Walpurgisnacht ("Walpurgis Night") is celebrated on 30 April. On this date in the 8th century, the remains of Saint Walburga were moved to Eichstätt. After that time, according to legend, oil was found on the rocks at Eichstätt that had the power to cure, so a shrine to Saint Walburga was established. She is revered as the saint who protects against magic. People once believed that on Walpurgisnacht, witches rode across the sky over the Harz Mountains of Germany. In an effort to ward off the witches, people banged pots and pans and lit torches. This day is still celebrated with bonfires and other activities.
Labor Day (1 May) is often celebrated by raising maypoles and participating in parades. The Day of German Unity is celebrated on 3 October. On 31 October, some Germans observe Reformation Day, which is also known as Luther's Theses Day. On this date in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to a church door in Wittenberg. In his writings, he expressed his specific problems with the Roman Catholic Church. This event marked the start of the Protestant Reformation.
The Christmas season begins with Advent, which lasts from the Sunday closest to 30 November until 24 December. Christmas markets are held in towns, villages, and most large cities. Musical performances abound. Children put their shoes out the evening before Saint Nicholas's day (6 December) to receive small treats. Gifts are given on Heiliger Abend (Christmas Eve), and the family relaxes on Christmas Day (25 December). The following day is also a public holiday.
In the year 325, when Saint Sylvester was pope, the Emperor of Rome decreed that Christianity would be the official religion from that time forward. Saint Sylvester has since been associated with getting rid of paganism. Saint Sylvester's Eve, or Silvesterabend, is celebrated on 31 December with parties and midnight fireworks. Touching a pig on Silvesterabend is thought to bring good luck; at home some people hang up a marzipan pig and touch it at midnight.
. The Swedes celebrate both New Year's Eve (31 December) and New Year's Day (1 January) as public holidays. The Epiphany, or the day the Three Wise Men are said to have come to the baby Jesus, is observed on January 6. Easter (Pask) is celebrated from Good Friday through Easter Monday. Children dress up like Easter witches, paint their faces, and collect candy from the homes of friends and neighbors. Walpurgis Night (30 April), now celebrated with bonfires and fireworks, is a festival dating from Viking times, celebrating the return of spring. Labor Day is observed on 1 May. Ascension Day, 40 days after Easter, is said to be the day Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven. Whitsunday, 50 days after Easter, and Whitmonday, the day following Whitsunday, are both observed.
Sweden's grandest festival, Midsommar (Midsummer) is celebrated on the weekend closest to June 21, which is Summer Solstice. This holiday also dates from Viking times, when it was a fertility rite meant to ensure a good harvest in the autumn. Nowadays, traditional songs are sung, and people dance around maypoles, which are decorated with birch leaves and flowers. The custom of wearing traditional regional dress to the celebration has regained popularity in recent years. Because the sun never sets in the northernmost part of Sweden on 21 June, it is known as "the day that never ends."
All Saints' Day is on 2 November. A particularly lovely holiday in Sweden is Lucia, on 13 December. Traditionally, on this day the oldest girl in each family would don a white dress, a crimson sash, and a crown of candles. She has become Saint Lucia, a fascinating saint closely associated with both light and seeing. The girl dressed as Lucia, followed by her sisters and brothers (called maidens and star-boys), who would be dressed in similarly magical white garments, served coffee and buns to members of the household early in the morning of 13 December. Nowadays, Lucias are also chosen in their schools or day-care centers, and they might visit hospitals, factories, and offices, serving coffee, lussekatt (saffron buns), glögg (hot spiced wine), and gingerbread cookies. In Stockholm a contest is held to choose the "Stockholm Lucia."
Lucia begins the Jul (Christmas) season, which reaches its pinnacle on Christmas Eve with a smörgasbord and the exchange of gifts. The Jultomten (Swedish Santa Claus) was traditionally known as a kind of gnome who lived under the house and left gifts for the children at the door. Today, children eagerly await his knock at the door on Christmas Eve. Some families keep the old tradition of "dipping in the pot"-dunking slices of bread in the broth from a boiled ham. The Christmas tree, placed in the house a couple of days before Christmas Eve, is not taken down until Saint Knut's Day on 13 January. On this day a party for children is held and the tree, having served its purpose, is tossed out an open window as the celebrants sing a song about the end of the Christmas holiday.
In addition to some national holidays, several religious holidays are celebrated in Luxembourg. National holidays include New Year's Day, Labor Day (1 May), the Grand Duke's Birthday-also called National Day (23 June)-and Fair Day (early September). Fair Day occurs during fair season in the capital city, where an ancient shepherd's market serves as the fairground and many traditional displays and events focus on sheepherding.
Religious holidays include Shrove Tuesday (February), Easter (including Monday), Ascension, Whitmonday, Assumption (15 August), All Saints' Day (1 November), All Souls' Day (2 November), and Christmas (24-26 December). Christmas and Easter are the most important holidays.
At Easter, young children take part in a tradition called klibbere goen. According to legend, all church bells go to Rome three days before Easter for confession. The bells cannot ring because they are supposedly in Rome, so the boys use rattles to announce church services. When the bells return on the Saturday before Easter, the children collect money and colorful Easter eggs from each home in the neighborhood as their reward. Most families color Easter eggs during this season, and on Easter Sunday children receive the eggs and other gifts hidden in the garden.
Christmas celebrations begin weeks before the actual holiday. Some time before 6 December, small children place a shoe outside their bedroom before bedtime and expect to receive a piece of chocolate from Saint Nicholas (Kleeschen) if they have been good. Otherwise, they might receive a birch twig from his helper, Housecker. Then, on 6 December, Kleeschen visits "good" children and brings them gifts. Small parades are often held in various cities to celebrate the event. On Christmas Eve, families have a large meal, and Catholics go to Mass. Almost all families have a tree in the home, and many have a nativity scene. Christmas Day (25 December) is a family day.
Carnaval is celebrated in the spring in many cities. There are also wine fairs, arts festivals, and festivals to mark historical events
New Year's Day in Poland is celebrated on 1 January. Easter, in early spring, is a major holiday in this predominantly Roman Catholic country. It has a number of traditions associated with it, including painting eggs and taking baskets full of food to churches to have the food blessed. Easter Monday is a public holiday. The morning of Easter Monday, children (and some adults) enjoy water fights-water symbolizes life, and it is a symbol of Easter, which honors the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Labor Day is observed on 1 May. Polish Constitution Day on 3 May commemorates the ratification of Poland's first constitution in 1794, based upon ideas from the French Revolution.
Corpus Christi, in honor of the Eucharist, is observed on the Thursday following Trinity Sunday (which follows the Pentecost, 50 days after Easter). Assumption Day, when the Virgin Mary's body was said to have been "assumed" into Heaven, is observed on 15 August.
