When the sun sets this evening, June 23, you had better be prepared to deal with Chernobog! That’s right, it’s St. John’s Eve – the eve of the Feast Day of St. John the Baptist.
On the eve of St. John’s nativity (observed), St. John’s wort, prized for its miraculous healing powers, is sought, as is the fern flower, believed by some to bring good fortune, wealth, and the ability to understand animal speech.
It’s a time for the lighting of bonfires against evil spirits, and even dragons, which roam the earth as the sun again pursues a southerly course. And it’s a time when witches are believed to rendezvous with powerful forces, such as the Slavic demon that emerges from the Bald Mountain at the climax of Disney’s “Fantasia.”
“Dracula” fans might be interested to know that none other than Bela Lugosi struck demonic poses for Disney animators for several days as a model for the film’s climactic sequence. Ultimately, he would be replaced by Wilfred Jackson. Still, how cool is that?
Leopold Stokowski conducts the Philadelphia Orchestra in his own arrangement of Modest Mussorgsky’s music on the soundtrack. Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that that’s Princeton’s Westminster Choir, as “A Night on Bald Mountain” segues into Schubert’s “Ave Maria.”
The master of ceremonies, Deems Taylor, states that the setting is Walpurgis Night (April 30). Deems Taylor is wrong! I’m not afraid to say so, since I’ve pretty much given up on ever receiving a Deems Taylor-Virgil Thomson Award for Radio Broadcast at this point, for as richly deserved as it might be.
Chernobog could care less about Walpurgis Night. He’s kickin’ it up for St. John!
Relive your childhood anxiety here. Click on “watch video clip” at the link.
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