Walpurgis Night

The Walpurgisnacht ( witches burning) is a traditional northern and central European celebration on April 30. The name derives from Saint Walburga, whose Remembrance Day was celebrated in the Middle Ages on the day of her canonization on May 1. Walpurgis Night was the vigil of the feast. As " Dance into May " has found its way into private and commercial events because of the opportunity to dance and socializing on the eve of May Day as urban, modern hard event.

  • 3.1 In the literature
  • 3.2 In radio play and Happening
  • 3.3 In painting and Manga
  • 3.4 In the music

Name

The name derives from the St. Walpurgis Night. Walburga ( or Walpurgis also Walpurga ) from, an abbess of England ( 710-779 ). The commemoration of this saint was celebrated in the Middle Ages on 1 May ( in German regional calendar now on February 25, her death ). The nine days earlier were called Walpurgis days, the ringing of bells to ward off the alleged Hexenumtriebe is locally described as Walpern.

Traditionally, the night applies from 30 April to 1 May as the night in which the witches in particular on the block mountain (actually " chunks "), but also in other high places to hold a big party. This idea is influenced by the descriptions of the Witches' Sabbath in the literature of the 15th and 16th century.

The name Walpurgisnacht was popularized by Goethe's Faust (Part I, 1808). Earlier records are detectable in the 18th century.

Adelung Dictionary (1774-1786) is quoted below Walpurgis:

" Walpurgis night, the Walpurgis Night usf in ordinary life, the Walper evening, the Walper night. Since the year bey the Germans as well as the rest of the European nations, began in ancient times with the May first, the in regard to the Walpurgis Night bey the big pile still prevailing superstition is probably a remnant of it, and the bey the year formerly customary practices. "

" Expanded Geographic report / from the high admirably old and famous block - mountains: ingleichen of the witches ride / and magic sabbaths / so auff such mountains are / do the fiends from gantz Teutschland Every year the first Maij in Sanct - Walpurgis nights. "

Previously was the 1st of May, the anniversary of the Apostles Philip and James, and was therefore called " Philippi Jacobi ". John Coler wrote in 1603 in his calendarium Perpetuum (p. 89):

" The day before nehesten Philippi Jacobi dinner maintain Zeuberer to exert much Teuffeley / so that they offend a lot of people " - but also in the same section: " Ifs on S. Walpurgis night rains / or the same night tawet / so put your trust in the common man a good year. "

Tradition and customs

Many Walpurgis rites continue to live in rural Maibräuchen. In folk traditions to protect his farm by nocturnal whip cracking, designed broom and Maibüsche. The maypole, usually a birch, is also a symbol of fertility and performer of the World Tree. At Walpurgis the Maypole from the woods are traditionally brought to the site in order to make your loved one in front of the house. In the village center there is dancing around the tree. The tree symbolizes so the fertility of nature that is brought to the people in this way. Ritual acts of love on the fields should be transferred to pre-Christian times alleged human fertility to the soil. A special role is played by the bride stone monoliths called the Wendland ( for example, Wolter village and Cernosin ), which was regarded as fossilized newlyweds. Supposedly it was the custom for the Walpurgisnacht girl with bared genitals slipped on these stones, to thereby want her lover.

Many of the customs at spring festivals revolve around young couples who are symbolic of the human community. The transition between two Walpurgis fires to clean and disease away ( Walpurgis is the patron saint against the plague, cough and rabies). The today celebrated even in many parts of Germany Hexenfeuer presumably go back to this tradition. With the very rigorously managed Christianity not only in Germany, these old customs were condemned as pagan, the original, according to some researchers, going back to a matriarchal society structures significance was lost in a rustic youth Customs on.

Maieinsingen, Maifeuer, Dance into May

  • (Also called " Dance into May " or " Maifeuer " ) The Witch Fire is celebrated in many parts of Germany. For this purpose, a fire is lit on April 30, with which one wants to expel " evil spirits ". This is celebrated until late into the night. When the fire burned down a bit, the Maisprung takes place in some areas, a tradition in which it is common that a couple jumping together over the Maifeuer. On the Hexenfeuer are occasionally wooden "witches" that were usually made ​​by the youth. In the Swiss Alps, so-called Tanzbödeli have received. These are places where met during Calvinisierung despite 150 years of music and dance ban the youth to celebrate secretly. Today, this tradition has only little to do with superstition or witch burning, but is more to be regarded as fair. In the city of Marburg Into the celebrations in May is designed each year with a Maieinsingen of magistrate and hundreds of people in the town square. The stroke of midnight is sung.
  • In the Palatinate, Eifel and Saarland go in the evening of April 30, children in groups through the places to " walpern ", so to practical jokes. Is especially popular while the moving of floor mats, garbage cans, garden tools, etc., ie all around a house, which is not fixed.
  • Dance into May is the modern form of the old custom, the beginning of May (May 1) in the Walpurgis Night (April 30 ) to be welcomed with song and dance and to drink punch bowl.
  • In addition to pure dance events, the custom is also sometimes maintained to a similar dress like on Halloween and perform " Witches Dance ".
  • In Austria, Baden- Württemberg, Bavaria and Upper Lusatia, a maypole is situated mostly in the evening before May 1, which is a spruce or fir in the rule. In other regions, however, this custom is celebrated exclusively on the morning of May 1.
  • Occasionally it is also the custom of Maistrichs: Here, at night white lines with chalk, lime or similar in secretly in love from the house to the house of one of the other pulled and thus made ​​public. Elsewhere chaff scattered instead of pulling white lines.
  • In Heidelberg pull on Walpurgis Night every year thousands of people to the Holy Mountain to Thingstätte and celebrate a feast at which there is neither commercial stalls even electric light. It is the largest unofficial celebration of Heidelberg which is popular at Heidelberger population and among students great popularity.

Northern Europe

In Sweden and Finland, the largest student festivals of the year will be held on Walpurgis Night, Vappu in Finland and Valborg in Sweden, which is similar as sung in Germany to a Maifeuer around a lot, laughed and drank.

Artistic transformations of the theme

As folk legend integral part of the substance of thumb, Walpurgis Night experienced again and again " a renaissance. Poets from Goethe to Heine, Eichendorff they have sung, and now put the Hamburg round artist Natias Neutert they (...) on the block in mountain scene, from the cawing of crows to the howling of the owls, " and Arpad Schilling's staging of Jerofejewes piece Walpurgis Night ( 1985 ) makes the whole thing in ' a Russian psychiatric hospital. "

In the literature

  • Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Walpurgis Night dream. In: Faust I.
  • Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Die erste Walpurgisnacht. ballad
  • Venedikt Vasilyevich Erofeev: Walpurgis Night. play
  • H. P. Lovecraft: The Diary of Alonzo Typer. Narrative - Witches' Sabbath on Walpurgis Night ( " goat with a thousand young" )
  • Gustav Meyrink: Walpurgisnacht. novel
  • Otfried Preußler: The little witch. children's book
  • Florian Schmidt: Walpurgisnacht. story
  • Theodor Storm: Walpurgisnacht. poem

In radio play and Happening

  • Natias Neutert: witches flight and Geisterspuk. Music and theater magic
  • Nicolas Wachter / Martin Bauer: Walpurgisnacht. radioplay

In painting and Manga

In the music

  • Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: The First Walpurgis Night. ( Opus 60)
  • Belphegor: Walpurgis Rites. Music Album
  • First Floor: The witches come. song
  • The Ego: The Darkest country. song
  • Charles Gounod: La nuit de Walpurgis. Opera Faust. ballet divertissement
  • Integrity: VValpurgisnacht. Song / music album
  • K.I.Z.: Walpurgisnacht. song
  • Liars: They were wrong so we drowned. Music Album
  • Merlons lights: ' Maifeuer. song
  • Oskar Joost dance orchestras: the witches' dance. dance song
  • Running Wild: Walpurgis Night. song
  • Schandmaul: Walpurgisnacht. song
  • Stormwitch: Walpurgis Night. song
  • Subway to Sally: Sabbath. song
  • The Vision Bleak: The Block mountain Rite. song
  • Roland Zoss: Walpurgisnacht ballad. song
Matins Blockula Brocken Witches' Sabbath Johann Heinrich Ramberg Woltersdorf, Lower Saxony Trebel Calvinism May wine Deutsches Historisches Museum Walpurgis Hall Belphegor (Band) Das Ich Faust (opera) Liars (band) Integrated Authority File
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