Walpurgis Night

E78297
folk festival spring festival traditional festival

Walpurgis Night is a traditional springtime festival, especially prominent in central and northern Europe, marked by bonfires, revelry, and folklore about witches gathering on mountaintops.

Observed surface forms (3)

Surface form As subject As object
Walpurgis Night celebrations 0 2
Saint Walpurga’s Eve 0 1
Walpurgisnacht 0 1

Statements (50)

Predicate Object
instanceOf folk festival →
spring festival →
traditional festival →
associatedWith Christian feast days →
European pagan traditions →
witchcraft folklore →
celebratedIn Austria →
Czech Republic →
Estonia →
Finland →
Germany →
Latvia →
Sweden →
Switzerland →
parts of Poland →
parts of the Netherlands →
culturalSignificance functions as a student celebration in some countries →
marks the transition from winter to spring →
serves as a springtime cleansing ritual →
folkloreBelief witches fly to the Brocken →
witches gather on mountaintops →
follows April 29 →
hasAlternativeName Walpurgis Night →
surface form: Saint Walpurga’s Eve

Walpurgis Night →
surface form: Walpurgisnacht
hasCustom dancing →
drinking →
lighting bonfires →
revelry →
singing →
hasDate April 30 →
hasSymbol bonfire →
broomstick →
mountaintop gathering →
witch →
hasTheme fertility →
springtime purification →
warding off evil spirits →
witches’ gatherings →
majorLocation Brocken →
surface form: Brocken mountain

Harz →
surface form: Harz Mountains
namedAfter Saint Walpurga →
observedBy Lutheran communities →
secular communities →
precedes May Day →
region Central Europe →
Northern Europe →
religiousContext Christianized pagan festival →
linked to feast of Saint Walpurga →
season spring →
timeOfDay night →

Referenced by (6)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Brocken → associatedWith → Walpurgis Night →
Harz → folkloreAssociatedWith → Walpurgis Night →
Walpurgis Night → hasAlternativeName → Walpurgis Night →
this entity surface form: Walpurgisnacht
Walpurgis Night → hasAlternativeName → Walpurgis Night →
this entity surface form: Saint Walpurga’s Eve
Skansen → hasEvent → Walpurgis Night →
this entity surface form: Walpurgis Night celebrations
Uppsala → hasFestival → Walpurgis Night →
this entity surface form: Walpurgis Night celebrations