Beltane is Gaelic May Day the festival. It's celebrated on the first of May, between the spring equinox and summer solstice. The festival name is synonymous with the month marking the start of summer in Ireland, May being Mí na Bealtaine.
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. It was celebrated mostly in Ireland, Scotland and Isle of Man.
Beltane dates back to ancient and medieval times, also celebrated in 18th - 20th centuries too.
Bonfires
Bonfires took a big part of the celebration of Beltane. All hearth fires and candles would be doused before the bonfire was lit, generally on a mountain or hill. In the 19th century, the ritual of driving cattle between two fires—as described in Sanas Cormaic almost 1000 years before—was still practised across most of Ireland and in parts of Scotland. On the Isle of Man, people ensured that the smoke blew over them and their cattle. When the bonfire had died down, people would daub themselves with its ashes and sprinkle it over their crops and livestock.
Flowers
Yellow and white flowers such as Primroses, 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.
The Fae/Faeries
Many Beltane practices were designed to ward off or appease the faeries and prevent them from stealing dairy products. For example, three black coals were placed under a butter churn to ensure the fairies did not steal the butter, and May Boughs were tied to milk pails, the tails of cattle or hung in the barns to ensure the cattle's milk was not stolen.
The revival of Beltane
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, but the custom seems to have lasted to the present day only in County Limerick (especially in Limerick itself) and in Arklow, County Wicklow. Beltane came back with neo-paganism.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Credits to paperwitchco, The Peculiar Brunette and an anonymous author. None of these images are mine (found on google and pinterest).
I don't recommend working with The Fae if you don't know what you're doing!
