About Beltane

With Beltane coming up, I thought I'd offer a little information about it!

- "Beltane" began as a Celebration of the Irish and Scottish people of the the return of their sun god, "Belenus." That is why it marks the beginning of summer on the Wheel of the Year

-Modern Beltane is held on May 1st every year

- Originally, it was held around the time the Hawthorn trees bloomed

- Hawthorn trees, and therefore their flowers, called MAY FLOWERS, are sacred too Beltane

- The Hawthorn trees were believed to promote love.

- May flowers were also called "Bachelor's Buttons" because unmarried men would wear them as a boutaineer to show they were single, and ready to either go "a-maying" (one night stands on May Day aka Beltane) or get married

- Beltane was a time to celebrate fertility, leading it to be a popular time for sexuality and marriage

- The "May Queen" was the the most beautiful young, unmarried woman. The "May King" was the most handsome, unmarried Man. They wore crowns of flowers on their heads, and were treated like a goddess and a god for one day, as they represented the rites of fertility (It was not necessary for them to have sex, although they represented fertility)

- The fires at night represented the ongoing light of the sun, to celebrate Belenus's return.

- The dancing and singing around the fire and the maypole (which was traditionally made of Hawthorn wood) were to celebrate the return of the god Belenus.