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When is it customary to celebrate a holiday
April 30 to May 1 Residents of many European countries celebrate Walpurgis Night and the Spring Festival following it. The name appeared thanks to the name of the Christian saint Walburga, a nun who arrived from England in Germany in the 1th century and founded a monastery there. On the night of May XNUMX, the Celts celebrated the Beltane holiday, and the Germans, English, Czechs, Slovaks and some other peoples at that time danced around the Maypole. According to German legend, on this night all witches and other evil spirits gather together. The s also had a belief about the flight of witches to Bald Mountain.
history of the holiday
Walpurgis Night, which is honored in many countries in Europe, is one of the widely celebrated holidays of pre-Christian times. The holiday will mark the arrival of spring and is dedicated to fertility.
At the same time, the German peoples had a legend that it was on this night, from April 30 to May 1, that all representatives of dark forces and evil spirits gathered. In addition, at the same time, the festival of Beltane was celebrated, which was also called the festival of the sun. Now this holiday is reminiscent of the tradition of kindling large bonfires on hills and turning to the luminary.
The ancient Scots and many other peoples danced around the Maypole on May 1, so even now this day is designated as a spring holiday in the folk calendar.
It is believed that at the end of the 1th century, beliefs appeared that on the night before the first day of the last month brought in, witches and other representatives of evil spirits gather together. After the spread of Christianity in Europe, they tried to overcome this tradition, or “bring” some kind of church holiday to this date. But the pagan rite turned out to be tenacious, so many residents continued to gather on the night of May XNUMX in the wastelands and celebrate the flowering of spring.
What is celebrated on Walpurgis Night
Walpurgis Night was so named after the Christian saint Walpurgis (or Walburga) – she was a nun who lived in the 1th century. She arrived in Germany from England in order to found a monastery, and was canonized on May XNUMX. This day marks the day of Walpurga in the Roman list of saints.
To this day, this holiday remains one of the most controversial of the pagans. On the one hand, this is the day of the obvious arrival of spring, the flowering of nature and fertility, on the other hand, the time of gathering evil spirits, crazy dancing around the fire and rampant demons.
On this day, the ancient Celts celebrated their holiday of love and spring – Beltane, and the Czechs honored the Witch’s Fire when they performed a ritual of exorcism in the villages. For example, they kindled large fires and burned effigies of witches, went around dwellings with torches and rang bells.
In addition, there is a belief that herbs and plants plucked on Walpurgis Night receive magical powers. In this sense, the holiday resembles the day of Ivan Kupala, celebrated by the Slavs, when it was also believed that the collected herbs became magical and protected from dark forces.
Holiday traditions
In different countries, Walpurgis Night is celebrated in different ways, but every year the traditions of the celebration are borrowed by the inhabitants of a particular area. So, in Italy, on the night of May 1, young people went from dwelling to dwelling and carried with them “May greens” – a tree branch decorated with ribbons. If one of the young men wanted to propose to his beloved, he left this branch at the entrance to her house. If the girl took the greens to herself, then she accepted this offer.
On the night of April 30 to May 1, Slovaks and Czechs planted a “Maypole” – a spruce or fir tree peeled from the bark, which was decorated with ribbons, goodies and flowers. Around such a tree, installed on the main square, they danced round dances. Croats and Slovenes held holidays for the younger generation – boys and girls went from house to house, wishing everyone good and good harvest, for which they received a reward.
The collector of fairy tales Alexander Afanasiev wrote that the s also had a belief that on that night witches flock to Bald Mountain to report to Satan, and then take part in a feast and demonic dances.
Nowadays, this holiday is not very common in Our Country, as it largely echoes the ancient Slavic day of Ivan Kupala and Western Halloween. But some traditions still exist. For example, on Walpurgis Night, some residents of private houses and summer residents prefer to burn garbage accumulated during the cold season. Others go to collect herbs, others prefer to write their most cherished desire on a piece of ribbon that can be hung on a kind of “May pole” or just on a tree. In addition, in our country on May 1, a long weekend comes, which many decide to spend in the country, so why not celebrate the day before the blossoming of spring and fertility?