Beltane
Also known as Beltain, Bealtaine, Beltein
Beltane ( ) or Bealtaine () is the Gaelic May Day festival, marking the beginning of summer. It is traditionally held on 1 May, or about midway between the spring equinox and summer solstice.
Key facts
- Holiday.holiday_name
- Beltane
- Holiday.type
- Pagan
- Holiday.longtype
- Cultural,Pagan (Celtic neopaganism, Wicca)
- Holiday.nickname
- Beltain; Beltine; Beltany
- Holiday.observedby
- Historically: GaelsToday: Irish people, Scottish people, Manx people, Modern Pagans
- Holiday.significance
- Beginning of summer
- Holiday.date
- 1 May(or 1 November for Neopagans in the Southern Hemisphere)
- Holiday.celebrations
- lighting bonfires, decorating homes with May flowers, making May bushes, visiting holy wells, feasting
- Holiday.relatedto
- May Day, , Walpurgis Night
- Holiday.frequency
- annual
- Holiday.duration
- 1 day
- Holiday.alt
Article
18 sectionsContents
- Name
- Etymology
- Toponymy
- Historical customs
- Ancient and medieval
- Bonfires
- Flowers and May Bushes
- Warding-off harmful spirits
- Beltane blessings
- Other customs
- Revival
- Neopaganism
- Celtic Reconstructionist
- Wicca
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Beltane ( ) or Bealtaine () is the Gaelic May Day festival, marking the beginning of summer. It is traditionally held on 1 May, or about midway between the spring equinox and summer solstice.
Historically, it was widely observed in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. In Ireland, the name for the festival in both Irish and English is (). In Scottish Gaelic it is called (), and in Manx Gaelic or . It is one of the four main Gaelic seasonal festivals—along with Samhain, Imbolc, and Lughnasadh—and is similar to the Welsh .