Beltane - May Day

Happy May Day

Well the sun has just about set on another April and with its setting, it ushers in another May Day! Though not as big as Christmas or the Fourth of July here in the US, it is a day that most of us have heard of and if nothing else images of maypole ribbon ceremonies and may-queens dance across our recollection if only for the briefest of moments.

For me, and I hope I’m not alone, the term May Day was something I’d always heard but thought that it was simply a colloquial term lovingly giving to the first day of May and nothing more. And any images I glimpsed of festivities were simply a celebration of the upcoming summer season, and in some small way I was right. But as my studies and research delved more into the realm of our ancient predecessors I found that it had a much deeper meaning. In fact, it referenced one of the most sacred and powerful times of the ancient year—Beltane.

Beltane

The ancient peoples of Ireland, Scotland, and The Isle of Man once celebrated a calendar of only two seasons, winter and summer. While the more well known holiday of Halloween - or Samhain as it was called in pagan times – was the beginning of the long dark winter, Beltane was the start of summer! It was a time of lighthearted celebration and ritual.

The long dark half of the year was over. The stores set aside from the previous years harvest had held out and the planting season was about to begin. The cattle had all survived too and soon there would be fresh milk and meat.

The warm waxing sun shown down on the earth and everything was being made new again. But the ancient peoples who’d survived yet another winter had no choice but to recognize that practically before it began, the warm sun would once again turn cold and life would ultimately depend on the harvest of the upcoming planting season. This was no time to mess around. Everything had to be done right, and that included a joyous, yet serious, ceremony of fire and light.

Bel was the god of the sun and he had to be appeased by those he looked down upon and so large bonfires would be lit in his honor. But these fires served more than one purpose.

A Bridge Between Time

Beltane was literally a night outside of time. A night that acted like a bridge between the seasons of winter and summer, much like Halloween. And also like Halloween, Beltane was a time where the barrier between our world and the next was very thin.

            While many of the spirits believed to dwell among the living on that day and night were seen as benevolent ancestors come back to look over their living relatives, many were thought to be malevolent, or even demons of a sort. Thus the bonfires were lit to ward off the evil spirit looking to do harm.

            Smoke from the fires also played a large role in the night’s festivities. Cattle that had been kept locked away in earthen stalls were let out to graze on Beltane, but not before being passed through the smoke of the fires to be purified and cleansed by its protective properties and insure that the cattle would be fertile in the coming breeding season.

            Also, as this was seen as a time of rejuvenation and new beginnings, it became a sensible time for marriage, or handfasting as it was called.  Couples would join together between the fires and participate in a marriage ceremony not much different than the ones we celebrate today. Only instead of exchanging rings, the couple’s hands would be gently tied together with twine to symbolize their union.

Celebration and Trepidation

Unlike its counterpart of Halloween, Beltane was mostly a time of happy celebration, focused on the bountiful season ahead rather than spent in trepidation over the uncertainty of the barren approaching winter. But life and death were very real for the ancient peoples of the Celtic world, and they knew that all it took was too much sun or too little rain to mean the end for not only themselves but for their community as a whole. Meaning that Beltane night had to be observed vigorously and ritualistically or the whole community wouldn’t make it through the next winter.

May Day Celebrated  

In modern times Beltane has been making a comeback. Many groups such as Neo-Pagans and Wiccans celebrate the first of May much as our ancestors did. And across the country small festivals have begun popping up here and there, featuring the ever popular maypole dance, food and music.

            In my home, we focus on the most basic element of May Day…Summer! It’s the kick off to long warm days, BBQ’s with family and friends, road trips and days at the pool. Although I do have my own little traditions; the morning is spent getting the flowerbeds ready to be planted again after winter and then in the afternoon I head to the nursery to pick out flowers and herbs. In the evening I pull out the fire pit and the whole family gathers around to roast hot dogs and marshmallows late into the evening!

Beltane/May Day Activities

Make a May Bush – Find an old bare branch left over from the winter and decorate it with ribbons to represent flowers in honor of the planting season.

Plant Something – The upcoming planting season was one of the main focuses of Beltane. So get outside and plant something! It doesn’t have to be much, just a small potted flower or a singular herb plant.

Share a meal – Have family and friends over for a BBQ or dinner on the patio. Just get outside and enjoy the warmer weather!

Bonfire – Have a bonfire just like the Celts did! It doesn’t have to be huge, it can just be in a fire pit. Invite friends over to roast hot dogs and marshmallows. As a little something extra, gather old twigs for each guest to throw in the fire as a ceremonious show of winter dying out and summer coming in.

All you guys out there – Beltane was considered the perfect time for making promises of marriage. So if you’ve been thinking of popping the question…

Volunteer or Donate – Beltane was the planting season, and our ancient ancestors knew that if they didn’t have a good planting season they wouldn’t have a good harvest. And that meant they wouldn’t make it through the winter. We have it pretty good these days. If our local harvest fails we can get fresh food from a multitude of other places. But some people still go hungry. Find a soup kitchen or shelter and volunteer. Or fill a box with some can goods and take it to the local food pantry.