lighting bonfires, decorating homes with May flowers, making May bushes, visiting holy wells, feasting
Date
1 May[4] (or 1 November for Neopagans in the Southern Hemisphere)
Frequency
annual
Related to
May Day, Calan Mai, Walpurgis Night
Beltane or Bealtaine (/ˈbɛl.teɪn/; Irish pronunciation:[ˈbʲal̪ˠt̪ˠəʲnə], approximately /ˈb(j)ɒltɪnə/B(Y)OL-tin-ə)[5][6] 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 Bealtaine ([l̪ˠaːˈbʲal̪ˠt̪ˠənʲə]). In Scottish Gaelic it is called Latha Bealltainn ([l̪ˠaːˈpjaul̪ˠt̪ɪɲ]), and in Manx Gaelic Laa Boaltinn/Boaldyn. Beltane is one of the four main Gaelic seasonal festivals—along with Samhain, Imbolc, and Lughnasadh—and is similar to the Welsh Calan Mai.
Beltane is mentioned in the earliest Irish literature and is associated with important events in Irish mythology. Also known as Cétshamhain ('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 re-lit from the Beltane bonfire. These gatherings would be accompanied by a feast, and some of the food and drink would be offered to the aos sí. Doors, windows, byres and livestock would be decorated with yellow May flowers, perhaps because they evoked fire. In parts of Ireland, people would make 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.
^Celtic myths and legends by Charles Squire ISBN 1-84204-015-4
^"Beltane – The Fire Festival". Newgrange. Archived from the original on 30 April 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
^Chadwick, Nora (1970) The Celts London, Penguin. ISBN 0-14-021211-6 p. 181
^"Origins of Bealtaine festival". Irish Independent. 24 April 2013. Archived from the original on 30 April 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
^"Beltane". Dictionary.com. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
^"Beltane". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
Beltane or Bealtaine (/ˈbɛl.teɪn/; Irish pronunciation: [ˈbʲal̪ˠt̪ˠəʲnə], approximately /ˈb(j)ɒltɪnə/ B(Y)OL-tin-ə) is the Gaelic May Day festival, marking...
Beltane Fire Festival is an annual participatory arts event and ritual, held on 30 April on Calton Hill in Edinburgh. The modern Beltane Fire Festival...
include Walpurgis Night in central and northern Europe, the Gaelic festival Beltane, the Welsh festival Calan Mai, and May devotions to the Blessed Virgin...
midpoints between them. The four Celtic festivals were known to the Gaels as Beltane (1 May), Lughnasadh (1 August), Samhain (1 November), and Imbolc (1 February)...
"Ancient Pines" – 3:35 "Huron 'Beltane' Fire Dance" takes its inspiration, in part, from Huron festivities and the Gaelic Beltane celebrations. "Breaking the...
people to attend an annual event in celebration of the Gaelic festival of Beltane. Extensive quarrying has impacted much of the monument's setting to the...
Beltane Fire Society is a charity run by a board of volunteers, who oversee the year-round operation of the organisation responsible for the Beltane Fire...
thousands of people from all over the world. On the night of 30 April the Beltane Fire Festival takes place on Calton Hill, involving a procession followed...
also involved lighting bonfires at night, for example the Gaelic festival Beltane. Local variants of Walpurgis Night are observed throughout Northern and...
(as described in Acts 2). In England it took on some characteristics of Beltane, which originated from the pagan celebration of Summer's Day, the beginning...
eve of the first day of summer in the Northern hemisphere (see May 1): Beltane begins at sunset in the Northern hemisphere, Samhain begins at sunset in...
Man. Imbolc is one of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals, along with: Beltane, Lughnasadh and Samhain. Imbolc is mentioned in early Irish literature...
festival in Peebles is called the Beltane, and involves (as with many Borders festivals) a Common Riding. The Beltane, proclaimed at the cross, culminates...
Scotland. Also in Ireland and Scotland, bonfires were lit for the festivals Beltane and Samhain, and 18th–19th century accounts suggest the fires, smoke and...
June, July and August. By the Irish calendar, summer begins on 1 May (Beltane) and ends on 31 July (Lughnasadh).[citation needed] Days continue to lengthen...
believed in an Otherworld. Their four yearly festivals – Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane and Lughnasa – continued to be celebrated into modern times. The Gaels...
of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals, along with Samhain, Imbolc and Beltane. It corresponds to the Welsh Gŵyl Awst and the English Lammas. Lughnasadh...
Hofbräuhaus brewery at Oktoberfest Germany (2013) Seasonal festivals, such as Beltane, are determined by the solar and the lunar calendars and by the cycle of...
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