A wicker man was believed to be a large wicker statue used by druids, who were priests of the Celtic religion, for sacrifices. These sacrifices included humans and animals, and they were carried out by burning. The main evidence for this practice comes from a sentence written by Julius Caesar in his book called the Gallic War, which was written in the 1st century BC. This sentence is connected to an earlier Greek writer named Posidonius.

Some archaeological findings suggest that human sacrifices may have happened among Celtic people. However, ancient Greek and Roman writings about these practices are now viewed with caution, as these writers may have shared exaggerated or negative stories about the Celts to serve their own purposes.

The British horror movie The Wicker Man (1973) introduced the idea of the wicker man to modern popular culture. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, wicker men (without sacrifices) have been burned during some modern pagan ceremonies and festivals, such as Burning Man. The wicker man has also appeared in music and art.

Ancient accounts

During the time of the Celts, other Roman writers described human and animal sacrifices, but only Julius Caesar and the Greek geographer Strabo mentioned the use of a wicker man in sacrifices by the druids of Gaul. In the mid-1st century BC, Caesar wrote in his Commentary on the Gallic War that a large wicker figure with limbs was filled with living people and burned. He noted that criminals were often chosen as victims, but innocent people could also be burned if no criminals were available. Later, Strabo wrote in his Geographica that humans and animals were burned in a large wooden and straw figure. He did not clearly state whether the victims were alive when burned, but he mentioned that the ashes were thought to help crops grow.

In the 1st century BC, the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus wrote in Bibliotheca historica that the Celts burned human and animal captives on large pyres along with the first fruits of the harvest. Some scholars believe Diodorus and Strabo may have based their accounts on the earlier Greek historian Posidonius, whose writings are no longer available.

In the 1st century AD, the Roman writer Lucan described human sacrifices to the Gaulish gods Esus, Teutates, and Taranis. A later commentary on Lucan, called the Commenta Bernensia (from the 4th century and later), added that sacrifices to Taranis were burned inside a wooden container.

Archaeological evidence shows that human sacrifices occurred among the Celts, though they were rare. There is also evidence of animal sacrifices, sometimes by burning. Some modern historians and archaeologists caution that ancient Greek and Roman accounts should be viewed carefully, as these writers may have exaggerated or invented details to portray the Celts as "barbarians" and to criticize a long-time enemy.

Modern

There are stories about large wicker figures being burned in France during the 18th and 19th centuries. Wilhelm Mannhardt wrote that a wicker giant was burned every Midsummer Eve in Brie. Until 1743, a large wicker figure shaped like a soldier or warrior was burned on July 3 each year on the Rue aux Ours in Paris, while the crowd sang "Salve Regina." In Luchon, located in the Pyrenees, snakes were burned alive inside a tall wicker column decorated with leaves and flowers on Midsummer Eve. Young men with torches danced around the burning column, and the townspeople and clergy sang hymns. An Englishman who watched the ceremony in 1890 said the figure looked somewhat like a mummy and was about 20 feet (6.1 meters) tall.

The British horror film The Wicker Man (1973) introduced the idea of the wicker man to modern popular culture. In recent years, a wicker man (without human or animal sacrifices) has been burned at some neopagan ceremonies, folk festivals, and events like 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 large human figure with horns, while young people run around it.

In Badalona, Catalonia, and during the local Major Festival in May (Festes de Maig), a large wooden figure shaped like a devil is burned by locals on Saint Anastasius' Night (May 10), known as "Cremada del Dimoni" in Catalan. Each year, the statue's decoration is based on the most important political or social topics of that year and is chosen through a public contest. This tradition has been recorded since at least the 18th century, and the modern version began shortly after the Spanish Civil War in 1940.