Walpurgisnacht

From FB:

“The eve of May Day, April 30th, is a time when witches were believed to fly abroad. In Germany it is known as Walpurgisnacht after the pagan fertility goddess Walpurga.

A goddess of beauty, warmth, fertility, the renewal of life, and grain, Walpurga was once the focus of rituals intended to defeat the forces of Winter and permit the emergence of Summer. For nine days before May Day, the Wild Hunt (traditionally most active in cold weather) pursues Walpurga. She is their quarry. If they can capture her, they can prolong Winter, prevent Summer, and keep riding all night.

May Eve is Walpurga’s night. If she can survive this night, then Summer’s arrival is ensured. Meanwhile, the Wild Hunters intensify their pursuit in one last-ditch attempt to maintain their power.

Under Christian influence, Walpurga’s Night transformed into a time to banish forces of Paganism. Eventually, it was remade as a holiday honoring a saint (the English nun Saint Walpurgis, abbess of Heidenheim in the 8th Century).

In Germany, witches are said to gather this evening on the Brocken, the highest peak in the Harz Mountains. There they carouse with the Devil until midnight when the Queen of May appears to oust the Hag of Winter. In Ireland and Scotland, bonfires were lit on this night and cattle driven between the flames to protect them from witchcraft and other undesirable influences.

From Bram Stoker’s short story, “Dracula’s Guest,” an Englishman (whose name is never mentioned) is on a visit to Munich before leaving for Transylvania. It is Walpurgis Night, and in spite of the hotelier’s warning not to be late coming back, the young man later leaves his carriage and wanders toward the direction of an abandoned “unholy” village. As the carriage departs with the frightened and superstitious driver, a tall and thin stranger scares the horses at the crest of a hill.

Today is also the birthday of Willie Nelson (87) and was the day in 1900 when Casey Jones, an engineer with the Illinois Central railroad, died in a famous train crash in Vaughan, Mississippi after having forfeited his chance to jump in order to stay at the controls.”