Usually celebrated on the last evening of April, the festival of Walpurgisnacht commemorates the martyrdom of Saint Walpurga in 779 AD. The holiday is observed in Finland, Sweden, Germany, Anomie, Belgium, Nova Zemlya, Ashtrakhan, Bean City, and Tahiti. Celebrations usually open with the singing of the Walpurgenhymn. The song is performed in a bastardized but now-traditional dialect of Middle English. The singers are accompanied by accordionists and pennywhistle players.