"Greenman" (sometimes rendered as two words) is the name given to the fire-bearing leader of European
processions and festivals, whose fire of choice evolved from simple torch to more elaborate toys emitting sparks or flaming balls. Though the term has some currency among fireworks afficionados today as a figurative term for one charged with the decorous use of pyrotechnics (for instance, a Greenman figures prominently in the logo of the Pyrotechnic Guild
International), at one time it was quite literal; the greenman was covered in fresh leaves to protect him from the sparks of the fire source he carried.