May Day, Beltain, Beltane Beltine, Beltaine, Bealtaine, Bhealtainn, Samradh, Walpurgisnacht, Walburge, Cetsamain, or Cyntefun is one of the corner days which fall between the solar festivals of the year like Candlemas, Lammas, and Samhain. Beltain was a fertility festival begun by farming communities in olden times. The awakening of the land was very important when peoples’ existence relied upon it in order to reap a good harvest in the fall. It is celebrated from sunset on April 30th to sunset on May 1st. One theory is that the festival is named after the Celtic god Bel, also known as Beli or Belinus. Beal, the Gaelic word for shining one or brilliant fives Beltane the meaning of brilliant fire.
Beltain is the opposite of Samhain. Samhain honors the beloved dead and death itself while Beltain celebrates living and life itself. Beltain marks the return of vitality and passion. Beltain celebrates the height of spring and the flowering of life. It is traditional not only to dance around a maypole and weave colored ribbons about the pole, but also to dance around, between, or leap over bonfires.
The goddess manifests as the May Queen and Flora. The god emerges as the May King. Beltain celebrates the marriage of the Goddess and the God. The goddess is thought to conceive the Divine Child at this time, to which she will give birth to at Yule. The danced maypole represents their unity with the pole itself being the god and the ribbons that encompass it, the goddess. The battle of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, held every May 1st for the goddess Creiddylad, symbolized the fight between the Oak King and the Holly King for the rule of the year.
This is a day for fertility rites, light heartened celebration, and sexual revelry. Love chases, maypole dances, and performing the Great Rite to honor the Mother are all fun activities you can participate in. Make May baskets and weave flower garlands. Choose a May Queen to represent the goddess. Wear green and crowns of flowers. Dance naked in the crops or ride a broomstick through the fields. For the fertility of the land, leave offerings for the fairies. Gather in sacred groves and pay homage to your household gods.
Children who were conceived during Beltain and born in Imbolc were considered to see and interact with fairies.
Beltain is also known as Walpurgisnacht which is a night celebrated in Germany. Like Samhain, this is a night when witches, fairies, and ghosts wander freely. The veil between the worlds is thin. It is believed that on this night, witches would fly on their brooms to the mountains where they would gather and dance around the fires all night. The Queen of the Fairies rides out on a snow white horse, looking for mortals to lure away to Fairyland for seven years. Folklore says that if you sit beneath a tree on this night, you will see her or hear the sound of her horses’ bells as she rides by. If you hide your face, she will pass you by but if you look at her, she may choose you.
From our altar to yours, with love from the sea,
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