Walpurgisnacht
Walpurgisnacht
orWalpurgis Night:
see Walburga, SaintWalburga, Saint, d. c.779, English missionary in Germany; sister of St. Willibald. She went there to assist St. Boniface, settling at Heidenheim, near Eichstätt (NW of Ingolstadt), where another brother, Winnebald (or Wynbald), had an abbey. St.
..... Click the link for more information. .
Walpurgisnacht:
see under Walburga, StWalburga, Saint, d. c.779, English missionary in Germany; sister of St. Willibald. She went there to assist St. Boniface, settling at Heidenheim, near Eichstätt (NW of Ingolstadt), where another brother, Winnebald (or Wynbald), had an abbey. St.
..... Click the link for more information. .
Walpurgis Night (Walpurgisnacht)
Date of Observation: April 30
Where Celebrated: Austria, Germany, Scandinavia
Symbols and Customs: Bonfires, Witches
Related Holidays: Beltane, May Day
ORIGINS
April 30, the eve of MAY DAY, is named for St. Walpurga, an English missionary who became an abbess in Germany, where she died in 780 C . E . On the eve of May 1, her remains were moved from Heidenheim to Eichstätt, where her shrine became a popular place of pilgrimage. Legend has it that the rocks at Eichstätt give off a miraculous oil possessing curative powers. Walpurga is known as the saint who protects against magic.
The traditions associated with St. Walpurga's Day can be traced back to pre-Christian celebrations on the eve of BELTANE, one of the four major festivals of the ancient Celts who once inhabited much of the European continent. The people who lived in the Harz Mountains of Germany believed for many centuries that WITCHES rode across the sky on the eve of St. Walpurga's Day to hold a coven or gathering on Brocken Mountain. To frighten them off, they rang church bells, banged pots and pans, and lit torches topped with hemlock, rosemary, and juniper. The legend of Walpurgis Night is still celebrated in Germany, Austria, and Scandinavia with BONFIRES and other festivities designed to welcome spring by warding off demons, disaster, and darkness.
Although Walpurgis Night is not widely observed in the United States, many Scandinavian clubs and associations, particularly in cities with large Swedish or Norwegian populations, hold celebrations on April 30 consisting primarily of BON FIRES , speeches, folk dancing, and music.
SYMBOLS AND CUSTOMS
Bonfires
Bonfires have been lit to scare off witches and other evil creatures since ancient times. The fires that were lit on the eve of BELTANE were designed to promote fertility and to ward off bad luck and disease. They represented the life-giving power of the sun, and leaping through the flames or over the glowing embers was a way of sharing the sun's power.
It is still customary in parts of Sweden to build huge bonfires on Walpurgis Night and light them by striking two flints together. Every large village has its own fire, often built on a hilltop, and young people dance around it in a ring. If the flames blow toward the north, it means that the spring will be cold and slow to arrive; if they incline to the south, it will be mild. People leap over the glowing embers in a ceremony called "Burning the Witches." There is a widespread folk belief that the fields will be blessed for as far as the light of the bonfire reaches.
Witches
Witches symbolize the evil that is everywhere in the world and that must be guarded against. Because witches were believed to be out riding their broomsticks to a gathering on the tallest peak of Germany's Harz Mountains on Walpurgis Night, people tried to make light of their own fears by wearing costumes and holding parties. Straw effigies of witches were often paraded through the streets and burned in BONFIRES .
FURTHER READING
Christianson, Stephen G., and Jane M. Hatch. The American Book of Days. 4th ed. New York: H.W. Wilson, 2000. Frazer, Sir James G. The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion. New York: Macmillan, 1931. Gulevich, Tanya. Encyclopedia of Easter, Carnival, and Lent. Detroit: Omnigraphics, 2002. Heinberg, Richard. Celebrate the Solstice: Honoring the Earth's Seasonal Rhythms through Festival and Ceremony. Wheaton, IL: Quest Books, 1993. Henderson, Helene, ed. Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary. 3rd ed. Detroit: Omnigraphics, 2005. James, E.O. Seasonal Feasts and Festivals. 1961. Reprint. Detroit: Omnigraphics, 1993. King, John. The Celtic Druids' Year: Seasonal Cycles of the Ancient Celts. London: Blandford, 1995. Santino, Jack. All Around the Year: Holidays and Celebrations in American Life. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994.
WEB SITE
Swedish Institute www.sweden.se/templates/cs/Event_17130.aspx
Walpurgisnacht
(religion, spiritualism, and occult)Walpurgisnacht is a Christian feast day celebrated in Germany that falls on May Eve. Named for a popular Devonshire (England) saint, St. Walburga, it coincides with the pagan celebration of Beltane but is not connected to it.
Walpurgis Night (Walpurgisnacht)
St. Walpurga (or Walburga) was an eighth-century English nun who later became a German abbess. She is the patron saint against dog bites and rabies. On the eve of May 1 her remains were moved from Heidenheim to Eichstätt, Germany, where her shrine became a popular place of pilgrimage. Legend has it that the rocks at Eichstätt give off a miraculous oil possessing curative powers. She is the saint who is also associated with protection against magic.
German National Tourist Office
122 E. 42nd St., 20th Fl., Ste. 2000
New York, NY 10168
800-651-7010 or 212-661-7200; fax: 212-661-7174
www.germany-tourism.de
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