BELTANE, MAY DAY & WALPURGISNACHT

Introduction

Blessed Beltane, Merry May Day, Wicked Walpurgisnacht, God Valborgsmässoafton, and Happy International Workers’ Day! We’ve already reached the halfway point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. April 30th and May 1st are packed with overlapping holidays, festivals of fire and flowers that celebrate growth, fertility and protection.

May Day

May Day is an old holiday marking the beginning of summer, celebrated in Europe and the European diaspora. It’s believed to stem from the ancient Roman festival of Floralia, which honored Flora, an important goddess who ruled over vegetation, flowers and fertility. May Day is often observed by decorating with seasonally blooming flowers symbolizing protection, as well as by creating maypoles and dancing around them. The tradition of the May Bush involves adorning a bush, branch or tree with flowers, feathers, ribbons and other decorative objects. Music and choral singing are associated with this day, as are traditions around courting and romance, honoring the fertile energy of spring. Some villages in England still celebrate this day with Morris dancing and selecting a local May Queen. 

Taking place half a year from Samhain (or Halloween), this day has also been seen as one of heightened spirit activity, when the veil between worlds is thinner than usual. This presents possibilities of divination and magick, but also risks of danger from the spirit world - leading to another common May Day tradition of lighting bonfires. These fires symbolize the growing power of the sun at this time of year, and the fire, smoke and ash have all been ritually used as protection against illness, misfortune, evil spirits and the like.

Beltane

Beltane is the Gaelic name for the May Day celebration. It’s one of the old cross-quarter days, honoring the midpoint between vernal equinox and midsummer. This was historically a time to prepare for summer and move herds to their summer pastures, symbolically protected by bonfires. Other traditions include decorating with yellow flowers to honor the sun and fire, and visiting holy wells or making other pilgrimages. This was also a time to appease local fairies and nature spirits with offerings, in the hope of avoiding their pranks or ill will. On the Neopagan Wheel of the Year, Beltane is the name commonly used for the May Day sabbat. It’s often celebrated with maypoles and other floral decorations, bonfires, feasting, connecting with nature, and the pagan marriage ceremony of handfasting.

Walpurgisnacht

In Germanic Europe, April 30th (or May Eve) is referred to as Walpurgisnacht. This night honors Saint Walpurga, an 8th-century nun who was born in modern-day England and died in Bavaria, now in southern Germany, where she worked to convert pagans to Christianity. She was a noted healer, and was said to be particularly effective in working against witchcraft. She was canonized as a saint on May 1st, which was her feast day in medieval times. 

The celebration of Saint Walpurga blends seamlessly with the May Day bonfires to ward off spirits and forces considered evil, as well as any lingering remnants of winter sickness. May Eve was also known as Heksennacht, the night of the witches, when they were said to gather together in large numbers with Satan. People would light bonfires to protect themselves from wandering witches on this night. Some would even dress up as witches to blend in or scare away the evil forces, a tradition sometimes known as guising, which has also been seen on other holidays such as Samhain or Halloween.

Valborgsmässoafton

As a half-Swede, I grew up thinking of April 30th as Valborgsmässoafton, or “Walpurgis Mass Eve.” This is still an active tradition in Sweden, celebrated largely with massive community bonfires. Traditionally, people would gather loose scraps of wood and vegetation from farms and forests, burning them intentionally to reduce the risk of fire later in the summer. Herds would be let out to graze in the pastures, and people would light fires and keep watch to scare away any predators threatening their livestock. This holiday is associated with a great sense of revelry, as it was historically the end of the administrative year, a time to rest and celebrate. This is also the prime time for college students to celebrate their graduations, often with singing, drinking and various local traditions. In the cold, dark, northern country of Sweden, this is the season when spring is finally arriving in earnest and promising the long-awaited summer - a perfect occasion for a public outdoor celebration. Decorating, singing, and fireworks displays are also commonly seen at Valborg. 

In Sweden, this season is also associated with “påskhäxor” or Easter witches, connected to the holiday of Walpurgisnacht. In Swedish legend, witches would fly en masse to gather at Blåkulla (“Blue Hill”) on the Thursday before Easter. A tradition of guising arose at this time of year, where children dress up as witches and go door to door, greeting their neighbors and receiving treats.

My small spring display of traditional Swedish dyed feathers and wooden ornaments depicting eggs and Easter witches.

International Workers’ Day

In most of the world, May 1st is also celebrated as International Workers’ Day or Labor Day, which honors the working classes and the labor union movement. This date was inspired by the 1886 general strike in Chicago which led to the Haymarket massacre. Ironically, however, the United States celebrates Labor Day in September instead, fearing the communist connotations of International Workers’ Day. But people in many other countries come together to demonstrate solidarity with the labor movement in conjunction with May Day, blending with this community celebration of protection, growth, fertility, creativity, and welcoming the brightest months of the year.

Conclusion

There are many traditions celebrated around May 1st, and they all have much in common. People come together, celebrating the lush spring and the warm summer, protecting themselves and each other from harm (both from evil spirits and capitalist overlords). Paradoxically, a holiday associated with warding off witches has now become one of the witchiest days of the year, as we reconnect with nature and honor its power in various manifestations, dancing around maypoles and singing around bonfires.

Astrologically, Beltane always falls during Taurus season, drawing on its associations of nature, the land, laborers, people power, and enjoying the simple pleasures of life. This May Day 2025, revolutionary Uranus is also in the sign of the bull. Taurus’s ruler Venus is conjunct dreamy Neptune in fiery Aries, honoring the spiritually protective flames of this holiday. The moon will move from a conjunction with abundant Jupiter in lively Gemini to its home sign of Cancer, symbolizing family, fertility, roots and our connection to the land and our heritage.

If you wish to celebrate May Day for yourself, this is an excellent occasion for fire rituals, protective magick, decorating with flowers and greenery, crafting and creating art, visiting sacred sites, or simply gathering with community and loved ones to enjoy this beautiful time of year.