Bonfire night in April? Welcome to Sweden!
Last night (30th April), I experienced yet another Swedish tradition which I had no idea about. Valborg (pronounced Valbory) is essentially bonfire night with your local community & involves fireworks & even fire dancing!
A four & a half day weekend…
As Valborg fell on a Wednesday this year, people finished work at lunchtime & Thursday (May Day) is a bank holiday…& in true Swedish style, they see Friday as an in-between day (Klämdag – literally: s squeezed day), so they take the Friday off as well – what a good idea!
A bit of history about Valborg…
Dating back to the vikings, historically Valborg is derived from fertility celebrations that took place around the end of April, where the arrival of spring was celebrated with bonfires at night. Apparently, the fires were traditionally lit to scare off witches and evil spirits, as well as predators such as foxes before the livestock were let out to graze on May 1st. In the Middle Ages, the pagan Spring ritual became associated with Saint Walpurga who was declared a saint during this time of the year.
Valborg today…
Nowadays, however, I think that Swedes just relish any opportunity to celebrate the lighter evenings & enjoy Spring after a long winter. And I’m not going to say no to a free bonfire & fireworks…
Written by Anita on 1st May 2014 in Sweden
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