Walpurgisnacht - A Second Halloween?

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Walpurgisnacht, or St. Walpurgis Night, or Night of the Witches, takes place exactly six months before Halloween.

Walpurgisnacht is to Beltane as Halloween is to Samhain.  Modern observances tied to old pagan observances, to some degree Christianized.

Saint Walpurga came to Germany from England as a missionary nun.  In addition to bringing Christianity to the pagans, she helped treat disease and was famous for stamping out pagan sorcery.

Perhaps ironically, she was canonized on May 1, AD 870, and became forever associated with Beltane, which was observed around the same time.  

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Old pagan beliefs mixed with new Christian practices.  It was said that April 30 was when a massive witch's Sabbath was held on Mount Brocken - the highest peak of the Harz Mountains.  

What had once been a celebration of spring morphed into an attempt by the locals to protect themselves from evil influences.

For protection on April 30, locals would make loud noises, light huge bonfires and burn straw men and old belongings for good luck. 

Like Samhain, things changed over time and Walpurgisnacht became a lighthearted celebration of bonfires, fireworks, and folk songs.  People started dressing in costume and dancing.

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The Brocken became a site of pilgrimage and the witch the source of titillating jitters. As Goethe put it in his famous poem, Faust: 

“Now to the Brocken the witches ride;

The stubble is gold and the corn is green;

And Squire Urianus will come to preside.

So over the valley our company floats,

With witches a-farting on stinking old goats.”

The old custom of lighting fires to get rid of evil spirits has morphed into new customs such as the famous Tanz in den Mai (dance into May) - an enormous bonfire, occasionally containing a wooden “witch”, which is lit on April 30. 

In the US, Walpurgisnacht is largely unknown.  Some in the haunter community have started calling May 1 "Halfoween", but something in me prefers the older, darker origins of Walpurgisnacht.  Still, any excuse to put on a mask and light a huge fire is a win in my book!

Happy (half) Halloween!