Provincetown’s Re-Rooters Day Ceremony Being Held on Jan. 7

If you're still looking to give something bad from 2025 the ultimate send-off, consider attending the 42nd Re-Rooters Day Ceremony.

Taking place on Jan. 7 at 4 p.m. at Harbor Hotel beach in Provincetown, Mass., the event is organized by performance artist Jay Critchley and his International Re-Rooters Society, which is playfully known as the other IRS. Per Critchley's website, "Each year, the artist includes the public in a personal ceremony to discard the objects and experiences that prohibit them from a deeper connection with the earth and human life, and to 're-root' themselves to the earth."

The Cape Cod Times further details the ceremony by reporting, "Attendees are encouraged to bring items they want to leave behind in 2024, such as old letters or photos, and pile them onto a discarded Christmas tree ... Like past years, Critchley will pull the old Christmas tree, packed into a tiny wooden boat, into the water and set it ablaze before releasing it into Provincetown Harbor."

Basically, Critchley helps people give various and likely painful memories a type of Norse/Viking funeral. Of course, these memories don't have to be severely painful. The Cape Cod Times notes that someone once brought a list of people who did not return their phone calls to be burned. (Truthfully, it makes the Festivus "Airing of Grievances" seem tame.)

Complete details on the event can be found at JayCritchley.com. A video about the history of the Re-Rooters Day Ceremony can be viewed below.