Legend has it that on Walpurgisnacht or May Eve, witches fly their broomsticks to meet the devil at the summit of the Brocken Mountain in Harz. In towns and villages scattered throughout the mountain region, locals make bonfires, dress in devil or witch costumes and dance into the new month of May.

A similar festival is held every year in Scotland. The Beltane Fire Festival is celebrated by Celtic neopagans and Wiccans in Edinburgh to mark the beginning of summer.