Walpurgis Night: why bonfires were lit and what witches have to do with it

      Her story goes back to two layers — Christian and pagan. On one hand, it is the day of remembrance for Saint Walpurga, an 8th-century missionary. On the other hand, there are much older rituals associated with the transition from winter to summer, purification by fire, and fear of the "unclean force," which was believed to be particularly active on this night.

      Hence the main symbol of the holiday — bonfires. They were lit on high ground to protect villages and "burn away" all the bad accumulated over the winter. In a later tradition, the legend of witches gathering on Brocken Mountain — a symbol of this holiday in German culture — also emerged.

      Today, Walpurgis Night has lost its mystical fear but retained the atmosphere of transition. It is a rare calendar moment when the very idea of renewal is felt almost physically: winter finally retreats, and spring ceases to be a promise and becomes a reality.

      In this sense, the old rituals easily translate into modern language. Fire is not only a bonfire but also any form of internal "reboot": from the simple evening light of a candle to a conscious letting go of what no longer works.

      Interestingly, in some places, this date coincides with important religious events. For example, today the relics of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker were brought to the Holy Assumption Church — and this parallel symbolic thread only enhances the feeling of a threshold: between the past and the future, fear and hope, darkness and light.

      Perhaps this is why Walpurgis Night has survived the centuries. Not as a "witches' sabbath," but as a reminder: any transition requires fire — external or internal.