Walpurgis Night, or Witches’ Night, is a well-known, although not very widespread, holiday in Russia. What happened on Walpurgis Night, when Walpurgis Night is in Russia, how it is celebrated and why it is impossible to tell prophetic dreams on Walpurgis Night – in the material 78.ru.
Walpurgis Night, or Witches’ Night, is a holiday with a clearly established date, including in Russia: it falls on night from April 30 to May 1.
This is due to the dual nature of the holiday: on the one hand, May 1 is the day of the canonization of Saint Walpurgis, whose name, according to one version, gave the name to the holiday, and on the other hand, May 1, in the tradition of many peoples, is a holiday of spring and prosperity, and on the night before it there must certainly be a rampant of evil spirits that are trying to prevent the coming of spring.
Photo: pxhere.com
Walpurgis Night is a predominantly European holiday: it was celebrated mainly in Germany, France, some countries of Central and Eastern Europe, as well as in Scandinavia. It is believed that it occurred due to a mixture of pagan and Christian traditions
The first day of May was celebrated as a spring holiday in the pre-Christian era. So, on this day the Celts celebrated Beltane – the holiday of the sun, the Scots and some other peoples danced around the “Maypole”, decorated with multi-colored ribbons, the Italians caroled, and the Slavs celebrated Zhivin’s Day, the holiday of birth and fertility.
At the same time, a belief arose that on the night before this bright holiday, unclean forces create a lot of mischief and send damage to people and livestock. Therefore, it was necessary to light fires in order to overcome their influence, and also to carry out a ritual of burning an effigy of a witch – as if to expel them from their settlement. It is from there, from folk traditions, that the idea of Walpurgis Night as the Night of the Witches comes from: it was believed that at this time witches gather on Bald Mountain (or Mount Brocken in Germany, which is mentioned even in Johann Goethe’s Faust), report to Satan about their deeds, and then have a feast.
It is interesting that similar ideas existed among our ancestors. However, Walpurgis Night was not particularly revered among the Slavs, and there were no long traditions of celebrating it.
After the arrival of Christianity in Europe, pagan and religious ideas about Walpurgis Night were mixed, which was reflected in the name of the holiday. There are two versions of its origin: one – by the name of Saint Walpurgis, who lived in the 8th century, the other – by the name of the witch Walburga, who was burned in the 16th century.
Saint Walpurgis was considered one of the most educated women of her time. She was born into a noble family (historians argue – in England or Germany), received a good education at Winborne Monastery and went as a missionary to Germany. During the journey, she performed her first miracle: when the ship on which she was sailing was caught in a storm, Saint Walpurgis fell to her knees on the deck and began to pray to God for salvation. As a result, the storm subsided, and the travelers calmly reached the shore. Since then, sailors have considered Saint Walpurgis their patroness.
During her life, she performed many more miracles and founded the Heidenheim monastery, which she led until her death. According to legend, after the funeral her grave became silent. As a result, a century later, in 870, Walpurgis was canonized, and since this happened on May 1, the night of that day began to be called Walpurgis, and the saint herself began to be considered a protector against black magic.
According to another version, the night of May 1 began to be called Walpurgis thanks not to Saint Walpurgis, but to the witch Walburga, and this happened much later – in the 16th century. Walburga Houseman was a midwife, and since members of this profession are closely associated with life and death, they were often accused of witchcraft. Walburga Houseman suffered the same fate: when she was about 60 years old, she was arrested as a witch and tortured. During them, she admitted that she had killed 40 babies, two women in labor and a number of livestock, and also caused hail that destroyed crops, had an intimate relationship with a demon and attended Sabbaths. As a result, the woman was burned at the stake, and the night of May 1, according to this version, received her name.
Walpurgis Night is the time when winter, and with it the dark forces, finally lose their influence and spring comes. Therefore, the meaning of this night is truly festive, because the most difficult period is coming to an end.
However, Walpurgis Night was considered dangerous by the people, and even Christianity could not completely eradicate such beliefs. It was closely associated with magic and witchcraft, so an ordinary person on this night had to be on guard and do everything to protect their home and loved ones from dark forces. For this purpose, various ceremonies and rituals were carried out, including those related to fire, which have survived to this day as elements of festive festivities.
The main tradition on Walpurgis Night is the sabbaths where witches gathered and protection from their influence. Just as witches lit fires and held their festivities, so ordinary people lit fires and drove out witches, opposing their rituals to their spells.
Photo: Anvar Galeev/globallookpress.com
In addition, it was believed that on Walpurgis Night, herbs became healing, so they went to the forest to get them, and then made medicines from them – according to beliefs, they were much more effective than on ordinary days.
It was also customary to tell fortunes on Walpurgis Night – this tradition is similar to the night before Christmas, which is also considered a special time when the line between the real and mystical world thins and one can look into the future.
Today, Walpurgis Night is celebrated mainly in Western Europe, and the traditions associated with it are more carnivalistic than meaningful. It is customary to place figurines of witches in houses, to light bonfires and organize costume parties, and to tell fortunes outside.
The most important rituals on Walpurgis Night are associated with resisting witch spells. So, it was necessary to light fires, walk from house to house with torches, ring bells, sing and burn firecrackers – it was believed that noise and light scared away witches. Also, certain herbs were scattered around houses – this was also supposed to scare away witches from their homes.
Фото: Ivan Dementievsky/globallookpress.com
It was customary to paint crosses on the doors, place a broom on the porch, and decorate houses with cut green branches. In addition, the bravest people could try to “burn the witches” – to do this they had to set fire to a broom, run out into the field with it and throw it into the air.
In addition, witches could be confused – for example, for this, sand or salt was poured onto the threshold of the house after dark. It was believed that the witch would not be able to cross the threshold until she had counted all the grains of sand or grains, and if dawn caught her doing this, he would drive her away.
There were other rituals that were no longer associated with scaring away witches, but with celebrating the arrival of spring. These include the tradition of installing a “Maypole”, which existed in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland. To do this, they cut down a spruce or fir tree, cleared it of bark, and then decorated it with multi-colored ribbons, treats and wooden crosses. People danced and danced around the tree. In Scotland and other Western European countries, the role of a “maypole” was played by a tall pole with ribbons tied to the top.
There are several rules about what you should not do on Walpurgis Night, and it is advisable to follow them so as not to become a toy in the hands of evil spirits.
First of all, it is forbidden to swear, scold, quarrel and generally express aggression. The evil spirit really likes this, because, as the people believed, scolding calls it into the world of people. Cursing should be especially avoided.
In addition, on Walpurgis Night it is not advisable to bring lilacs into the house, especially if one of the relatives is sick. It was believed that the scent of lilac could drag a person into the world of the dead.
For obvious reasons – because of the rampant evil spirits – it is undesirable to leave the house after dusk, and if you had to do this, you should not talk to strangers, who could be evil spirits.
You can’t keep windows and doors open, it’s better to close them and curtain them with something so that evil spirits don’t peep into the house, and if you can’t do without open windows because of the heat, you need to put a treat on the windowsill – then the evil spirits won’t touch the inhabitants of the house.
You cannot celebrate Walpurgis Night in a dirty house, and you also cannot wear clothes at this time that are associated with any negative emotions – it is believed that the fabric stores them, and on the mystical night they only intensify. In addition, you should avoid wearing black clothes.
Finally, on Walpurgis Night you cannot leave brooms and brooms in a visible place – witches can take them to arrive at the Sabbath.
Walpurgis Night is associated with a number of signs. Thus, it was believed that on this night one had prophetic dreams, so one must be especially attentive to them. For example, unmarried girls can see their betrothed in a dream that night. It was forbidden to tell such dreams so that they could come true.
If planted on Walpurgis Night, it can attract wealth and generally become a symbol of new life. You can prolong youth and beauty if you wash your face with morning dew at dawn after Walpurgis Night, and to improve your health, you need to drink well water at dawn.
Children born on this night, especially girls, will certainly have supernatural abilities.
