Honoring Ancient European Traditions: Walpurgis Night (Valborgsmässoafton) Signals Arrival of Spring in the North
Winter is over. Summer is about to begin in the Northern lands and that's a good cause for celebration after a long, cold Nordic winter. On April 30th it is "Valborgsmässoafton" (Valborg's Eve) as it's known in Sweden or the Walpurgis Night by the Germans and English.
Despite some more recent links to Christian festivities, who adopted many of the heathen traditions of the old Norse faith, Valborgsmässoafton has been celebrated in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries for hundreds of years before Christianity violently arrived around the turn of the first millennium.
Many of the most cherished holidays in the North have their roots in their heathen past, especially Yule (Christmas), Midsummer Eve but also Valborgsmässoafton.
Massive bonfires up and down northern Europe are lit to honor the German abbess by the name of St. Walpurga, who became associated with the day during the 8th-century.
The original heathen festival heralded the onset of the growth season. It attempted to ward off evil, ensure fertility and cleanse the land of the dried and dead of winter. Today, it is still the accepted gateway to long and warmer days.
The Illuminati was formed on May 1 and the Communists also claimed May 1 as their “international workers' day,” hijacking and harnessing the positive energies of the arrival of new life. Luckily, the Gaelic fire festival of Beltane still shows the heathen origins of this important day, and it needn’t only be known as Victims of Communism day.
In Sweden, Valborg, as it is known, calls for a mountainous bonfire and a crowd to gather around it. These enormous blazes are either organized by the local municipality or the neighborhood.
The larger, municipality-sponsored bonfires can have a carnival-like atmosphere. The less flammable neighborhood fires might have block-parties.
Size doesn’t truly matter in a bonfire - you just have to find or ignite one. The imminent spring elates all and the community unites in spirit. Indeed, even in this secular region there is still a spiritual feel to the gathering.
What happens at a typical Valborg brasa or bonfire? Bundled crowds of optimistic Nordics warm themselves facing the blaze. Mischievous children feed the fire with anything flammable they can drag and toss into the flames.
If you’re lucky you experience a most romantic experience where the crowd sings uplifting odes to the spring as they clutch their Valborg beer. These folksongs bring a nostalgic feel which reminds the outdoorsy Norseman that better weather and that summer with long light nights is soon upon them.
So wherever you are in the world, light a fire on April 30th and take the opportunity to connect with your folk and your ancestors. Celebrate the arrival of spring as a sign of new life and warm times ahead. Give something back to nature and if you so, please the Gods and remember the blessing of new life.
A few examples from Sweden:
Faun - Walpurgisnacht
