I’m surprised that almost no one in my town even has a clue what Beltane is. How could this be? Beltane is a wonderful day, the beginning of summer, and a time of purification and new beginnings! Last year, I bought a new outfit of red and white, decked myself out in red and white bead jewelry, and pranced through my school happily. This year, I’m going to sleep in celebration, for the sole reason that I don’t have very much to be happy about this year.

What is everyone else doing to celebrate Beltane? Are you going to be like the Wiccans, with no real relation to the original Beltane, and more in common with the Germanic May Day? Will you stay closer to the ancient Celtic roots of Beltane and keep it real with some ritual cleansing? Are you going to have a bonfire? Two bonfires? Are you going to jump over fires, or pass between them? Pagans everywhere will be doing stuff just like this in celebration of Beltane around the world.

Beltane is a heralding of summer, the beginning of it, and a time of high hopes for a good harvest later in the year. Traditionally, the Celts would drive their cattle, and themselves, between two fires, or over one, to purify them. Beltane is a time of purification. The Germanic tradition of May Day is a similar thing, but different in its focus on fertility and customs, such as the maypole and the crowning of the May Queen.

Neopagans are showing interest in reconstructing the traditional religious rites of Beltane, and many are going back to the Celtic roots of the holiday to celebrate. Celtic Reconstructionist Pagans are doing a lot more to go back to the historically accurate traditions.

Image via Wikipedia

Wiccans seem to be keeping to their acceptance of it as a Sabbat; Beltane to the Wiccans is a cross-quarter day. For those like me who would have to look that up, I saved you the trouble. A cross-quarter day is a day that falls somewhere in the vicinity of halfway between a solstice and an equinox, which in plain English means between the times when the sun is farthest away, all the way to the north or south, and when it seems closest, when the Earth’s axis is at a pretty even keel with the line of the sun, making it appear closer.

Image via Wikipedia

The most exciting by far for Beltane observers, though, has to be the Edinburgh bonfire festival.

Image via Wikipedia

Fantastic bonfires, dancers, performers everywhere, and an exciting drama played out in a procession led by the May Queen. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beltane_Fire_Festival This Wiki on the Beltane Festival will tell you everything you’d want to know about that, and if it doesn’t, http://beltane.org/ they have a website that you can go to. Beltane.org is actually the official site of the event.

What am I doing to celebrate Beltane? I’m doing a ritual purification and a list of my goals for the coming year. What are you doing to celebrate Beltane? You’re going to have to tell me that! I’d love to hear what everyone’s doing!