Written by our September 2025 Alumni: James Gillum
Prague Celebrates Čarodějnice
Feasts are an institution nearly as old as civilization itself. Indeed, the oldest feasts, or holidays, are those tied to agriculture/changing of the seasons. The most prominent tradition (at least in Europe) is perhaps the feast of the yuletide, which commemorates the shortest day of the year.
Likewise connected to the sun are the equinoxes and the solstice, important dates for planting and harvesting, as well as the harvest moon. Arrivals of monsoon season feature prominently in other parts of the world, as well as the migration of large animals.
Though natural phenomena were what gave rise to the first holidays, I don’t think I know of anyone that still celebrates the harvest moon. Indeed, most of Western civilization’s pagan feasts have long since been succeeded by their Christian equivalents, such as Christmas, as in the case of the yuletide. This is, of course, a trend as old as the salvation religions themselves, which once found more basic calendars ready for adoption. Take nearly any modern day holiday, almost all of which are still grounded in religious tradition, and you can almost always find a pagan antecedent, originally meant to refer to planted crops in some way.
This general trend applies as well to Walpurgis Night, or “Čarodějnice,” as it is referred to in Czechia. Walpurgis was an English saint and evangelist, who lived in the eighth century, whose feast day happens to fall on May first. This happens as well to be about one month, or moon, following the vernal equinox, which is when many Europeans had already been celebrating the arrival of the true spring. The holiday, in its original form, involved burning the effigies of witches, which referred to real witches that were believed to have thrived overthe winter. By the end of the middle ages, this annual fare was being referred to as the Feastof St. Walpurgis, or “Walpurgis Night.”
Today, Walpurgis Night, or “Witches’ Night,” is celebrated across central and northern Europe. Walpurgis Night, or “Witches’ Night,” is most commonly associated withsouth Germany, though it is also celebrated across central and northern Europe. Regional rites tends to vary, though celebrations most often center around the burning of a witch. I.e. awooden effigy of a witch. They are mostly local affairs, little regarded by outsiders.
In Czechia, Čarodějnic is most commonly associated with rural areas. Traditions abound regarding precisely how and why fires are meant to be tended, and every celebration has its own character. Small cities across Bohemia and Moravia are quite often renowned for their annual celebrations, though Prague itself is quite exceptional in this respect. The city has no well-known celebrations of its own, and indeed none within the sites normally popular among tourists. Nevertheless, it will surprise many to learn that the city does celebrate Čarodějnic. Festivities are mostly relegated to the outskirts of the city, and so attract less attention among locals than do their rural counterparts, though they are widely attended by those residing around the perimeter of the city.
Over the course of April 30th, I visited three such celebrations. These were held at Ladronka Park in Prague 6, the OC (Obchodní Centrum) in Letňany, and at the Hostivař Reservoir in Prague 10, all along the outskirts of Prague. I was mostly reliant on my meagre knowledge of the Czech language in these areas, as I found that most people spoke little-to-no English. Very few foreigners, apart from myself, were in attendance.
Apart from how out of the way Čarodějnic celebrations are, the first thing one notices, when arriving at any of these festivals, is the target audience. I had not been expecting the attraction to be so unambiguously marketed for children, since I had been so excited to see the bonfires myself. Though, in all humility, I suppose there must be something childish about burning a toy witch. Everywhere I went, I saw children attended to by their parents,and this in a country with an infamously static population. Indeed, I felt a little silly standing around, next to kids in witch costumes, gazing at what was essentially a piñata. To someone who still remembers growing up in the Midwestern United States, Čarodějnice struck me as a marriage between Halloween and a county fair. The attractions were all centered within a public space, a field, and were rather raucous, while at the same time participatory. Kids, as I say, were dressed up, and this seemed to be integral to the festivals’ charm. Witchcraft, as a general theme, was partaken of by all.
That so many living in Prague are unaware of these parties is perhaps unsurprising, given that these get-togethers were all well away from the city center. Indeed, it took me an evening and an afternoon to get to just three of them. The reason for this, of course, was outof consideration for the fire hazard, though an unhappy side effect was that the whole event wound up getting sidelined by the forthcoming May Day celebrations. This sets it apart fromthe countryside, where Witches’ Night still receives much renown. This, of course, in turn contributes to Prague’s reputation for being distinct from the rest of Bohemia. Many expats, some of whom have lived in the city for years, have never even heard of Čarodějnice. It is a common complaint that Prague is more a city of the world than it is a Czech city, and that it doesn’t follow tradition during the changes of the seasons features heavily in this.
Whereas Čarodějniec arrived with some fanfare in many villages across the country, in Prague it mostly came and went without a sound. Doing research for this article, I found thatI knew almost no one, personally, who would likewise be participating in the festivities. I went to all three by myself. Although, once there, found myself to be in good company. To those in the know, Witches’ Night was as important a holiday as any other. Even in Prague,the ancient tradition had yet survived. Witches can consider themselves forewarned.
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