Walpurgisnacht

Walpurgisnacht or Walpurgis Night: see Walburga, Saint.

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Walpurgis Night (Walpurgisnacht)

April 30

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 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, particularly the towns of Schierke-am-Brocken, Blankenburg, Elend, and Bad Suderode in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt.
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.

CONTACTS:
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

SOURCES:
AmerBkDays-2000, p. 332
BkFest-1937, p. 310
DaysCustFaith-1957, p. 102
DictDays-1988, p. 128
DictFolkMyth-1984, pp. 114, 425, 961, 1165
EncyEaster-2002, p. 631
FestWestEur-1958, pp. 25, 214
FolkAmerHol-1999, p. 203
FolkWrldHol-1999, p. 304
OxYear-1999, pp. 94, 178
RelHolCal-2004, p. 271

Celebration day: Apr 30