Posted
May 1, 2015
I
have written before about Walpurgis
Night
and
May
Day,
and about other assorted Maytime holidays. This is just one more
version of celebrating spring,
May
1 is about halfway between the Spring Equinox and the Summer
Solstice. You've heard of “Midsummer,” right? Well, today is
sorta “Midspring.”
In
the olden days in Ireland, Beltane was the beginning of summer, the
date when cattle were driven out to their summer pastures. In order
to try to protect the cattle, magical rituals were held: bonfires
were started, and people would lead their cattle around the bonfire
or between two bonfires. Sometimes people and cattle would jump over
flames or embers...and I don't think that cattle are very good at
jumping high, so this sounds pretty scary! |
| Instead of a mere bonfire, some communities hold fire festivals! |
 |
| Clooties surrounding a holy well |
Other
Beltane customs are decorating doors, windows, and cattle with bright
yellow flowers, and decorating a May Bush with flowers, ribbons, and
shells. People would sometimes drink the dew in the morning, because
“Beltane dew” was supposed to bring beauty.
Some people visit "holy" wells and tie clooties (strips of cloth) to trees, bushes, or ropes surrounding the well.
 |
| A Beltane bush |
Most
of these Beltane customs had died out in the 1900s, but some Celtic
peoples – and others – have rekindled the customs as fun cultural
activities.
By
the way...
In
case you are confused about the words “Celtic” and “Gaelic,”
here is a primer:
The
Celts were a people who dominated the regions of western and central
Europe during ancient times.
 |
| Celtic knotwork decorating a Celtic cross, above, and a Celtic harp, below. |
Celtic
is the name of a family of languages spoken by the Celts, including
Gaelic, Welsh, and Breton. These languages have evolved, of course,
but are still spoken in parts of Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and
Brittany (a region in northwestern France). This word is also used
as an adjective to describe cultural objects from these regions, such
as the Celtic cross, the Celtic harp, Celtic names, and Celtic knotwork.
The
Gaels were people who lived in northwestern Europe. They are a
sub-group of the Celts.
Gaelic
is the name of the language group that evolved in what is now Ireland
and Scotland. Another name for Gaelic is “Irish,” but two related
languages are Scottish Gaelic and Manx (the language spoken by the
people living on the Isle of Man). Again, these languages are a
sub-group of the Celtic languages.
To
a huge extent, English (which is a Germanic language) has taken over
in all of these regions: Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man.
However, Ireland has tried to maintain its people's fluency in Gaelic
by making both Gaelic and English official languages. Both languages
appear on street signs, for example.
In
other words, all Gaels are Celts, but not all Celts are Gaels, and
all Gaelic languages are in the Celtic family, but not all Celtic
languages are in the Gaelic group.
Also
on this date:
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ahead:
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