Template:Short description
Template:Use dmy dates
Template:Use British English
{{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Main other{{#switch:1 May<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
(or 1 November for Neopagans in the Southern Hemisphere)|January 1|January 2|January 3|January 4|January 5|January 6|January 7|January 8|January 9|January 10|January 11|January 12|January 13|January 14|January 15|January 16|January 17|January 18|January 19|January 20|January 21|January 22|January 23|January 24|January 25|January 26|January 27|January 28|January 29|January 30|January 31|February 1|February 2|February 3|February 4|February 5|February 6|February 7|February 8|February 9|February 10|February 11|February 12|February 13|February 14|February 15|February 16|February 17|February 18|February 19|February 20|February 21|February 22|February 23|February 24|February 25|February 26|February 27|February 28|February 29|February 30|February 31|March 1|March 2|March 3|March 4|March 5|March 6|March 7|March 8|March 9|March 10|March 11|March 12|March 13|March 14|March 15|March 16|March 17|March 18|March 19|March 20|March 21|March 22|March 23|March 24|March 25|March 26|March 27|March 28|March 29|March 30|March 31|April 1|April 2|April 3|April 4|April 5|April 6|April 7|April 8|April 9|April 10|April 11|April 12|April 13|April 14|April 15|April 16|April 17|April 18|April 19|April 20|April 21|April 22|April 23|April 24|April 25|April 26|April 27|April 28|April 29|April 30|April 31|May 1|May 2|May 3|May 4|May 5|May 6|May 7|May 8|May 9|May 10|May 11|May 12|May 13|May 14|May 15|May 16|May 17|May 18|May 19|May 20|May 21|May 22|May 23|May 24|May 25|May 26|May 27|May 28|May 29|May 30|May 31|June 1|June 2|June 3|June 4|June 5|June 6|June 7|June 8|June 9|June 10|June 11|June 12|June 13|June 14|June 15|June 16|June 17|June 18|June 19|June 20|June 21|June 22|June 23|June 24|June 25|June 26|June 27|June 28|June 29|June 30|June 31|July 1|July 2|July 3|July 4|July 5|July 6|July 7|July 8|July 9|July 10|July 11|July 12|July 13|July 14|July 15|July 16|July 17|July 18|July 19|July 20|July 21|July 22|July 23|July 24|July 25|July 26|July 27|July 28|July 29|July 30|July 31|August 1|August 2|August 3|August 4|August 5|August 6|August 7|August 8|August 9|August 10|August 11|August 12|August 13|August 14|August 15|August 16|August 17|August 18|August 19|August 20|August 21|August 22|August 23|August 24|August 25|August 26|August 27|August 28|August 29|August 30|August 31|September 1|September 2|September 3|September 4|September 5|September 6|September 7|September 8|September 9|September 10|September 11|September 12|September 13|September 14|September 15|September 16|September 17|September 18|September 19|September 20|September 21|September 22|September 23|September 24|September 25|September 26|September 27|September 28|September 29|September 30|September 31|October 1|October 2|October 3|October 4|October 5|October 6|October 7|October 8|October 9|October 10|October 11|October 12|October 13|October 14|October 15|October 16|October 17|October 18|October 19|October 20|October 21|October 22|October 23|October 24|October 25|October 26|October 27|October 28|October 29|October 30|October 31|November 1|November 2|November 3|November 4|November 5|November 6|November 7|November 8|November 9|November 10|November 11|November 12|November 13|November 14|November 15|November 16|November 17|November 18|November 19|November 20|November 21|November 22|November 23|November 24|November 25|November 26|November 27|November 28|November 29|November 30|November 31|December 1|December 2|December 3|December 4|December 5|December 6|December 7|December 8|December 9|December 10|December 11|December 12|December 13|December 14|December 15|December 16|December 17|December 18|December 19|December 20|December 21|December 22|December 23|December 24|December 25|December 26|December 27|December 28|December 29|December 30|December 31=|{{#switch:1 May<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
(or 1 November for Neopagans in the Southern Hemisphere)|1 January|2 January|3 January|4 January|5 January|6 January|7 January|8 January|9 January|10 January|11 January|12 January|13 January|14 January|15 January|16 January|17 January|18 January|19 January|20 January|21 January|22 January|23 January|24 January|25 January|26 January|27 January|28 January|29 January|30 January|31 January|1 February|2 February|3 February|4 February|5 February|6 February|7 February|8 February|9 February|10 February|11 February|12 February|13 February|14 February|15 February|16 February|17 February|18 February|19 February|20 February|21 February|22 February|23 February|24 February|25 February|26 February|27 February|28 February|29 February|30 February|31 February|1 March|2 March|3 March|4 March|5 March|6 March|7 March|8 March|9 March|10 March|11 March|12 March|13 March|14 March|15 March|16 March|17 March|18 March|19 March|20 March|21 March|22 March|23 March|24 March|25 March|26 March|27 March|28 March|29 March|30 March|31 March|1 April|2 April|3 April|4 April|5 April|6 April|7 April|8 April|9 April|10 April|11 April|12 April|13 April|14 April|15 April|16 April|17 April|18 April|19 April|20 April|21 April|22 April|23 April|24 April|25 April|26 April|27 April|28 April|29 April|30 April|31 April|1 May|2 May|3 May|4 May|5 May|6 May|7 May|8 May|9 May|10 May|11 May|12 May|13 May|14 May|15 May|16 May|17 May|18 May|19 May|20 May|21 May|22 May|23 May|24 May|25 May|26 May|27 May|28 May|29 May|30 May|31 May|1 June|2 June|3 June|4 June|5 June|6 June|7 June|8 June|9 June|10 June|11 June|12 June|13 June|14 June|15 June|16 June|17 June|18 June|19 June|20 June|21 June|22 June|23 June|24 June|25 June|26 June|27 June|28 June|29 June|30 June|31 June|1 July|2 July|3 July|4 July|5 July|6 July|7 July|8 July|9 July|10 July|11 July|12 July|13 July|14 July|15 July|16 July|17 July|18 July|19 July|20 July|21 July|22 July|23 July|24 July|25 July|26 July|27 July|28 July|29 July|30 July|31 July|1 August|2 August|3 August|4 August|5 August|6 August|7 August|8 August|9 August|10 August|11 August|12 August|13 August|14 August|15 August|16 August|17 August|18 August|19 August|20 August|21 August|22 August|23 August|24 August|25 August|26 August|27 August|28 August|29 August|30 August|31 August|1 September|2 September|3 September|4 September|5 September|6 September|7 September|8 September|9 September|10 September|11 September|12 September|13 September|14 September|15 September|16 September|17 September|18 September|19 September|20 September|21 September|22 September|23 September|24 September|25 September|26 September|27 September|28 September|29 September|30 September|31 September|1 October|2 October|3 October|4 October|5 October|6 October|7 October|8 October|9 October|10 October|11 October|12 October|13 October|14 October|15 October|16 October|17 October|18 October|19 October|20 October|21 October|22 October|23 October|24 October|25 October|26 October|27 October|28 October|29 October|30 October|31 October|1 November|2 November|3 November|4 November|5 November|6 November|7 November|8 November|9 November|10 November|11 November|12 November|13 November|14 November|15 November|16 November|17 November|18 November|19 November|20 November|21 November|22 November|23 November|24 November|25 November|26 November|27 November|28 November|29 November|30 November|31 November|1 December|2 December|3 December|4 December|5 December|6 December|7 December|8 December|9 December|10 December|11 December|12 December|13 December|14 December|15 December|16 December|17 December|18 December|19 December|20 December|21 December|22 December|23 December|24 December|25 December|26 December|27 December|28 December|29 December|30 December|31 December=|}}}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox holiday with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| alt | begins | caption | celebrations | date | date2007 | date2008 | date2009 | date2010 | date2011 | date2012 | date2013 | date2014 | date2015 | date2016 | date2017 | date2018 | date2019 | date2020 | date2021 | date2022 | date2023 | date2024 | date2025 | date2025 | date2026 | date2027 | date2028 | date2029 | date2030 | duration | ends | firsttime | frequency | holiday_name | image | image_size | imagesize | lasttime | litcolor | longtype | mdy | month | nickname | observances | observedby | official_name | relatedto | scheduling | significance | startedby | type | week_ordinal | weekday }}
Beltane (Template:IPAc-en) or Bealtaine ({{#invoke:IPA|main}})<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> is the Gaelic May Day festival, marking the beginning of summer. It is traditionally held on 1 May, or about midway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Historically, it was widely observed in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. In Ireland, the name for the festival in both Irish and English is {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}). In Scottish Gaelic it is called {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}), and in Manx Gaelic {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. It is one of the four main Gaelic seasonal festivals—along with Samhain, Imbolc, and Lughnasadh—and is similar to the Welsh {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.
Beltane is mentioned in the earliest Irish literature and is associated with important events in Irish mythology. Also known as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ('first of summer'), it marked the beginning of summer and was when cattle were driven out to the summer pastures. Rituals were performed to protect cattle, people and crops, and to encourage growth. Special bonfires were kindled, whose flames, smoke and ashes were deemed to have protective powers. The people and their cattle would walk around or between bonfires and sometimes leap over the flames or embers. All household fires would be doused and then relit from the Beltane bonfire. These gatherings were accompanied by a feast, and some of the food and drink would be offered to the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. Doors, windows, byres and livestock would be decorated with yellow May flowers, perhaps because they evoked fire. In parts of Ireland, people made a May Bush: typically a thorn bush or branch decorated with flowers, ribbons, bright shells and rushlights. Holy wells were also visited, while Beltane dew was thought to bring beauty and maintain youthfulness. Many of these customs were part of May Day or Midsummer festivals in parts of Great Britain and Europe.
Public celebrations of Beltane fell out of popularity by the 20th century, though some customs continue to be revived as local cultural events. Since the late 20th century, Celtic neopagans and Wiccans have observed a festival based on Beltane as a religious holiday. Neopagans in the southern hemisphere may mark the festival on 1 November.
NameEdit
In Old Irish, the name was usually {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. In modern Irish, the festival is usually called {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ("day of Beltane"), while the month of May is {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ("month of Beltane"). In Scottish Gaelic, the festival is {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. Sometimes the older Scottish Gaelic spelling {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is used. The term {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Scottish) or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Irish), "the bright or yellow day of Beltane", means the first of May. In Ireland it is referred to in a common folk tale as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}; the first day of the week (Monday/{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) is added to highlight the first day of summer.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
The name is anglicised as Beltane, Beltain, Beltaine, Beltine and Beltany.<ref name="firefestival" />
Another Old Irish name for the festival was {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, probably meaning 'first of summer'.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Ó Duinnín's Irish dictionary (1904) gives this as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} in modern Irish. It survives in the Scottish Gaelic name for the month of May, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, and matches the Welsh {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> These have all been derived from proto-Celtic {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (first + summer).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
EtymologyEdit
Beltane is proposed to derive from a proto-Celtic {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, meaning 'bright fire'. The element {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} might be cognate with the English word bale (as in Template:Wikt-lang) meaning 'white', 'bright' or 'shining'. The absence of syncope (Irish sound laws rather predict a **Beltne form) can be explained by the popular belief that Beltaine was a compound of the word for 'fire', tene.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
ToponymyEdit
There are place names in Ireland containing the word {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, indicating places where Beltane festivities were once held. It is often anglicised as Beltany. There are three Beltanys in County Donegal, including the Beltany stone circle, and two in County Tyrone. In County Armagh there is a place called Tamnaghvelton/{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ('the Beltane field'). Lisbalting/{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ('the Beltane ringfort') is in County Tipperary, while Glasheennabaultina/{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ('the Beltane stream') is the name of a stream joining the River Galey in County Limerick.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Historical customsEdit
Beltane was one of four Gaelic seasonal festivals: Samhain (1 November), Imbolc (1 February), Beltane (1 May), and Lughnasadh (1 August). Beltane marked the beginning of the pastoral summer season, when livestock were driven out to the summer pastures.<ref name="hutton">Hutton, Ronald. The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain. Oxford University Press, 1996. pp. 218–225</ref><ref name="koch">Koch, John T. Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. 2006. p. 202</ref> Rituals were held at that time to protect them from harm, both natural and supernatural, and this mainly involved the "symbolic use of fire".<ref name=hutton/> There were also rituals to protect crops, dairy products and people, and to encourage growth. The {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (often referred to as spirits or fairies) were thought to be especially active at Beltane (as at Samhain),<ref name=hutton/> and the goal of many Beltane rituals was to appease them. Most scholars see the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} as remnants of the pagan gods and nature spirits.<ref>Santino, Jack. The Hallowed Eve: Dimensions of Culture in a Calendar Festival of Northern Ireland. University Press of Kentucky, 1998. p. 105</ref> Beltane was a "spring time festival of optimism" during which "fertility ritual again was important, perhaps connecting with the waxing power of the sun".<ref name="Chadwick" />
Ancient and medievalEdit
Beltane (the beginning of summer) and Samhain (the beginning of winter) are thought to have been the most important of the four Celtic festivals. Sir James George Frazer wrote in The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion that the times of Beltane and Samhain are of little importance to European crop-growers, but of great importance to herdsmen practising seasonal transhumance. Thus, he suggests that the festival has pastoral origins.<ref>Frazer, Sir James George. The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion. Forgotten Books, 2008. p. 644</ref>
The earliest mention of Beltane is in Old Irish literature from Gaelic Ireland. The early-10th century text {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Cormac's Glossary) has an entry for "Belltaine" and derives it from bil-tene, "lucky fire". It says that to protect cattle from disease, the druids used to light two fires "with great incantations" and drive the cattle between them.<ref>Stokes, Whitley (ed.) and John O'Donovan (tr.). Sanas Cormaic: Cormac's Glossary. Irish Archaeological and Celtic Society. Calcutta: O.T. Cutter, 1868.</ref> In another entry, Sanas Cormaic says that Belltaine means "fire of Bel", explaining that Bel, Bil or Bial was a god and that "a fire was kindled in his name at the beginning of summer".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some scholars suggest that this might have been the Celtic healing god Belenos, although there is no other mention of Bel in Old Irish writings.<ref name=hutton/> Other scholars suggest that the writer was attempting to link the druidic fires with the Biblical god Baal.<ref name=hutton/>
The medieval tale {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (The Wooing of Emer) gives the same description of Beltaine. It says that it marks the beginning of summer, and calls Beltaine and Samhain (the beginning of winter) the two main divisions of the year.<ref>The Wooing of Emer by Cú Chulainn – Translated by Kuno Meyer Template:Webarchive. CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts.</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
According to 17th-century historian Geoffrey Keating, there was a great gathering at the hill of Uisneach each Beltane in medieval Ireland, where a sacrifice was made to a god named Beil. Keating wrote that two bonfires would be lit in every district of Ireland, and cattle would be driven between them to protect them from disease.<ref>Keating, Geoffrey. The History of Ireland – Translated by David Comyn and Patrick S. Dinneen Template:Webarchive. CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts.</ref> There is no reference to such a gathering in the annals, but the medieval Dindsenchas (lore of places) includes a tale of a hero lighting a holy fire on Uisneach that blazed for seven years. Ronald Hutton writes that this may "preserve a tradition of Beltane ceremonies there", but adds "Keating or his source may simply have conflated this legend with the information in Sanas Chormaic to produce a piece of pseudo-history".<ref name=hutton/> Nevertheless, excavations at Uisneach in the 20th century found evidence of large fires and charred bones, and showed it to have been a place of ritual since ancient times.<ref name=hutton/><ref name="patterson2">Patterson, Nerys. Cattle Lords and Clansmen: The Social Structure of Early Ireland. University of Notre Dame Press, 1994. p. 139</ref><ref name="mackillop">MacKillop, James. A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Oxford University Press, 1998. pp. 39, 400–402, 421</ref> Evidence suggests it was "a sanctuary-site, in which fire was kept burning perpetually, or kindled at frequent intervals", where animal sacrifices were offered.<ref>Schot, Roseanne (2006). "Uisneach Midi a medón Érenn: a prehistoric cult centre and royal site in Co. Westmeath". Journal of Irish Archaeology, issue 15. pp.47–66</ref>
Beltane is also mentioned in medieval Scottish literature.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> An early reference is found in the poem 'Peblis to the Play', contained in the Maitland Manuscripts of 15th- and 16th-century Scots poetry, which describes the celebration in the town of Peebles.<ref name="tracscotland.org">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Modern eraEdit
From the late 18th century to the mid 20th century, many accounts of Beltane customs were recorded by folklorists and other writers. For example John Jamieson, in his Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language (1808), describes some of the Beltane customs which persisted in the 18th and early 19th centuries in parts of Scotland, which he noted were beginning to die out.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
BonfiresEdit
Bonfires continued to be a key part of the festival in the modern era. All hearth fires would be doused before the bonfire was lit, generally on a hill.<ref name="Chadwick" /><ref name="Danaher">Danaher, Kevin (1972). The Year in Ireland: Irish Calendar Customs. Mercier. Template:ISBN pp. 86–127</ref> Ronald Hutton writes that "To increase the potency of the holy flames, in Britain at least they were often kindled by the most primitive of all means, of friction between wood."<ref name=hutton/> This is known as a need-fire, or tein' èiginn in Gaelic. It was a sacred fire that could be kindled only with a wooden drill, by a group of certain people (usually nine men), after they had removed all metal and after all other fires in the area had been doused. Nineteenth-century writers record such fires being kindled at Beltane in the Scottish Highlands, and also in Wales.<ref name=hutton/> Its flames were believed to guard against sickness, supernatural harm and witchcraft.<ref name=hutton/>
In the 19th century, cattle were still driven over flames or between two fires—as described in Sanas Cormaic almost 1000 years before—in parts of Ireland and Scotland.<ref name=hutton/> Sometimes the cattle would be driven around a bonfire or be made to leap over flames or embers. The people themselves did likewise for good luck and protection.<ref name=hutton/> On the Isle of Man, people ensured that the smoke blew over them and their cattle.<ref name=koch/>
When the bonfire died down, people would daub themselves with its ashes and sprinkle it over their crops and livestock.<ref name=hutton/> Burning torches from the bonfire would be taken home, carried around the house or boundary of the farmstead,<ref>Evans, Irish Folk Ways, pp. 274–275</ref> and used to re-light the hearth.<ref name=hutton/> From these rituals, it is clear that the fire was seen as having protective powers.<ref name=hutton/> Similar rituals were part of May Day or Midsummer customs in some other parts of the British Isles and mainland Europe.<ref>Frazer, James George (1922). The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion. Chapter 62, Section 8: The Need-fire. Internet Sacred Text Archive.</ref> Frazer believed the fire rituals are a kind of imitative or sympathetic magic. He suggests they were meant to mimic the Sun and "ensure a needful supply of sunshine for men, animals, and plants", as well as to symbolically "burn up and destroy all harmful influences".<ref>Frazer, James George (1922). The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion. Chapter 63, Part 1: On the Fire-festivals in general Template:Webarchive.</ref>
Food was also cooked at the bonfire and there were rituals involving it. In the Scottish Highlands, Alexander Carmichael recorded that there was a feast featuring lamb, and that formerly this lamb was sacrificed.<ref>Carmichael, Carmina Gadelica Volume 1, p. 191</ref> In 1769, Thomas Pennant wrote of Beltane bonfires in Perthshire, where a caudle made from eggs, butter, oatmeal and milk was cooked. Some of the mixture was poured on the ground as a libation. Everyone would then take an oatmeal cake, called a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} or "Beltane bannock", which had nine knobs on it. Each person would face the fire, break off a knob one-by-one and throw it over their shoulder, offering them to the spirits to protect their livestock (one to protect the horses, one to protect the sheep, and so forth) and to the predators that might harm their livestock (one to the fox, one to the eagle, and so forth). Afterwards, they would drink the caudle.<ref name=hutton/>
According to 18th-century writers, in parts of Scotland there was another ritual involving the Beltane bannock. The cake would be cut and one of the slices marked with charcoal. The slices would then be put in a bonnet and everyone would take one out while blindfolded. According to one writer, whoever got the marked piece had to leap through the fire three times. According to another, those present pretended to throw the person into the fire and, for some time afterwards, would speak of them as if they were dead. This "may embody a memory of actual human sacrifice", or it may have always been symbolic.<ref name=hutton/> There was an almost identical May Day (Calan Mai) tradition in parts of Wales, and mock-burnings were part of spring and summer bonfire festivals in other parts of Europe.<ref>Frazer, James George (1922). The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion. Chapter 64, Part 2: The Burning of Men and Animals in the Fires Template:Webarchive.</ref>
Flowers and May BushesEdit
Yellow and white flowers such as primrose, rowan, hawthorn, gorse, hazel, and marsh marigold were traditionally placed at doorways and windows; this is documented in 19th century Ireland, Scotland and Mann. Sometimes loose flowers were strewn at doors and windows and sometimes they were made into bouquets, garlands or crosses and fastened to them. Cows would also be decorated with them,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and they would be fastened to equipment for milking and butter making. It is likely that such flowers were used because they evoked fire.<ref name=hutton/> Similar May Day customs are found across Europe.
The May Bush or May Bough was popular in parts of Ireland until the late 19th century.<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This was a small tree or branch—typically hawthorn, rowan, holly or sycamore—decorated with bright flowers, ribbons, painted shells or eggshells from Easter Sunday, and so forth. The tree would either be decorated where it stood, or branches would be decorated and placed inside or outside the house (particularly above windows and doors, on the roof, and on barns).<ref name=":1" /> It was generally the responsibility of the oldest person of the house to decorate the May Bush, and the tree would remain up until 31 May.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The tree would also be decorated with candles or rushlights.<ref name="Danaher" /> Sometimes a May Bush would be paraded through the town. In parts of southern Ireland, gold and silver hurling balls known as May Balls would be hung on these May Bushes and handed out to children or given to the winners of a hurling match.<ref name="Danaher" /> In Dublin and Belfast, May Bushes were brought into town from the countryside and decorated by the whole neighbourhood.<ref name="Danaher" /> Each neighbourhood vied for the most handsome tree and, sometimes, residents of one would try to steal the May Bush of another. This led to the May Bush being outlawed in Victorian times.<ref name="Danaher" /> In some places, it was customary to sing and dance around the May Bush, and at the end of the festivities it may be burnt in the bonfire.<ref name=":7" /> In some areas the May Bush or Bough has also been called the "May Pole", but it is the bush or tree described above, and not the more commonly-known European maypole.<ref name=":1"/>
Thorn trees are traditionally seen as special trees, associated with the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. Frazer believed the customs of decorating trees or poles in springtime are a relic of tree worship and wrote: "The intention of these customs is to bring home to the village, and to each house, the blessings which the tree-spirit has in its power to bestow."<ref>Frazer, James George (1922). The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion. Chapter 10: Relics of Tree Worship in Modern Europe Template:Webarchive.</ref> Emyr Estyn Evans suggests that the May Bush custom may have come to Ireland from England, because it seemed to be found in areas with strong English influence and because the Irish saw it as unlucky to damage certain thorn trees.<ref name="folkways">Template:Cite book</ref> However, "lucky" and "unlucky" trees varied by region, and it has been suggested that Beltane was the only time when cutting thorn trees was allowed.<ref name="watts">Watts, D C. Dictionary of Plant Lore. Academic Press, 2007. p. 246</ref> The practice of bedecking a May Bush with flowers, ribbons, garlands and bright shells is found among the Gaelic diaspora, most notably in Newfoundland, and in some Easter traditions on the East Coast of the United States.<ref name="Danaher" />
Warding-off harmful spiritsEdit
Many Beltane practices were designed to ward off harmful spirits or appease the aos sí (often referred to as the fairies) and prevent them from stealing dairy products, which were thought to be especially at risk.<ref name="Danaher" /><ref name="McNeill2">McNeill (1959) Vol. 2. p. 63</ref><ref name="Campbell">Campbell, John Gregorson (1900, 1902, 2005) The Gaelic Otherworld. Edited by Ronald Black. Edinburgh, Birlinn Ltd. Template:ISBN pp. 552–554</ref> For example, May flowers were tied to milk pails or the tails of cattle to ensure the cattle's milk was not stolen, or three black coals might be placed under a butter churn to ensure the fairies did not steal the butter.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":2" />
On the Isle of Man, small crosses made of rowan were worn, fastened over doorways, and tied to cattle, as protection against witchcraft and evil spirits. It was called a {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Food was left or milk poured at the doorstep or places associated with the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, such as 'fairy trees', as an offering.<ref name="Evans, p. 272">Evans, Irish Folk Ways, p. 272</ref><ref>Danaher, The Year in Ireland, p. 121</ref> However, milk was never given to a neighbour on May Day because it was feared that the milk would be transferred to the neighbour's cow.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In Ireland, cattle would be brought to 'fairy forts', where a small amount of their blood would be collected. The owners would then pour it into the earth with prayers for the herd's safety. Sometimes the blood would be left to dry and then be burnt.<ref name="Evans, p. 272" />
To protect farm produce and encourage fertility, farmers would lead a procession around the boundaries of their farm. They would "carry with them seeds of grain, implements of husbandry, the first well water, and the herb vervain (or rowan as a substitute). The procession generally stopped at the four cardinal points of the compass, beginning in the east, and rituals were performed in each of the four directions".<ref>Danaher, The Year in Ireland, pp. 116–117</ref> People made the sign of the cross with milk for good luck on Beltane, and the sign of the cross was also made on the backsides of cattle.<ref name=":6">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Beltane blessingsEdit
In the 19th century, folklorist Alexander Carmichael (1832–1912), collected the Scottish Gaelic song {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ("The Beltane Blessing") in his Carmina Gadelica, which he heard from a crofter in South Uist.<ref name="tracscotland.org" /> The first two verses were sung as follows:
<poem>{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Bless, O Threefold true and bountiful,)
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Myself, my spouse and my children,) {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (My tender children and their beloved mother at their head,) {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (On the fragrant plain, at the gay mountain shieling,) {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (On the fragrant plain, at the gay mountain shieling.)
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Everything within my dwelling or in my possession,) {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (All kine and crops, all flocks and corn,) {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (From Hallow Eve to Beltane Eve,) {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (With goodly progress and gentle blessing,) {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (From sea to sea, and every river mouth,)
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (From wave to wave, and base of waterfall.)<ref name="tracscotland.org" /></poem>
Other customsEdit
.jpg){kind=link}
Holy wells were often visited at Beltane, and at the other Gaelic festivals of Imbolc and Lughnasadh. Visitors to holy wells would pray for health while walking sunwise (moving from east to west) around the well. They would then leave offerings; typically coins or clooties (see clootie well).<ref name="Danaher" /> The first water drawn from a well on Beltane was thought to be especially potent, and would bring good luck to the person who drew it. Beltane morning dew was also thought to bring good luck and health. At dawn or before sunrise on Beltane, maidens would roll in the dew or wash their faces with it.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The dew was collected in a jar, left in sunlight, then filtered. The dew was thought to increase sexual attractiveness, maintain youthfulness, protect from sun damage (particularly freckles and sunburn) and help with skin ailments for the ensuing year.<ref name=koch/><ref name="Danaher" /><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":5">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was also thought that a man who washed his face with soap and water on Beltane will grow long whiskers on his face.<ref name=":1" />
It was widely believed that no one should light a fire on May Day morning until they saw smoke rising from a neighbour's house.<ref name=":2" /> It was also believed to be bad luck to put out ashes or clothes on May Day, and to give away coal or ashes would cause the giver difficulty in lighting fires for the next year.<ref name=":3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":5" /> Also, if the family owned a white horse, it should remain in the barn all day, and if any other horse was owned, a red rag should be tied to its tail.<ref name=":1" /> Any foal born on May Day was fated to kill a man, and any cow that calved on May Day would die.<ref name=":3" /> Any birth or marriage on May Day was generally believed to be ill-fated.<ref name=":4">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":7">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On May Night a cake and a jug were left on the table, because it was believed that the Irish who had died abroad would return on May Day to their ancestral homes, and it was also believed that the dead returned on May Day to visit their friends.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":6" /> A robin that flew into the house on Beltane was believed to portend the death of a household member.<ref name=":7" />
The festival persisted widely up until the 1950s, and in some places the celebration of Beltane continues today.<ref name=mackillop/><ref name="McNeill2" /><ref name="Campbell" />
RevivalEdit
As a festival, Beltane had largely died out by the mid-20th century, although some of its customs continued and in some places it has been revived as a cultural event. In Ireland, Beltane fires were common until the mid-20th century,<ref name="Danaher" /> and has been revived as an annual festival in County Westmeath on the Hill of Uisneach since 2009.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It culminates in a torchlit procession by participants in costume, some on horseback, and the lighting of a large bonfire at dusk.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2017, the ceremonial fire was lit by the President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The lighting of a community Beltane fire from which each hearth fire is then relit is observed today in some parts of the Gaelic diaspora, though in most of these cases it is a cultural revival rather than an unbroken survival of the ancient tradition.<ref name="Danaher" /><ref name="Dames">Dames, Michael (1992) Mythic Ireland. London, Thames & Hudson Template:ISBN. pp. 206–210</ref><ref name="McNeill">McNeill, F. Marian (1959) The Silver Bough, Vol. 2. William MacLellan, Glasgow Template:ISBN p. 56</ref> In parts of Newfoundland, the custom of decorating the May Bush also survives.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The town of Peebles in the Scottish Borders holds a traditional week-long Beltane Fair every year in June, when a local girl is crowned Beltane Queen on the steps of the parish church. Like other Borders festivals, it incorporates a Common Riding.<ref name="tracscotland.org" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Since 1988, a Beltane Fire Festival has been held every year on the night of 30 April on Calton Hill in Edinburgh, Scotland. While inspired by traditional Beltane, it is a modern celebration of summer's beginning which draws on many influences.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The performance art event involves fire dances and a procession by costumed performers, led by the May Queen and the Green Man, culminating in the lighting of a bonfire.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
Butser Ancient Farm, an open-air archaeology museum in Hampshire, England, has also held a Beltane festival since the 1980s. The festival mixes historical reenactment with folk influences, and features a May Queen and Green Man, living history displays, reenactor battles, demonstrations of traditional crafts, performances of folk music, and Celtic storytelling. The festival ends with the burning of a 30–40 ft wickerman, with a new historical or folk-inspired design each year. Butser Ancient Farm acknowledges that their Beltane celebrations are not an attempt to reconstruct authentic historical pagan practices.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The 1970 recording 'Ride a White Swan', written and performed by Marc Bolan and his band T.Rex, contains the line "Ride a white Swan like the people of the Beltane".<ref>Dicks, Ted & Platz, Paul; 'Marc Bolan: A Tribute'. Wise Publications,1992. ISBN 0711929955, 9780711929951, et al.</ref>
NeopaganismEdit
Beltane and Beltane-based festivals are held by some Neopagans. As there are many kinds of Neopaganism, their Beltane celebrations can be very different despite the shared name. Some try to emulate the historic festival as much as possible.<ref name="Gallagher">Template:Cite book</ref> Other Neopagans base their celebrations on many sources, the Gaelic festival being only one of them.<ref name="Adler1">Adler, Margot (1979) Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today. Boston, Beacon Press Template:ISBN. p. 397 – Excerpts from Manhattan Pagan Way Beltane ritual script, 1978</ref><ref name="McColman1">McColman, Carl (2003) Complete Idiot's Guide to Celtic Wisdom. Alpha Press Template:ISBN. p. 51</ref>
Neopagans usually celebrate Beltane on 30 April – 1 May in the Northern Hemisphere and 31 October – 1 November in the Southern Hemisphere, beginning and ending at sunset.<ref name="SpiralDance" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Some Neopagans celebrate it at the astronomical midpoint between the spring equinox and summer solstice (or the full moon nearest this point). In the Northern Hemisphere, this midpoint is when the ecliptic longitude of the Sun reaches 45 degrees.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Celtic ReconstructionistEdit
Celtic Reconstructionists strive to reconstruct ancient Celtic religion. Their religious practices are based on research and historical accounts,<ref name="Gallagher" /><ref name="McColman2">McColman (2003) pp. 12, 51</ref> but modified to suit modern life. They avoid syncretism and eclecticism (i.e. combining practises from unrelated cultures).<ref name="CRFAQ1">NicDhàna, Kathryn et al. (2007) The CR FAQ: An Introduction to Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism. River House Publishing. Template:ISBN pp. 53–56, 64, 130–131</ref>
Celtic Reconstructionists usually celebrate Beltane when the local hawthorn trees are in bloom. Many observe the traditional bonfire rites, to whatever extent this is feasible where they live. This may involve passing themselves and their pets or livestock between two bonfires, and bringing home a candle lit from the bonfire. If they are unable to make a bonfire or attend a bonfire ceremony, candles may be used instead. They may decorate their homes with a May Bush, branches from blooming thorn trees, or equal-armed rowan crosses. Holy wells may be visited and offerings made to the spirits or deities of the wells. Traditional festival foods may also be prepared.<ref name="CRFAQ2">NicDhàna (2007) pp. 100–103</ref><ref name="Healy">Healy, Elizabeth (2001) In Search of Ireland's Holy Wells. Dublin, Wolfhound Press Template:ISBN p. 27</ref>
WiccaEdit
Wiccans use the name Beltane or Beltain for their May Day celebrations. It is one of the yearly Sabbats of their Wheel of the Year, following Ostara and preceding Midsummer. Unlike Celtic Reconstructionism, Wicca is syncretic and melds practices from many different cultures. In general, the Wiccan Beltane is more akin to the Germanic/English May Day festival, both in its significance (focusing on fertility) and its rituals (such as maypole dancing). Some Wiccans enact a ritual union of the May Lord and May Lady.<ref name="SpiralDance">Starhawk (1979, 1989) The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess. New York, Harper and Row Template:ISBN pp. 181 196 (revised edition)</ref>
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
Further readingEdit
- Template:Cite book
- Carmichael, Alexander (1992). Carmina Gadelica. Lindisfarne Press. Template:ISBN
- Chadwick, Nora (1970) The Celts. London, Penguin Template:ISBN
- Danaher, Kevin (1972) The Year in Ireland. Dublin, Mercier Template:ISBN
- Evans-Wentz, W. Y. (1966, 1990) The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries. New York, Citadel Template:ISBN
- MacKillop, James (1998). Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Oxford University Press Template:ISBN
- McNeill, F. Marian (1959) The Silver Bough, Vol. 1–4. William MacLellan, Glasgow
- Simpson, Eve Blantyre (1908), Folk Lore in Lowland Scotland, London: J.M. Dent.
External linksEdit
- Edinburgh's Beltane Fire Society
- Extract on The Beltane Fires from Sir James George Frazer's book The Golden Bough – 1922; from bartleby.com
Template:Celts Template:Celtic mythology topics Template:Wheel of the Year Template:Contemporary witchcraft Template:Ireland topics Template:Authority control