Why are these people burning their socks?

At the South Carolina Maritime Museum Thursday night, people paid money to burn their socks.

The burning of the socks serves as a fundraiser for the museum, and marks the beginning of spring.

“A few years ago a friend of mine told me he had read about this event called the burning of the socks started by a man in Annapolis,” said Johnny Weaver, the founder of the Harbor Historical Association which launched the museum. “It’s kind of like a rite of spring where now that it’s warming up, we’re gonna burn our socks and put on flip flops and dock shoes and just go out on the boat and not worry about socks anymore.”

Weaver started the event in Georgetown, but the tradition began 30 years before.

Bob Turner, now of Pawleys Island, says he started the event in Annapolis, Md., in 1978.

“I think I’ll carry that title to my grave,” Turner said.

Turner was working in the marine industry in Maryland at the time and said it was after a harsh winter that he decided to get rid of anything that had to do with the season.

“I took my socks off, put some kerosene or lighter fluid on them, lit them, and by the time that was smoldering, there were about six more people wondering what I was doing,” he said. “So they took their sock of and burned them and we said okay we’ll just make this an annual event.”

Now, sock-burning events are held around the country to mark the beginning of spring.

This story was originally published March 23, 2017 at 9:25 PM with the headline "Why are these people burning their socks?."