Decades ago, a Maryland sailor burned his winter socks. Now it’s a spring tradition

After reciting his “Ode to the Equinox,” Annapolis poet laureate Jefferson Holland, right, holds his burning sock high as the crowd cheers to kick off the sock-burning tradition at the Annapolis Maritime Museum & Park on Saturday. Tyrone Turner/NPR

Tyrone Turner/NPR

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – How do you welcome spring after one of the coldest winters in decades? In the Chesapeake Bay town of Annapolis, by burning your socks.

This annual festival, which draws hundreds, is