5/1/2007 - Beltane
Well today is Beltane, commonly known as May Day, and one of the Important Celtic festivals. It is a fertility festival, which celebrates the comming of spring and the brith of things, and emerging from the darkness and hibernation of Winter, into the light, and life again. It was traditionaly on Beltane that weddings would be held in the Celtic tradidtion.
Traidionaly in celebration of Beltane a sacred bonfire would be contructed.
Beltane Fires
Traditionally, sacred woods kindled by spark from flint or by friction -- in Irish Gaelic, the Beltane Fire has been called teine eigin (fire from rubbing sticks). * Jump over the Beltane Fire, move through it, or dance clockwise around it. * Livestock was driven through it or between two fires for purification and fertility blessings. * In ancient times Druid priests kindled it at sacred places; later times, Christian priests kindled it in fields near the church after peforming a Christian church service. * Rowan twigs were carried around the fire three times, then hung over hearths to bless homes. * In the past, Beltane community fire purification customs included symbolic sacrifice of effigy knobs on the Beltane Cake (of barley) to the fire, or, in medieval times, mock sacrifice of Beltane Carline (Hag) who received blackened piece of Beltane Cake; Maypoles in Spain were each topped with a male effigy which was later burned. Contemporary Pagans burn sacred wood and dried herbs as offerings in their Beltane fires.
Another part of the Beltane festival is the May Pole
May Pole dancing is a form of folk dance from western Europe, especially England, Sweden and Germany, with two distinctive traditions. In the most widespread, dancers perform circle dances around a tall pole which is decorated with garlands, painted stripes, flowers, flags and other emblems. In the second, dancers dance in a circle each holding a coloured ribbon attached to a much smaller pole; the ribbons are intertwined and plaited either on to the pole itself or into a web around the pole. The dancers may then retrace their steps exactly in order to unravel the ribbons.
The first kind of maypole dancing is probably extremely ancient and is thought by some to have Germanic pagan fertility symbolism, although there is a lack of evidence to support this conjecture. It is traditionally performed in the spring around the festival of May Day, but in Sweden it is during the midsummer festivities.
The second kind of maypole dancing originates in the 18th century, derived from traditional and 'art' dance forms popular in Italy and France. These were exported to the London stage and reached a large audience, becoming part of the popular performance repertoire. Adopted at a large teacher training institution, the ribbon maypole dance then spread across most of central and southern England and is now regarded as the most 'traditional' of May Day's traditional characteristics.
According to the book, The Two Babylons, the origin of the maypole dance began in ancient Bablyon during sex worship and fertility rites. A carved upright representation of the human penis was danced around by young females and woven with ribbons to insure offspring.
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