Halloween is not the only night when spirits and other scary entities rule. It is believed that the Walpurgis night is when witches ride their broomsticks through the sky and the natural world is forced to confront the powers of the supernatural. It is considered to be the other Halloween and has its own version of activities. Decorate your home with some scary and fun stuffs and enjoy the night with your family and friends. Wall murals with cutely-printed witches riding their brooms will make a lovely decor, for instance, it will give your home the holiday vibe while providing your kids just enough scare to be fun. Here we have more information that you need about Walpurgis night home decorations.
What is Walpurgis Night
According to legend, Walpurgis night was the last winter night for witches and their minions to make mischief and pull pranks before spring starts. They say that evil creatures would gather on Brocken, the highest peak of the Harz Mountains in central Germany, to celebrate. Other than the Halloween, the Walpurgis night is said to be when the evil magic was strongest and the line between the real world and underworld was at its weakest. This therefore permits the witches and their allies to cast spells and play tricks on humans easily.
It was also the practice of townsmen to create large bonfires, sprinkle holy water, around the land and decorate their houses with tied bunches of herbs and flowers to ward off the pranks and mischief of the witches. In addition to these, they also beat drums, rang bells and hit large sticks together during the celebration to keep evil away. It is believed that noise ward off evil spirits.
Walpurgis night celebration is popular in Europe and Scandinavia. Though the date of the celebration is different from that of Halloween, they still share some similar features that you and your family and friends will definitely love.
Different countries have their own version of celebrating Walpurgis night. For instance, in Germany, kids and adults dress up as witches and spirits and walk around town and do trick or treat in certain places. In Sweden, Walpurgis is one of the main holidays and they usually sing traditional spring folk songs, and the lighting of large bonfires and drinking.
Crafts that you can use to decorate for the Walpurgis Night
The best thing to do to decorate your home for the Walpurgis night is to make crafts. These can be created with your kids so that they may be able to fully appreciate the special night. Here are some crafts that you may create:
1. Smudge Sticks. With any kind of small bundle of herbs, such as sage, lavender, or rosemary. Bundle them together and hang them in your house for about a month before the Walpurgis to let them soak all the bad spirits. This will then be tossed into the fire as the evil spirits are believed to be carried away by the smoke.
2. Witch bags. These are made to carry with you at all times. In it you will be able to carry all the items important to you for luck, forecasting and protection. Though not originally created as a home décor, they can still be displayed in your home when they are not in use.
3. Witch boxes. This is used for charging amulets, runes, stones and anything else that you can carry for luck or protection. You can create boxes of various sizes and from any materials such as cardboard, wood, metal. You can also cover it with fabric and trim it with braid or ribbon.