Czech Republic 30 April is ('Burning of the witches') or ('The witches') in the
Czech Republic. Huge bonfires up to tall with a witch figure are built and burnt in the evening, preferably on top of hills. Young people gather around. Sudden black and dense smoke formations are cheered as "a witch flying away". An effigy of a witch is held up and thrown into a bonfire to burn.
Estonia In
Estonia, is celebrated throughout the night of 30 April and into the early hours of 1 May, where 1 May is a public holiday called "Spring Day" (). is an important and widespread celebration of the arrival of spring in the country. Influenced by German culture, the night originally stood for the gathering and meeting of witches. Modern people still dress up as witches to wander the streets in a carnival-like mood. The celebrations are especially vigorous in
Tartu, the university town in southern Estonia. For Estonian students in student corporations (
Estonian fraternities and sororities), the night starts with a traditional procession through the streets of Tartu (during which the governing of the city is symbolically handed over to the students for the night by the
mayor of Tartu), followed by visiting each other's corporation houses throughout the night.
Finland in 2008 in Helsinki, in 1960 in
Kuopio are typical vappu'' delicacies in Finland In
Finland, Walpurgis night (; ,
valborg) is one of the four biggest holidays along with Christmas Eve,
New Year's Eve, and
Midsummer (, ). coincides with the socialist
International Workers' Day parade. Expanding from the parties of the left, the whole of the
Finnish political scene has adopted as the day to go out on stumps and agitate. This is not limited only to political activists; many institutions, such as the
Lutheran Church of Finland, have followed suit, marching and making speeches. Left-wing activists of the 1970s still party on May Day. Carnivals are arranged, and many radio stations play leftist songs, such as
The Internationale. Traditionally, 1 May is celebrated by the way of a picnic in a park. For most, the picnic is enjoyed with friends on a blanket with food and
sparkling wine. Some people arrange extremely lavish picnics with pavilions, white tablecloths, silver
candelabras,
classical music, and extravagant food. The picnic usually starts early in the morning, where some of the previous night's party-goers continue their celebrations from the previous night. Some student organisations reserve areas where they traditionally camp every year. Student caps, mead, streamers and balloons have their role in the picnic and the celebration as a whole.
Germany as "Mephistopheles" in
Faust!: "The Brocken". Poster for a theatrical performance of Goethe's play showing Mephistopheles conjuring supernatural creatures on the German mountain, the
Brocken (or Blocksberg), which according to the tale is the scenery for the Walpurgisnight, from 30 April to 1 May On the Feast of Saint Walburga, "many thousand" people have made
Christian pilgrimages to Saint Walburga's tomb in
Eichstätt on the Feast of Saint Walburga, often obtaining vials of
Saint Walburga's oil.
Netherlands As in all Germanic countries, was celebrated in areas of what is now the Netherlands. It has not been celebrated recently due to the national (Queen's Day) falling on the same date, though the new (King's Day) is on 27 April. The island of
Texel celebrates a festival known as the '' (roughly translated as 'May-Blaze') on that same day, where bonfires are lit near nightfall, just as on Walpurgis, but with the meaning to drive away the remaining cold of winter and welcome spring. Occasional mentions to the ritual occur, and at least once a feminist called group co-opted the name to call for attention to the position of women (following the example of German women's organizations), a variety of the
Take Back the Night phenomenon. Still, in recent years a renewed interest in pre-Christian religion and culture has led to renewed interest in (Witch's Night) as well. In 1999, suspicions were raised among local
Reformed party members in
Putten,
Gelderland of a Heksennacht festival celebrated by
Satanists. The party called for a ban. That such a festival even existed, however, and that it was 'Satanic' was rejected by most others. The local Church in
Dokkum,
Friesland, organized a Service in 2003 to pray for the
Holy Spirit to, according to the church, counter the Satanic action.
Sweden While the name
Walpurgis is taken from the 8th-century British
Dumnonian Christian missionary Saint Walburga, , as it is called in Swedish, also marks the arrival of spring. The forms of celebration vary in different parts of the country and between different cities. Walpurgis celebrations are not a family occasion but rather a public event, and local groups often take responsibility for organising them to encourage community spirit in the village or neighbourhood. Celebrations normally include lighting the bonfire, choral singing and a speech to honour the arrival of the spring season, often held by a local celebrity. in
Sweden In the Middle Ages, the administrative year ended on 30 April. Accordingly, this was a day of festivity among the merchants and craftsmen of the town, with trick-or-treat, dancing and singing in preparation for the forthcoming celebration of spring. Sir
James George Frazer in
The Golden Bough writes, "The first of May is a great popular festival in the more midland and southern parts of Sweden. On the eve of the festival, huge bonfires, which should be lighted by striking two flints together, blaze on all the hills and knolls." Walpurgis bonfires are part of a Swedish tradition dating back to at least the early 18th century. At Walpurgis (), farm animals were let out to graze and bonfires (, ) lit to scare away predators. In
Southern Sweden, an older tradition, no longer practiced, was for the younger people to collect greenery and branches from the woods at twilight. These were used to adorn the houses of the village. The expected reward for this task was to be paid in
eggs. s, participating in the traditional Saint Walpurgis Night celebration with song outside
the Castle in
Uppsala. The silhouette of the
cathedral towers may be seen in the background. To the right are banners and standards of the
student nations. Image from 1920. Choral singing is a popular pastime in Sweden, and on Walpurgis Eve virtually every choir in the country is busy. Singing traditional songs of spring is widespread throughout the country. The songs are mostly from the 19th century and were spread by students' spring festivities. The strongest and most traditional spring festivities are also found in the old university cities, such as
Uppsala and
Lund, where undergraduates, graduates, and alumni gather at events that last most of the day from early morning to late night on 30 April, or ("The Last Day of April") as it is called in Lund, or as it is called in Uppsala. For students, Walpurgis Eve heralds freedom. Traditionally the exams were over and only the odd lecture remained before term ends. On the last day of April, the students don their characteristic white caps and sing songs of welcome to spring, to the budding greenery and to a brighter future. More modern
valborg celebrations, particularly among Uppsala students, often consist of enjoying a breakfast including champagne and strawberries. During the day, people gather in parks, drink considerable amounts of alcoholic beverages, barbecue, and generally enjoy the weather, if it happens to be favorable. In Uppsala, since 1975, students honor spring by rafting on
Fyris river through the center of town with rickety, homemade, in fact quite easily wreckable, and often humorously decorated rafts. Several
nations also hold "Champagne Races" (), where students go to drink and spray champagne or sparkling wine on each other. The walls and floors of the old nation buildings are covered in plastic for this occasion, as the champagne is poured around recklessly and sometimes spilled enough to wade in. Spraying champagne is, however, a fairly recent addition to the Champagne Race. The name derives from the students running down the slope from the
Carolina Rediviva library to drink champagne, toward the
student nations. In
Linköping many students and former students begin the day at the park Trädgårdsföreningen, in the field below
Belvederen where the city laws permit alcohol, to drink champagne breakfast in a similar way to Uppsala. Later, at three o'clock, the students and public gather at the courtyard of
Linköping Castle. Spring songs are sung by the
Linköping University Male Voice Choir, and speeches are made by representatives of the students and the university professors. In
Gothenburg, the carnival parade,
The Cortège, which has been held since 1909 by the students at
Chalmers University of Technology, is an important part of the celebration. It is seen by around 250,000 people each year. Another major event is the gathering of students in
Garden Society of Gothenburg to listen to student choirs, orchestras, and speeches. An important part of the gathering is the ceremonial donning of the student cap, which stems from the time when students wore their caps daily and switched from black winter cap to white summer cap. In
Umeå, there is an old tradition of having local bonfires. During recent years, however, there has also been a tradition of celebrating Walpurgis at the
Umeå University campus. The university organizes student choir singing, as well as other types of entertainment and a speech by the president of the university. Different stalls sell hot dogs, candy, soft drinks, etc.
United States The
Church of Satan was founded on Sankt Walpurgisnacht in 1966. Founder
Anton Szandor LaVey states in
The Satanic Bible that besides one's own birthday and Halloween, Walpurgisnacht ranks as an important
Satanic holiday, noting the Eve of May has been memorialized as "symbolizing the fruition of the spring equinox", and chose the date well aware of the date's traditional association with witchcraft. Additionally,
The Satanic Temple celebrates Hexennacht as "a solemn holiday to honor those who were victimized by superstition". ==Cultural legacy in literature and music==