Beltane and Walpurgis Night time are festivities with deep histories that happen within the springtime, and the 2 are being celebrated in varied European lands this weekend. With hearth being a essential function in each, one is perhaps forgiven for pondering they have been the identical pageant with completely different names. However whereas the festivals do share many similarities because of their pagan natures, additionally they have some notable variations, and are literally fairly distinct. So, aside from geography, what are the variations within the historical past and traditions of those two distinctly European festivals?

Historical past of Beltane and Walpurgis Night time

Beltane is a Gaelic pageant that marks the start of summer within the Northern Hemisphere. It falls on Could 1st and is also referred to as May Day . Beltane has its roots in Iron Age Celtic tradition, the place it was celebrated because the time when the goddess of the earth, often known as the Could Queen, was reborn. The pageant remains to be celebrated right now in lots of elements of Scotland, Eire, and Wales, in addition to by modern-day pagan communities, and is without doubt one of the 4 essential festivals on the  Pagan Wheel of the Year in these international locations. Though held in mid-spring, is a welcome to the summer season season.

Walpurgis Night , also referred to as Walpurgisnacht, is a conventional Germanic pageant that takes place on the evening of April thirtieth. The pageant is widely known in lots of elements of Germany, Austria, and Scandinavia, and is known as after Saint Walpurga, a Christian missionary who lived within the eighth century and whose stays have been transported to the Church of the Holy Cross at Eichstätt on Could 1st, when she was canonized. The affiliation with Walpurga just about ends there, though there are different Christian parts which have been introduced right into a pageant’s that’s believed to initially have been a celebration of the arrival of spring and the return of fertility to the land.

Picture of the gang on Walpurgis Night time on the Thingstätte on the Heiligenberg in Heidelberg. ( CC BY-SA 2.0 )

Traditions of Beltane and Walpurgis Night time

Each Beltane and Walpurgis Night time are celebrated with bonfires, dancing, and feasting. These traditions mirror the traditional pagan perception that fireplace and lightweight have purifying and protecting properties. Individuals would (and nonetheless do!) leap over the fires or stroll round them clockwise to deliver good luck and drive away evil spirits.

In some elements of Scotland, younger women and men would carry out the Beltane Fireplace Dance, the place they might maintain fingers and dance across the bonfire, weaving intricate patterns. The dance was a logo of the cycle of life, loss of life, and rebirth, and it was believed to make sure fertility and abundance for the approaching yr.

Beltane Fireplace Competition Pink Man dancing. (SixSigma/ CC BY 3.0 )

Equally, in Germany and Scandinavia, folks would gentle bonfires and dance round them to have a good time the arrival of spring. Right here, it was additionally mentioned to be a time when witches and different supernatural beings would roam the earth, and folks would make noise and lightweight fires to scare them away.

One other widespread custom of Beltane and Walpurgis Night time is using greenery and flowers. In Celtic tradition, the Could Queen could be adorned with a garland of flowers, and folks would embellish their properties with branches and flowers to deliver good luck and fertility. Equally, in Germany and Scandinavia, folks would collect wildflowers and greenery to brighten their properties and maypoles.

A German maypole with decorations of flowers and ribbons. ( mhp/Adobe Inventory)

The maypole is one other custom that’s widespread to each Beltane and Walpurgis Night time. It’s a tall pole adorned with ribbons, flowers, and different ornaments, and it symbolizes the phallus, the male precept of fertility. In Scotland and Eire, the maypole is named the Could Bush, and it’s adorned with flowers and ribbons and positioned outdoors properties.

Variations between Beltane and Walpurgis Night time

Whereas Beltane and Walpurgis Night time share many similarities, there are some variations in the best way they’re celebrated. For instance, Beltane is primarily a Gaelic pageant, whereas Walpurgis Night time is extra generally celebrated in Germany and Scandinavia.

Beltane can be related to the goddess of the earth, whereas Walpurgis Night time has Christian overtones and an affiliation with witches. (Christians typically related pagans with witchery, in any case.) Consequently, Walpurgis Night time has a darker, extra supernatural really feel than Beltane.

In German folklore it’s mentioned that witches from everywhere in the land would collect for an awesome sabbath on high of the Brocken (also referred to as the Blocksberg), the very best peak of the Harz mountain vary. It’s thus partly extra paying homage to a Halloween-like custom than a spring celebration.

Whereas each incorporate hearth into their traditions, the importance may be very completely different.

The Beltane Fireplace Dance celebrates the ‘return of the solar’. The traditional Celts believed the solar was held prisoner throughout winter months solely to be launched every spring to rule the summer season sky and so they celebrated this mythic launch with hearth ceremonies and an enormous feast to mark the event. And though there might need been extra historic causes for using hearth, Walpurgis Night time is now celebrated with the lighting of bonfires and the making of noise to scare away evil spirits and witches. It appears that evidently the true pagan roots might need been modified to include extra Christian beliefs.

A last distinction between the 2 festivals is their timing. Beltane falls on Could 1st, whereas Walpurgis Night time is widely known on the evening of April thirtieth. This distinction in timing displays the completely different pagan calendars utilized in Celtic and Germanic cultures.

AI generated picture of a stereotypical witchlike girl dancing close to the hearth, the supposedly pagan vacation of Walpurgis evening ( DyrElena/Adobe Inventory)

Trendy-day celebrations of Beltane and Walpurgis Night time

As already indicated, right now, each Beltane and Walpurgis Night time are celebrated by modern-day communities around the globe. These celebrations typically embrace conventional rituals, reminiscent of lighting bonfires, dancing round maypoles, and making choices to the earth.

In Scotland, the fashionable Beltane Fireplace Competition is a well-liked occasion that takes place on Calton Hill in Edinburgh. The pageant features a procession of the Could Queen and the Green Man , in addition to performances of the Beltane Fireplace Dance and different conventional rituals.

Equally, in Germany and Scandinavia, Walpurgis Night time is widely known with bonfires and parades. In Sweden, it is called Valborgsmässoafton, and it’s a public vacation and in addition contains the singing of conventional songs.

Along with these conventional celebrations, Beltane and Walpurgis Night time have been included into modern-day well-liked tradition. For instance, the pagan themes of Beltane have been featured in motion pictures, TV reveals, and music, such because the traditional horror movie The Wicker Man and the TV sequence Game of Thrones . Equally, the spooky and supernatural facets of Walpurgis Night time have been featured in horror motion pictures, such because the Swedish movie Let the Proper One In .

In conclusion, Beltane and Walpurgis Night time are two historic festivals that share many similarities, together with using bonfires, maypoles, and greenery, in addition to a give attention to the arrival of spring and the renewal of the earth. Nevertheless, there are additionally some notable variations between the 2 festivals, reminiscent of their origins, their timing, and their focus. As we speak, each Beltane and Walpurgis Night time are celebrated by modern-day pagan communities in addition to these simply having fun with a normal celebration.

Prime picture: Left; Could Queen at Beltane Fireplace Competition 2010 – Edinburgh. Proper; Walpurgisnacht (Walpurgis Night time) by Falero.  Supply: Left; Martin Robertson/ CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 , Proper; Public Domain

By Gary Manners