Beltane

Beltane

"Unite, unite, let us all unite,
For Summer is a come unto day
And whether we are going we will all unite
On the merry morning of May."
    ___"Padstow Night Song", traditional Cornish song


     At twilight this evening, May Eve, the great festival of Beltane begins, a great communal celebration that excludes no one from its embrace. Ancient Celtic celebrations involved the kindling of bonfires at this time - indeed, the name of the festival derives from 'bright fire.' The Beltane fire itself was kindled in a special way: evidence from nineteenth-century Scotland reveals that the wood had to be of nine different kinds, that it had to be gathered by men with no metal about their persons (metal being inmical to the faeryland), and that it had to be kindled without metal. The ancient method of fire-raising involved a fire spindle and a small piece of wood to create friction or by the rubbing  together of two oak poles. This arduous task was traditionally performed by nine teams of nine married men - eighty-one firstborn sons.
     Once the fire had been kindled, people danced sunwise round it and jumped through the flames. As the fire was dying down, the animals that had wintered over in barns and local pastures were driven on their way up to summer grazing, between the parted fire to ensure their fertility. Before the coals died out, people took fire from the ceremonial blaze to rekindle their hearths (which has been extinguished in every household prior to the festival). 

"Welcome in the May by making your own fire or lighting a candle and singing May-time songs. Honor the coming of summer in your own way. Rise before dawn and wash your face in the dew tomorrow morning to receive the blessing of Beltane. If you have a partner, this is the best time for sexual fun and frolic."
[From: The Celtic Spirit by Caitlin Matthews]