Walpurgisnacht

Caleb talks about Walpurgisnacht, an ancient German tradition.

Walpurgisnacht

By Caleb Sullivan

Walpurgisnacht, also known as Walpurgis Night, Saint Walpurgis Night, Saint Walburga’s Eve and Hexennacht, is a significant cultural festival, based on German Cultural traditions and folklore. Commemorated mostly in northern and central Europe, Walpurgisnacht is celebrated every year on Apr. 30 and into the morning of May 1, becoming a real holiday in the ninth century AD, on May 1. By the fifteenth century, Walpurgisnacht was also known as the Witches’ Sabbath, an occurrence where witches and the devil would hold a secret gathering on top of The Brocken and perform evil acts, such as rituals and worship of the Devil. Walpurgisnacht is an extensive holiday that has changed throughout the years and has had a major impact on German religion and culture.

An ancient depiction of Walpurgisnacht on the Brocken. By Michael Herr, in the 16th century.

As mentioned, Walpurgisnacht has a long history, dating back to the ninth century, and it has evolved over time. Originating as a Pagan festival celebrating the advancement of spring, the holiday has similar origins to Halloween, as they both indicate the changing of seasons. Naina Pottamkulam, author for I Am Expat, a website helping people living abroad feel comfortable, wrote, “These days were especially important because they were believed to be when the veil between the spirit worlds and ours was at its thinnest.” After the canonisation of St.Walpurga and with her feast day being the day after Walpurgisnacht, she has been associated with Walpurgisnacht and changed Walpurgisnacht to be associated with witches, as she was hailed by the Christians of Germany for her battles. According to Georgia Mavroeidakou of the V&A museum network, “Saint Walpurga was hailed by the Christians of Germany for battling pests, rabies, and whooping cough, as well as witchcraft. As invoking the Saint was believed to be powerful against evil magic, Medieval and Renaissance traditions held Walpurgis Night at the same time as witches celebrated their Sabbath and evil forces were at their peak.” Walpurgisnacht started as a German Pagan festival, and as St.Walpurga was canonised, Walpurgisnacht became a mix of customs with Christian and German folklore-culture. Over time, as cultural beliefs died down with the emergence of Science and knowledge, hysteria about witches died down, and these cultural beliefs of Walpurgisnacht would have disappeared without the help of Romanticism. With Romanticism, Walpurgisnacht grabbed its broom and was revived, becoming and staying a community celebration for years to come.

St.Walpurga in Eichstätt by Maria Anna Adelgundis.

Saint Walpurga, an English abbess, missionary, and Benedictine at the monastery of Wimborne, Dorsetshire was tasked by her uncle, Saint Boniface, to go to Germany in the eighth century with the task of Christianizing the Saxons. She later became an abbess at the Heidenheim monastery. Due to this and the Christianization of Europe, she became associated with the Pagan festival, Walpurgisnacht. Becoming a holy figure in Germany for putting an end to Pagan sorcery, after her death, she was someone the Saxons would pray to during Walpurgisnacht to protect them from witchery and witchcraft. Pottamkulam wrote, “Walpurga was also celebrated for her success in putting an end to pagan sorcery. After her canonisation, therefore, Christians would pray via Walpurga to God, to protect themselves from witchcraft.” Without the impact of St. Walpurga, Pagan culture and beliefs might have been abolished by the Catholic church, her actions causing the two customs to merge together. Pottamkulam wrote, “Walpurga is traditionally associated with May 1 because of a medieval account of her being canonised on that date…it did serve a useful purpose for those still clinging onto beliefs that missionaries like Walpurga were anxious to dispel: by entwining the two customs, pagans could continue celebrating their spring festival without fear of reprisal.” St.Walpurga brought Walpurgisnacht through her actions. Without her canonization and linking to Walpurgisnacht, Walpurgisnacht would have never endured the Catholic Church and beliefs.

With the emergence of Romanticism, Walpurgisnacht was revived from the dead and rooted itself back into modern-day German culture with new and updated celebrations. With Walpurgisnacht also being referred to as second Halloween, the community dresses up (mostly as witches), makes noise and plays pranks; other traditions include lighting off fireworks and singing folk songs. Pottamkulam wrote, “There are also some new traditions, including the lighting of fireworks and singing of folk songs. 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.”

An image of celebration during Walpurgis Night in 2012, showed on World History Encyclopedia by Rutger Blom.

Modern Walpurgis is returning as a fun tradition rather than an event that is meant to be feared. Germans make pilgrimages to Saint Walpurgas' tomb and collect a vial of her healing oil, serving as a reminder of its split history and traditions.

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