While some countries celebrate witches, others aren’t even having it at all. In this country, they burn them. They burn their tools if they can’t find them. They do it to celebrate fertility.
Some of us celebrate the end of winter with a spring clean, while others take to the streets in elaborate carnival outfits for Mardi Gras. People here celebrate the temperate season in an entirely different way, by burning a hag on a bonfire.
On the last night of April, many Czechs gather around hillside bonfires to celebrate Paleni Carodejnic, the annual burning of witches. To keep the hags at bay, the locals b
urn their broomsticks and huge effigies of witches and hags, which are similar in appearance to the Guy Fawkes burnt in England on Bonfire Night.
April 30th of each year is always an exciting day for Czechs of all ages who gather by the fire and celebrate the arrival of spring. Witch burning (Čarodejnice), also known as the night of the witches, stems from an ancient tradition.
There are many locations where this is celebrated and some involve a maypole: a tall wooden pole popular to dance around at various traditional European festivals. Outside of folk customs, the witch-burning night is also the second-largest satanic holiday.
While it acts as the largest Sabbath for Satanic cults, in the Czech Republic it’s considered a regular and harmless family holiday. Historically, the night of April 30th has been considering magical and was originally celebrated at midnight.
Like most ancient festivities, the main purpose of the event was to celebrate fertility. People also believed that on this night witches would gather together. To protect the
mselves from the witches, evil spirits, and demons in general, people lit fires on elevated grounds.
Originally the fires were supposed to ward off everything evil, but after the Spanish Inquisition, it became specifically about burning the evil witches. Brooms that were considered unlucky would be burned and the ashes were believed to have special powers to increase the number of crops that year.
The ashes had another important purpose: ensuring fertility. Jumping over the smoldering embers ensured fertility and youth for those brave enough to jump. Today people mainly burn rags and straw witches on the bonfires.
The celebration is no longer about fertility but saying goodby
e to winter. Children enjoy watching funny performances of battling men and witches in costume while adults enjoy live music, roasted sausages, and beer.
A similar holiday is celebrated in many European countries from Ireland and Finland to Poland – however, every country has a different name for it. In the Czech Republic, the holiday precedes May 1st, the annual festival of love.
It is one of the first large outdoor events
of the year and Ladronka and Žluté lázně are two of the most popular spots to celebrate in Prague.
