THE HISTORY: The taking of ashes from one campfire to another is a ceremony done by Girl Scouts, Girl Guides and Boy Scouts all around the world. The main purpose of these ashes is to bring to all Scouts and Guides the international aspect of the world of scouting. Ashes taken from a campfire are sprinkled into the flames of the next campfire. The next morning when the ashes are cold, they are stirred and each Scout/ Guide present at the ceremony takes some to mix with the next campfire. Each Scout/Guide keeps a list of all of the campfires that they have sprinkled their ashes in. If more than one

Scout/Guide brings ashes to the campfire, the lists are combined and the dates and places of all campfires are recorded and passed on. As Girl Scouts, Girl Guides and Boy Scouts travel, the ashes circle the globe. It is a tradition that only those actually present at the campfire can receive ashes from the ceremony to carry on to another campfire.

THE CEREMONY: We carry our friendships with us in these ashes from other campfires with comrades in other lands. May the joining of the past fires with the leaping flames of this campfire, symbolize once more the unbroken chain that binds scouts and guides of all nations together.

With greetings from our brothers and sisters around the world, I will add these ashes and the fellowship therein, to our campfire. Will anyone with campfire ashes please come forward and join me.

(Wait for others)

The ashes I spread into this campfire carry memories of past campfires dating back to ______

I will now charge these ashes to the campfire.