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Beltane

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For other uses, see Beltane (disambiguation).
Beltane
Also calledLá Bealtaine, Bealltainn, Beltain, Beltaine, Boaltinn, Boaldyn, Belotenia, Gŵyl Galan Mai
Observed byGaels, Irish people, Scottish people, Manx people, Neopagans, and Welsh people
TypeReligious (Celtic polytheism, Celtic Neopaganism, Wicca) seasonal
CelebrationsTraditional first day of summer in Ireland, Scotland and Isle of Man
Datesunset 30 April – sunset of 1 May (N. Hemisphere)
sunset 31 October – sunset 1 November (S. Hemisphere)
Related toWalpurgis Night, May Day, Calan Mai

Beltane or Beltaine (/[invalid input: 'icon']ˈbɛlteɪn/) is the anglicised spelling of Old Irish  Bel(l)taine or Beltine (modern Irish Bealtaine [ˈbʲal̪ˠt̪ˠənʲə], Scottish Gaelic Bealltainn [ˈbʲal̪ˠt̪ˠənʲ]), the Gaelic name for either the month of May or the festival that takes place on the first day of May.

Bealtaine was historically a Gaelic festival celebrated in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. Bealtaine and Samhain were the leading terminal dates of the civil year in medieval Ireland, though the latter festival was the more important. The festival regained popularity during the Celtic Revival and remains observed in the Celtic Nations and the Irish diaspora.

In Irish Gaelic, the month of May is known as Mí Bhealtaine or Bealtaine, and the festival as Lá Bealtaine ('day of Bealtaine' or, 'May Day'). In Scottish Gaelic, the month is known as either (An) Cèitean or a' Mhàigh, and the festival is known as Latha Bealltainn or simply Bealltainn. The feast was also known as Céad Shamhain or Cétshamhainin from which the word Céitean derives. Beltane was formerly spelled 'Bealtuinn' in Scottish Gaelic; in Manx it is spelt 'Boaltinn' or 'Boaldyn'. In Modern Irish, Oidhche Bealtaine or Oíche Bealtaine is May Eve, and Lá Bealtaine is May Day. Mí na Bealtaine, or simply Bealtaine is the name of the month of May.

In Neopaganism, Bealtaine is considered a cross-quarter day, marking the midpoint in the Sun's progress between the spring equinox and summer solstice. The astronomical date for this midpoint is closer to 5 May or 7 May, but this can vary from year to year.[1]

History

Celtic period

According to Nora Chadwick, in Celtic Ireland "Beltine (or Beltaine) was celebrated on 1 May, a spring-time festival of optimism. Fertility ritual again was important, in part perhaps connecting with the waxing power of the sun, symbolized by the lighting of fires through which livestock were driven, and around which the people danced in a sunwise direction"[2]

In Irish mythology, the beginning of the summer season for the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Milesians started at Bealtaine. Great bonfires would mark a time of purification and transition, heralding in the season in the hope of a good harvest later in the year, and were accompanied with ritual acts to protect the people from any harm by Otherworldly spirits, such as the Aos Sí. Like the festival of Samhain, opposite Beltane on 31 October Beltane was also a time when the Otherworld was seen as particularly close at hand. Excavations at Uisnech in the 20th century provided evidence of large fires taking place. [3]

Medieval period

In medieval Ireland, the main Bealtaine fire was held on the central hill of Uisneach 'the navel of Ireland', one of the ritual centres of the country, which is located in what is now County Westmeath.[citation needed] The lighting of bonfires on Oidhche Bhealtaine seems to have survived to the present day only in County Limerick, especially in Limerick itself, as their yearly bonfire night and in County Wicklow in Arklow[citation needed], though some cultural groups have expressed an interest in reviving the custom at Uisneach and perhaps at the Hill of Tara.[4]

Beltane marked the beginning of the pastoral summer season when the herds of livestock were driven out to the summer pastures and mountain grazing lands. Due to the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, Bealltainn in Scotland was commonly celebrated on 15 May while in Ireland Sean Bhealtain / "Old May" began about the night of 11 May.[citation needed] The lighting of bonfires on Oidhche Bhealtaine ('the eve of Bealtaine') on mountains and hills of ritual and political significance was one of the main activities of the festival.[5][6] In modern Scottish Gaelic, Latha Buidhe Bealltainn or Là Buidhe Bealltainn ('the yellow day of Bealltain') is used to describe the first day of May. This term Lá Buidhe Bealtaine is also used in Irish and is translated as 'Bright May Day'. In Ireland it is referred to in a common folk tale as Luan Lae Bealtaine; the first day of the week (Monday/Luan) is added to emphasise the first day of summer.

Modern period

Edward Dwelly in Bealltuinn (1911) describes a 1 May custom of his day, practised in the Scottish Highlands, where young people met on the moors, lighted a bonfire and made an oatmeal cake toasted at the embers. The cake was divided, one of the pieces marked with charcoal, and, drawing the pieces blindfolded, the person who got the marked piece was compelled to leap over the flames three times.

In Gaelic folkore, the village's cattle were driven between two fires to purify them and bring luck (Eadar dà theine Bhealltainn in Scottish Gaelic, 'Between two fires of Beltane'). This term is also found in Irish and is used as a turn of phrase to describe a situation which is difficult to escape from. In Scotland, boughs of juniper were sometimes thrown on the fires to add an additional element of purification and blessing to the smoke. People would also pass between the two fires to purify themselves.

Another common aspect of the festival in the early 20th century in Ireland was the hanging of May Boughs on the doors and windows of houses and the erection of May Bushes in farmyards, which usually consisted either of a branch of rowan/caorthann (mountain ash) or more commonly whitethorn/sceach geal (hawthorn) which is in bloom at the time and is commonly called the 'May Bush' or just 'May' in both Ireland and Britain. Furze/aiteann was also used for the May Boughs, May Bushes and as fuel for the bonfire. The practice of decorating the May Bush or Dos Bhealtaine with flowers, ribbons, garlands and coloured egg shells exists to some extent among the Gaelic diaspora, most notably in Newfoundland, and in some Easter traditions observed on the East Coast of the United States.[5]

The festival persisted widely up until the 1950s, and in some places the celebration of Beltane continues today.[3][7][8] The town of Peebles in the Scottish Borders holds a traditional week-long event known as the 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. [9]

Brythonic culture

In Brythonic culture, i.e. in Wales, Brittany, and Cornwall, there are festivals similar to it at the same time of year such as the Padstow 'obby 'oss. In Wales, the day is known as Calan Mai.

Etymology

Since the early 20th century it has been commonly accepted that Old Irish Bel(l)taine is derived from a Common Celtic *belo-te(p)niâ, meaning "bright fire" (where the element *belo- might be cognate with the English word bale [as in 'bale-fire'] meaning 'white' or 'shining'; compare Anglo-Saxon bael, and Lithuanian/Latvian baltas/balts, found in the name of the Baltic; in Slavic languages byelo or beloye also means 'white', as in Беларусь (White Russia or Belarus) or Бе́лое мо́ре [White Sea]). A more recent etymology by Xavier Delamarre would derive it from a Common Celtic *Beltinijā, cognate with the name of the Lithuanian goddess of death Giltinė, the root of both being Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- "suffering, death".[10]

According to Dáithí Ó hÓgáin[year needed], the term Céad Shamhain or Cétshamhainin means "first half", which he links to the Gaulish word samonios (which he suggests means "half a year") as in the end of the "first half" of the year that begins at Samhain. Ó hÓgáin proposes that this term was also used in Scottish Gaelic and Welsh.[citation needed] In Ó Duinnín's Irish dictionary[year needed] it is referred to as Céadamh(ain) which it explains is short for Céad-shamh(ain) meaning "first (of) summer". The dictionary also states that Dia Céadamhan is May Day and Mí Céadamhan is May.

Toponymy

Place names in Ireland that contain remnants of the word 'Bealtaine' include a number of places called 'Beltany' – indicating places where Bealtaine festivities were once held. There are three Beltanys in County Donegal – one near Raphoe – another near Killybegs [Bealtine Bridge} and the third in the parish of Tulloghobegly. Two others are located in County Tyrone, one near Clogher and the other in the parish of Cappagh. In the parish of Kilmore, County Armagh, there is a place called Tamnaghvelton/Tamhnach Bhealtaine ('field of the Bealtaine festivities'). Lisbalting/Lios Bealtaine ('fort or enclosure of Bealtaine') is located in Kilcash Parish, County Tipperary. Glasheennabaultina ('the Bealtaine stream') is the name of a stream joining the River Galey near Athea, County Limerick.

Revival

Edinburgh festival

Beltane Fire Festival dancers, 2006

A revived Beltane Fire Festival has been held every year since 1988 during the night of 30 April on Calton Hill in Edinburgh, Scotland and attended by up to 15,000 people (except in 2003 when local council restrictions forced the organisers to hold a private event elsewhere).

Gaelic diaspora

The lighting of a community Bealtaine fire from which individual hearth fires are then relit is observed in modern times in some parts of the Gaelic diaspora, though in the majority of these cases this practice is a cultural revival rather than an unbroken survival of the ancient tradition.[5][11][12]

Neo-Paganism

Beltane is observed by Neopagans in various forms, and by a variety of names. As forms of Neopaganism can vary largely from tradition to tradition, representations can vary considerably despite the shared name. Some celebrate in a manner as close as possible to how the Ancient Celts and Living Celtic cultures have maintained the traditions, while others observe the holiday with rituals taken from numerous other unrelated sources, Celtic culture being only one of the sources used.[13][failed verification][14]

Celtic Reconstructionist

Like other Reconstructionist traditions, Celtic Reconstructionist Pagans place emphasis on historical accuracy. They base their celebrations and rituals on traditional lore from the living Celtic cultures, as well as research into the older beliefs of the polytheistic Celts.[15][failed verification]

Celtic Reconstructionists usually celebrate Lá Bealtaine when the local hawthorn trees are in bloom, or on the full moon that falls closest to this event. Many observe the traditional bonfire rites, to whatever extent this is feasible where they live, including the dousing of the household hearth flame and relighting of it from the community festival fire.[citation needed] Some decorate May Bushes and prepare traditional festival foods.[citation needed] Pilgrimages to holy wells are traditional at this time, and offerings and prayers to the spirits or deities of the wells are usually part of this practice.[citation needed] Crafts such as the making of equal-armed rowan crosses are common, and often part of rituals performed for the blessing and protection of the household and land.[15][failed verification][16][failed verification][17]

Wicca

Main article: Wheel of the Year

Wiccans and Wiccan-inspired Neopagans celebrate a variation of Beltane as a Sabbat, one of the eight solar holidays. Although the holiday may use features of the Gaelic Bealtaine, such as the bonfire, it bears more relation to the Germanic May Day festival, both in its significance (focusing on fertility) and its rituals (such as maypole dancing). Some Wiccans celebrate "High Beltaine" by enacting a ritual union of the May Lord and May Lady.[18]

Among the Wiccan Sabbats, Beltane is a cross-quarter day; it is celebrated in the northern hemisphere on 1 May and in the southern hemisphere on 1 November. Beltane follows Ostara and precedes Midsummer.[18]

See also

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Calendars

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Holidays
Other

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References

  1. ^ Dames (1992) p.214
  2. ^ Chadwick, Nora, The Celts, p. 181.
  3. ^ a b MacKillop, James (1998) A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Oxford, Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-280120-1 pp.39, 400–402, 421
  4. ^ Aideen O'Leary reports ("An Irish Apocryphal Apostle: Muirchú's Portrayal of Saint Patrick" The Harvard Theological Review 89.3 [July 1996:287–301] p. 289) that, for didactic and dramatic purposes, the festival of Beltane, as presided over by Patrick's opponent King Lóegaire mac Néill, was moved to the eve of Easter and from Uisneach to Tara by Muirchú (late seventh century) in his Vita sancti Patricii; he describes the festival as in Temora, istorium Babylone ('at Tara, their Babylon'). However there is no authentic connection of Tara with Babylon, nor any know connection of Tara with Beltane.
  5. ^ a b c Danaher, Kevin (1972) The Year in Ireland: Irish Calendar Customs Dublin, Mercier. ISBN 1-85635-093-2 pp. 86–127
  6. ^ Chadwick, Nora (1970) The Celts London, Penguin. ISBN 0-14-021211-6 p. 181
  7. ^ McNeill (1959) Vol. 2. p.63
  8. ^ Campbell, John Gregorson (1900, 1902, 2005) The Gaelic Otherworld. Edited by Ronald Black. Edinburgh, Birlinn Ltd. ISBN 1-84158-207-7 p.552–4
  9. ^ http://www.peeblesbeltanefestival.co.uk
  10. ^ Delamarre, Xavier. Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise, Editions Errance, Paris, 2003, p. 70
  11. ^ Dames, Michael (1992) Mythic Ireland. London, Thames & Hudson ISBN 0-500-27872-5. pp. 206–10
  12. ^ McNeill, F. Marian (1959) The Silver Bough, Vol. 2. William MacLellan, Glasgow ISBN 0-85335-162-7 p. 56
  13. ^ Adler, Margot (1979) Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today. Boston, Beacon Press ISBN 0-8070-3237-9. p.3
  14. ^ McColman, Carl (2003) Complete Idiot's Guide to Celtic Wisdom. Alpha Press ISBN 0-02-864417-4. p. 51
  15. ^ a b McColman (2003) pp.12, 51
  16. ^ Bonewits, Isaac (2006) Bonewits's Essential Guide to Druidism. New York, Kensington Publishing Group ISBN 0-8065-2710-2. pp. 130 7
  17. ^ Healy, Elizabeth (2001) In Search of Ireland's Holy Wells. Dublin, Wolfhound Press ISBN 0-86327-865-5 p.27
  18. ^ a b Starhawk (1979, 1989) The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess. New York, Harper and Row ISBN 0-06-250814-8 pp. 181 196 (revised edition)

Further reading

  • Carmichael, Alexander (1992). Carmina Gadelica. Lindisfarne Press. ISBN 0-940262-50-9
  • Chadwick, Nora (1970) The Celts. London, Penguin ISBN 0-14-021211-6
  • Danaher, Kevin (1972) The Year in Ireland. Dublin, Mercier ISBN 1-85635-093-2
  • Evans-Wentz, W. Y. (1966, 1990) The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries. New York, Citadel ISBN 0-8065-1160-5
  • MacKillop, James (1998). Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-280120-1
  • 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.

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