selled and at the only coffeeshop in Center Camp.
Of course Burning Man has it's policies too and one of the major rules is: Leave no trace. The Burning Man community respects the environment and because of that even the slightest pieces of garbage have to be taken home. With this the committee makes sure the desert won't be contaminated after the burning of the Wicker Man and can develop and recover in a natural way.
I would really like to go to Burning Man, because I think it will be a very impressive experience. You also get to know a lot of people and I believe the atmosphere will be fantastic. Everybody is doing what they love and what they want to do and I think that's great!
