hookah bonfire

Midsummer fires, however, are older and of more obscure origin. The important description by the 16th-century chronicler John Stow is detailed under midsummer. An earlier description, by the 14th-century monk John Mirk, proves to be quoting from continental sources, but his derivation of ‘bonfire’ from ‘bone-fire’ is accepted by the OED, while others, including John Stow, have presumed the first syllable to be from French bon for ‘good’, or from ‘boon’, revealing the idea of fire as doing good in itself or as a symbol for good neighbourhood.
complete etymology of bonfire