In many European countries, this night was sleepless. Thousands of people came out to celebrate Walpurgis Night, which is considered one of the most magical nights of the year. They held carnivals, costume parties and обязательно палили высокие костры. This is reported by UNN with reference to Deutsche Welle in Telegram.
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In the Middle Ages, there was a belief that on the night of May 1, witches would sit on brooms and fly to the mountain peaks, where they would spend time in wild feasts with demons and the devil. According to tradition, people dress up this night in costumes of witches and devils and walk the streets, have fun and pronounce humorous "spells".
The main rite of this night is the expulsion of evil spirits. Therefore, in countries where the holiday is celebrated, large fires are lit, in which all sorts of unnecessary things are burned, clearing the space.
Neighbors collect dry branches from trees, remnants from Christmas trees, pieces of broken wooden furniture and carry them to a large "May bonfire". They believe that a high and lively fire scares away winter so that it does not return prematurely, and evil spirits.
In Germany, the main "sabbath" takes place in the Harz on Mount Brocken or, as it is also called, Blocksberg. The literary basis for the holidays was laid by Johann Wolfgang Goethe, who described the feast on Brocken in "Faust".
In Sweden, the loudest celebrations of Valborg or Walpurgis Night took place in Stockholm and the Stockholm Archipelago.
As for the name, it has nothing to do with witches. The night is named after the Catholic nun Saint Walpurga, who died in Germany in 777.