Celtic Beltane: The Festival of Fire and Fertility on May 1st Beltane is the Celtic festival of fire and fertility, of light. Based on the ancient Celtic Feast Day, the Edinburgh's Beltane Fire Festival is developing its own traditions. Legend has it that after mating with the Mother Earth Goddess and fertilizing her, Belenos died to be reborn as the goddess's son. This festival originated in Ireland, but also in Gaul. Our festival includes traditional characters, like the May Queen and Green Man, and performances are often inspired by recognisable archetypes from Celtic stories, for example our Samhuinn Fire Festival includes the Cailleach, the divine hag from Scottish and Irish mythology, but we also embrace modern retellings and interpretations of myth and legend. Celtic symbolism reflects this preoccupation with the natural world. Unique amongst the Four Celtic Feast days, Beltane
At dawn everyone arose to welcome the sun and to wash in the May dew, thought to have been the holy water of the Druids, but, according to oral tradition, believed to assure beauty. Today is Beltane, one of the most important days in the Scottish pre-Christian calendar. Consistent or not with the ancient practices of the Druids, the great Celtic Feast day heralding the beginning of the agricultural year is renewed and the spirit of the past lives on. The Beltane fires have purifying and fertilizing virtues.It is not insignificant that in the calendar, May 1st continues to be marked as an important day: in Europe, this day is celebrated as Labour Day, which also symbolizes prosperity and in ancient times, it was customary on this day to plant a tree, something that began to become in a symbol celebrating the union or encounter of God and the Goddess in England. Beltane - The Fire Festival The Celtic Festival of Beltane (Beltain, Beltainne, Beltaine, Bealtaine, Beltany) which marks the beginning of summer in the ancient Celtic calendar is a Cross Quarter Day, half way between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice. The local Scottish American Society holds the annual Beltane Festival, essentially a Celtic cultural celebration. The Celtic year is divided by the four annual Celtic Feast Days which are celebrated on the first of the month: the November Celtic New Year of Samhain (Halloween), Imbolg which was also the Feast Day of the Celtic Goddess Brigid in February, the May Spring Festival of Beltane and the August Harvest Festival of Lughnasa.
Wetting your face with it will help you stay young.If you make protective amulets, such as coloured ribbons, or protective ropes, they will serve as a shield throughout the year. It is presided over by the May Queen, a Green Man, several Red and Blue Men, many drummers and dancing maidens.Four thousand miles from Edinburgh, the Beltane tradition also survives in New Franklin, Ohio. We have participants and audience members from all over the world and Beltane has definitely become part of Edinburgh's festival culture and a great reason to visit Scotland!As Beltane Fire Festival is a volunteer-run community event, the nature of the festival is a very much self-determining phenomenon and the event is in a constant state of evolution, with different people sharing their creativity and vision every year, shaping the performances. As the Pan-Celtic movement continues to strengthen, Beltane is experiencing resurgence.There is evidence that Beltane had its origins in rituals associated with the Pan-Celtic Solar God "Bel" and it is believed that the Druidical Orders historically played a central role.The sources agree that Beltane was universally celebrated throughout the Celtic world and was centered on the fertility of the new season: Go to the forest, prepare a tray with fruits, seeds, nuts, and leave it there to serve as food for smaller animals, as well as for the spirits of nature such as the undines, elves or salamanders.Make sure your diet does not lack honey, milk, strawberries and oats. Elements of the tradition have survived into modern times throughout the Six Nations with remnants of the ancient customs surviving into the 20th century in Ireland, Cornwall, Scotland and the Isle of Man (MacKillop). And for prevention, if you do not want to have more children, you better use good contraceptives if you want to have carnal encounters in Beltane!In the morning, go out to greet the Sun, from your window, or outdoors if possible. Beltane Fire Society is a registered charity and part of our charitable aims involves the celebration and sharing of these traditions.
Originally, it was carried out during the first blooming of the hawthorn.Thus, we could define Beltane as a ritual celebration marked for May 1st in honour of the renewal of the radiant light, the victory of the day. After April showers the land is moist and fertile for the next season. The widespread May dew custom outlasted the Beltane fire which died out in the 19th century, though 1988 saw the revival of it in Edinburgh.