You Can Stand The Heat

Valborgsmssoafton Celebration

by K. Ross Hoffman

Folks have been marking the end of winter with giant bonfires for millennia — first in pagan rituals intended to scare off livestock predators (and, of course, evil spirits), and then in the Christian-sanctioned festival, Walpurgis Night, which the Swedes call "Valborgsmssoafton." Probably the only holiday that both Satanists and Roman Catholics observe, it's still celebrated in many northern European countries.

Here in Philadelphia, the origins of the Valborgsmssoafton festivities at the American Swedish Historical Museum are somewhat shrouded in mystery: A survey of the staff revealed only that they've happened for "as long as anyone can remember."

In keeping with the traditions practiced in modern Sweden, tonight's proceedings will incorporate a great deal of music, kicking off with a performance by the Swedish Museum Singers, who'll be wearing the blue-belled hats of Swedish university students. After that, it's time for dessert and refreshments — including highly touted all-beef hot dogs which, disappointingly, aren't actually roasted on the ritual fire. And then the blaze begins, just outside the museum in FDR Park, accompanied by more song-singing and revelry. Thank God we'll be showing our good cheer — we can't have those evil spirits getting any ideas.

Thu., April 30, 7 p.m., $15 ($8 for kids), American Swedish Historical Museum, 1900 Pattison Ave., 215-389-1776, americanswedish.org.