Walpurgis Night

A scene in Goethe's Faust Part One is called "," and one in Faust Part Two is called "Classical ." The last chapter of book five in Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain is also called "." In Edward Albee's 1962 play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Act Two is entitled "."

From Bram Stoker's short story, Dracula's Guest, an Englishman (whose name is never mentioned) is on a visit to Munich before leaving for Transylvania. It is Walpurgis Night, and in spite of the hotelier's warning not to be late coming back, the young man later leaves his carriage and wanders toward the direction of an abandoned "unholy" village. As the carriage departs with the frightened and superstitious driver, a tall and thin stranger scares the horses at the crest of a hill.

In some parts of northern coastal regions of Germany, the custom of lighting huge fires is still kept alive to celebrate the coming of May, while most parts of Germany have a derived Christianized custom around Easter called "Easter fires" ().

In rural parts of southern Germany, it is part of popular youth culture to play pranks such as tampering with neighbours' gardens, hiding possessions, or spraying graffiti on private property.

In Berlin, traditional leftist May Day riots usually start at Walpurgis Night in the Mauerpark in Prenzlauer Berg. There is a similar tradition in the Schanzenviertel district of Hamburg, though in both cases, the situation has significantly calmed down in the past few years.

Hungary

In Hungary elderberries decorated the houses, which were used to ward off witches this day, because the Hungarians believed that different plants can protect against various diseases or supernatural dangers. But most witchcraft traditions occurred earlier in the spring festival cycle, on St George's Day (Szent György napja), because of the proximity of May Day and Pentecost.

In some places, these beliefs have not yet died out on Wilpurgis Night. In Késmárk the Hungarian population still knows about the fairy of the Thököly castle (Thököly vár), who sweeps the area around the Hungarian well at the dawn of Pentecost, and they still know about the witches who walk on May Day and Pentecost, but in most places, the source of evil was replaced by fire, ice, caterpillars and diseases as the country become more secular.

Netherlands

thumb|Walpurgis night bonfires

As in all Germanic countries, was celebrated in areas of what is now the Netherlands. It has not been celebrated recently due to the national (Queen's Day) falling on the same date, though the new (King's Day) is on 27 April. The island of Texel celebrates a festival known as the (roughly translated as 'May-Blaze') on that same day, where bonfires are lit near nightfall, just as on Walpurgis, but with the meaning to drive away the remaining cold of winter and welcome spring. Occasional mentions to the ritual occur, and at least once a feminist called group co-opted the name to call for attention to the position of women (following the example of German women's organizations), a variety of the Take Back the Night phenomenon.

Still, in recent years a renewed interest in pre-Christian religion and culture has led to renewed interest in (Witch's Night) as well. In 1999, suspicions were raised among local Reformed party members in Putten, Gelderland of a Heksennacht festival celebrated by Satanists. The party called for a ban. That such a festival even existed, however, and that it was 'Satanic' was rejected by most others. The local Church in Dokkum, Friesland, organized a Service in 2003 to pray for the Holy Spirit to, according to the church, counter the Satanic action.

Sweden

While the name Walpurgis is taken from the 8th-century British Dumnonian Christian missionary Saint Walburga, , as it is called in Swedish, also marks the arrival of spring. The forms of celebration vary in different parts of the country and between different cities. Walpurgis celebrations are not a family occasion but rather a public event, and local groups often take responsibility for organising them to encourage community spirit in the village or neighbourhood. Celebrations normally include lighting the bonfire, choral singing and a speech to honour the arrival of the spring season, often held by a local celebrity.

thumb|upright=1.3|Walpurgis Night [[bonfire in Sweden]]

In the Middle Ages, the administrative year ended on 30 April. Accordingly, this was a day of festivity among the merchants and craftsmen of the town, with trick-or-treat, dancing and singing in preparation for the forthcoming celebration of spring. Sir James George Frazer in The Golden Bough writes, "The first of May is a great popular festival in the more midland and southern parts of Sweden. On the eve of the festival, huge bonfires, which should be lighted by striking two flints together, blaze on all the hills and knolls."

Walpurgis bonfires are part of a Swedish tradition dating back to at least the early 18th century. At Walpurgis (), farm animals were let out to graze and bonfires (, ) lit to scare away predators. In Southern Sweden, an older tradition, no longer practiced, was for the younger people to collect greenery and branches from the woods at twilight. These were used to adorn the houses of the village. The expected reward for this task was to be paid in eggs.

thumb|left|A big crowd, mostly students in typical Swedish white [[student caps, participating in the traditional Saint Walpurgis Night celebration with song outside the Castle in Uppsala. The silhouette of the cathedral towers may be seen in the background. To the right are banners and standards of the student nations. Image from 1920.]]

Choral singing is a popular pastime in Sweden, and on Walpurgis Eve virtually every choir in the country is busy. Singing traditional songs of spring is widespread throughout the country. The songs are mostly from the 19th century and were spread by students' spring festivities. The strongest and most traditional spring festivities are also found in the old university cities, such as Uppsala and Lund, where undergraduates, graduates, and alumni gather at events that last most of the day from early morning to late night on 30 April, or ("The Last Day of April") as it is called in Lund, or as it is called in Uppsala. For students, Walpurgis Eve heralds freedom. Traditionally the exams were over and only the odd lecture remained before term ends. On the last day of April, the students don their characteristic white caps and sing songs of welcome to spring, to the budding greenery and to a brighter future.

More modern valborg celebrations, particularly among Uppsala students, often consist of enjoying a breakfast including champagne and strawberries. During the day, people gather in parks, drink considerable amounts of alcoholic beverages, barbecue, and generally enjoy the weather, if it happens to be favorable.

In Uppsala, since 1975, students honor spring by rafting on Fyris river through the center of town with rickety, homemade, in fact quite easily wreckable, and often humorously decorated rafts.

Several nations also hold "Champagne Races" (), where students go to drink and spray champagne or sparkling wine on each other. The walls and floors of the old nation buildings are covered in plastic for this occasion, as the champagne is poured around recklessly and sometimes spilled enough to wade in. Spraying champagne is, however, a fairly recent addition to the Champagne Race. The name derives from the students running down the slope from the Carolina Rediviva library to drink champagne, toward the student nations.

In Linköping many students and former students begin the day at the park Trädgårdsföreningen, in the field below Belvederen where the city laws permit alcohol, to drink champagne breakfast in a similar way to Uppsala. Later, at three o'clock, the students and public gather at the courtyard of Linköping Castle. Spring songs are sung by the Linköping University Male Voice Choir, and speeches are made by representatives of the students and the university professors.

In Gothenburg, the carnival parade, The Cortège, which has been held since 1909 by the students at Chalmers University of Technology, is an important part of the celebration. It is seen by around 250,000 people each year. Another major event is the gathering of students in Garden Society of Gothenburg to listen to student choirs, orchestras, and speeches. An important part of the gathering is the ceremonial donning of the student cap, which stems from the time when students wore their caps daily and switched from black winter cap to white summer cap.

In Umeå, there is an old tradition of having local bonfires. During recent years, however, there has also been a tradition of celebrating Walpurgis at the Umeå University campus. The university organizes student choir singing, as well as other types of entertainment and a speech by the president of the university. Different stalls sell hot dogs, candy, soft drinks, etc.

United States

The Church of Satan was founded on Sankt Walpurgisnacht in 1966. Founder Anton Szandor LaVey states in The Satanic Bible that besides one's own birthday and Halloween, Walpurgisnacht ranks as an important Satanic holiday, noting the Eve of May has been memorialized as "symbolizing the fruition of the spring equinox", and chose the date well aware of the date's traditional association with witchcraft.

Additionally, The Satanic Temple celebrates Hexennacht as "a solemn holiday to honor those who were victimized by superstition".

Cultural legacy in literature and music

The event was the inspiration for a poem, Die erste Walpurgisnacht, by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. In turn, composer Felix Mendelssohn in 1831 took the poem and set it to music, as a secular cantata (or "Sinfonie-Ballade" in the composer's correspondence) for soloists (alto, tenor, baritone, bass), chorus and orchestra.
The novel Jurgen: A Comedy of Justice by James Branch Cabell begins on "Walburga's Eve, when almost anything is rather more than likely to happen"
The song "War Pigs" from English Heavy Metal band Black Sabbath was originally titled 'Walpurgis' in relation to Walpurgis night.
Knights of Walpurgis is one of the names used for the Death Eaters, the primary antagonists of the Harry Potter novel series.

References

External links

The Favors of St. Walpurga - OSV
Photos of the traditional Walpurgis celebration in Uppsala, Sweden
Walpurgis Night Celebration Gråbo Sweden 2012 Video

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