"Repent Walpurgis"
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Posted on 04/30/2014 4:31:14 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Germans will find any reason to celebrate, so before the anarchy on May 1st can begin, they like to bid the evil spirits of winter goodbye by dressing up as witches and warlocks and dance around bonfires.
Walpurgisnacht, the night from April 30th to May 1st takes its name from Saint Walburga, a Catholic Saint, whose feast day is celebrated on May 1st. She was was known as the protector against sorcery and witchcraft.
Traditionally, it is the night when witches would gather together on the Brocken, the highest peak of the Harz mountain range in central Germany, and celebrate the triumph of spring over winter.
The Brocken is surrounded in mystery due to the mist and clouds that shroud the peak, and according to legend, is the home of witches and the devil.
The tradition of Walpurgisnacht also features in Goethe's Faust, when Faust is taken to Brocken by Mephisto to revel with the witches on Walpurgisnacht.
Walpurgisnacht is a noisy and fun affair for the family in Germany. Children and adults dress up as witches and communal bonfires are lit.
At midnight, the official start of spring is heralded by setting off fireworks, dancing and playing loud music – all said to drive the witches and winter spirits away. But not for long, exactly six months later the spooks will return for the start of winter on All Hallow's Eve.
Nowadays Walpurgisnacht has also become an excuse for causing mayhem.
In Bavaria, the night is known as Hexennacht (witches' night) and is filled with mischief as cars are sprayed with shaving foam, and paper streamers are hung on trees.
And in Berlin and Hamburg the celebrations are more extreme. As the cities prepare for leftist May Day riots, some already erupt on Walpurgisnacht and carry on through the night.
Because there’s not an April 31st.
Ich bin ein Walburger
Isn’t this the day Hitler committed suicide?
Well, I do, anyway.
Communist May Day or the pagan "May pole" thing?
I don’t think so, a few days earlier, maybe...I could certainly be wrong there. But his birthday was on the 20th. He outlived FDR by a couple of weeks.
Like the twelve days of Christmas...
I thought they celebrated the ten days of Hitler Birthday
Same reason Louisianans celebrate the day before Ash Wednesday.
Ah, those family oriented Krauts...
Great etching of the Skull and Bones picnic at the Bohemian Grove.
81 years after Hitler came to power, there can't be many Germans alive who voted for the Nazis before 1933, but there must be millions of former "Hitler Youth" alive. How many of them still secretly admire Hitler?
Today is also the 225th anniversary of when George Washington was sworn in as the first President of the United States. Five days later, the Estates General opened in Versailles. How many constitutions has France lived under since then, while we still have the Constitution of 1787 (at least theoretically).
If you look closely you can see Kerry, Bush, W.F. Buckley and William Sloane Coffin all yucking it up on the left.
I think The Usurper is just below the Goat-Man. (Affirmative Action/Honorary)
I don’t think Bayern Munich fans are in the mood for celebrating after what Real Madrid did to them.
As an aside, Walpurgisnacht is also when demonic contracts are “called”. So look out for unexpected celebrity obits the next day.
The most famous individual who died on April 30 (other than Hitler) is Agnes Moorehead, best known as “Endora” in the TV show Bewitched.
However, in the future we might look for Cher, Hillary, Oprah, Madonna, and several other contract employees.
KEEP YOUR PETS _CONFINED INSIDE_ UNTIL MAY 2, PEOPLE!!!
THIS IS NOT A JOKE.
Close enough.
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