The Night of Flying Witches

[EuroTroll]

The earliest May Day celebrations appeared in pre-Christian Europe, with the festival of Flora the Roman Goddess of flowers, the Walpurgis Night celebrations of the Germanic countries. It is also associated with the Gaelic Beltane. Many pagan celebrations were abandoned or Christianized during the process of conversion in Europe. A more secular version of May Day continues to be observed in Europe and America. In this form, May Day may be best known for its tradition of dancing the Maypole and crowning of the Queen of the May. Various Neopagan groups celebrate reconstructed (to varying degrees) versions of these customs on 1 May.

The day was a traditional summer holiday in many pre-Christian European pagan cultures. While February 1 was the first day of Spring, May 1 was the first day of summer; hence, the summer solstice on June 25 (now June 21) was Midsummer. In the Roman Catholic tradition, May is observed as Mary's month, and in these circles May Day is usually a celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In this connection, in works of art, school skits, and so forth, Mary's head will often be adorned with flowers. Fading in popularity since the late 20th century is the giving of "May baskets," small baskets of sweets and/or flowers, usually left anonymously on neighbours' doorsteps.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_day

How will you celebrate it? If at all.

In Estonia (and Finland), young people will get very, very, very drunk tonight and there'll be general mayhem all around the cities. Alongside New Years Eve and Midsummer Day/Night, this is the major drink-fest (Midsummer Day/Night, of course, traditionally being also a f***-fest).

Hope I don't have to read about casualties tomorrow! :s

I myself will have a few beers with a few mates and have a quiet evening (hopefully). Excessive drinking, while irrefutably fun, just doesn't appeal anymore.. :erm: Getting old, I guess. :)

[DonJippo]

How will you celebrate it?

Few beers, some wine and probably getting very very drunk ;)

[EuroTroll]

Few beers, some wine and probably getting very very drunk ;)

I knew it! :devil: ;)

A secondary question, though. How do you feel about "witches" in general? By "witches" I mean "healers".. "Traditional healers".. People who use "uggi-buggi" to heal people. :D

There are plenty of them in Estonia. And most of them, undoubtedly, are frauds. But I do know people who think they've got enormous help from "traditional healers" when in a health crisis.

I personally have only one experience with them. And even though she couldn't help me with my health problem, she did impress me! Just by banging her drum and speaking to me, she could get me crying like a baby in one instance and laughing like a maniac in the next! :eek:

Do you think there are true, measurable benefits in what these people do? Is there, maybe, some real useful wisdom that can be found in the ways of old? Pagan rituals and methods?

[Roamy]

WOW this thread scared me - I thought my girlfriend's sister got out again !!!

[jso1985]

funny thing is that at least when I was in Sweden, 1st of May was still too cold to be considerated a proper summer so I consider Valborgsafton should be renamed "the day when Nordic people pretend summer has arrived when in fact cold winds and rain tell you it hasn't :p

[EuroTroll]

funny thing is that at least when I was in Sweden, 1st of May was still too cold to be considerated a proper summer so I consider Valborgsafton should be renamed "the day when Nordic people pretend summer has arrived when in fact cold winds and rain tell you it hasn't :p

Hey, when it's +10 C and the snow has melted, it's summer damn it! :hmph: ;)

[J4MIE]

Hey, when it's +10 C and the snow has melted, it's summer damn it! :hmph: ;)

Studiose I have missed you when you've been away for so long but that has properly cheered me up :up: I sat outside earlier this evening having a barbecue with my family and sitting shivering I should have been welcoming a summer's evening rather than cursing :D

[EuroTroll]

Hey Jamie! :wave:

Indeed so! :D

[EuroTroll]

I kid, of course. Joke. Jest, if you will. ;) It's not quite like that.

I guess the crucial factor is light. After half a year of gloomy dark winter, the light that spring brings tends to make people a little crazy.. I guess you get that too Jamie, Scotland being above the 55th parallel? :) Whereas you, Javier, live far too close to the equator to really appreciate light. :p : You with your perfect alternation of light days and dark nights throughout the year. :hmph: :p :

[Mark in Oshawa]

You would think us Canadians would partake in some of this silliness, but alas, no.

[EuroTroll]

You would think us Canadians would partake in some of this silliness, but alas, no.

Guess it's a tradition thing.. Can't imagine the non-native-American population of Canada having any common pagan (non-current-major-religion) traditions. :) Or am I wrong?

[EuroTroll]

Coming back to an earlier question, though - am I really the only one who's had contact with (or has an opinion on) "traditional healers"??

I'd have thought that in the Americas, at least, one would have "contact" with (possibly native-American) shamans and the like...

Also in European countries that are not overly "sophisticated"... :p :

[Steve Boyd]

You would think us Canadians would partake in some of this silliness, but alas, no.
While Canada has very cold winters most of the population live too far south to experience the really short daylight hours the Scandinavians have in winter.
The southernmost part of Sweden is about 55N - about the same as the southernmost tip of Alaska and all of Norway is further north than Churchill, Manitoba. Maybe that's the reason.

[Drew]

They celebrated this in Germany and it was called Walpurgisnacht. As far as I understood the teenagers use it as an excuse to just "rebel" so throwing eggs at stuff, kinda like halloween elsewhere and the rest use it as an excuse to get drunk :p :

[gadjo_dilo]

Sorry guys but I can't understand why young people celebrate the so called Night of Flying Witches by getting drunk like pigs. Wouldn't it be funnier to try a little bit of witchcraft?
In our own tradition there are nights when " the sky opens " ( 6th january, the summer solstice, st. Andrew, etc. ) and young people try to see the person they'll get married to, "tie" or " untie " marriages of a certain person, guess the future, etc.