Beltane (May Day)

To the ancient Celts, today is the first day of Summer. They rightly called June 21 Midsummer. It was a time for celebration as the earth softened under the longer hours of sunlight. Celtic days were measured from sunset to sunset, so the celebrations actually started on Beltane Eve (this is also the reason for Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Eve"). People would gather from across the land, bringing flowers and food. Every fire in every household would be extinguished. Two great bonfires would then be started with the wood from nine kinds of trees. Throughout the night, there would be music and song and people dancing. Leaping over the fire was considered to bring good luck to your crops as the height of your leap would equal the height of your harvest. In the morning, as the fires died down, each family would carry some embers back to their own hearth to start a fire. The people would walk from house to house led by the May Queen and her consort, The Green Man (the old god of wildwood). They were in a cart covered with flowers sitting in a leafy arbor. Their unity represented the sacred marriage of earth and sun. A Maypole would be erected in the village commmons and the celebration would continue throughout the day.