Bealtaine: Time of Warmth and Growth

(Left, solar deity with sunrays emitting from his head, similar to a description of Belenus in a find at Nimes, France, of an old man decorated with star-like symbols.)

By Francine Nicholson

Like many of their Indo-European cousins, the ancient Celts thought that the main components of the world, as they knew it, corresponded to the main parts of human beings. In fact, they believed that the power of each cosmic element was used when a human being was born, and the powers returned to their respective sources when a human being died. In this way of thinking, the sun (sometimes coupled with the moon) corresponded to the eyes of a human. Thus, the sun was thought to be the ultimate origin of the light that shone in our eyes and enabled us to see, as well as the light that illuminated the world around us. For the ancient Celts, the sun was also a source of heat, especially the warmth that enabled crops to grow and young animals to increase in strength and size. Warmth also was good for humans, healing ills associated with cold and damp, and making it easier to feel wonderful about life, whether or not there was enough to eat. For the sun grew brightest at the time of year just before the harvest, a time when the medieval Irish spoke of "hungry" months and based their diet on the milk of sheep and cows made into soft cheese and butter, supplemented by tender young herbs and early fruits and berries.

The Evidence for Bealtaine

Most of the evidence of how Bealtaine was celebrated in Celtic countries derives from folklore collected during the last two hundred years. Much Irish data now lies in the archives of the National University, Dublin, but most of it still awaits collation and presentation for use by others. In The Year in Ireland, Kevin Danaher presents many customs for Ireland and equivalent sources exist for Welsh celebrations. Alexander Carmichael collected some material on Bealtaine in the Highlands for his Carmina Gadelica; his study, though far from exhaustive, preserved several blessings and some vivid images of an entire Highland community taking the flocks up to summer pasture at Bealtaine. Until wide-ranging analysis and collation takes place, suggestions about the original rituals can only be preliminary hypotheses, suggestions for further study.

This essay presents the customs as we know them from the folklore archives and some suggestions of the original meaning, context, and actions that lay behind the more recent activities.

The Names of Bealtaine

In Ireland and Scotland, the beginning of summer was known as Bealtaine, meaning "fire of Bel." This was probably a reference to the Celtic solar god, Belenos, who was venerated throughout Europe. As described later in this essay, several Bealtaine customs involved fire as a regenerative and healing force. In Ireland, Bealtaine was also known as Cétsamon, "beginning of summer." The Manx name, Boaldyn, is a variation on Bealtaine Later, the English phrase, "May Day" was widely adopted. The Welsh names for the feast-- Calan Mai and Calan Haf—mean May Day and Beginning of Summer, respectively. Similar to the Welsh is the Cornish Calá M (first of May). The Breton Kala Hañv (summer convocation) suggests that large gatherings once marked the feast.

Bealtaine in the Ancient Celtic Calendar

Today we speak of Bealtaine as occurring on 1 May, but it was not always so. The ancient Celts had their own calendar of which we find a hint on bronze tablets dating to the period of Roman occupation and found at Coligny in France (Burgundy) in 1897. The plates show a lunar calendar of twelve months, each consisting of 29 or 30 days. To bring this calendar into line with the movements of the sun, an extra month was inserted each third year. Months were marked either mat (good or auspicious) or anm (for anmat, inauspicious). Each month was split in two, perhaps according to the waxing and waning of the moon.

The ancient Celtic year was thought of in two halves: gam (cold, winter) and samon (warm, summer), which also corresponded to dark and light, rest and work, female and male. (Paterson, p. 117) Winter was associated with death, but it was also the time of rest and regeneration necessary for rebirth. (Rees & Rees, 85-89) Bealtaine began samon, the light side of the year (the dark half, gam, began at Samhain, six months before Bealtaine). Today, some rural residents of Ireland speak of "May Day" as the beginning of the year because it marked the time of serious sowing of the major crop, the potato. But in ritual terms, the ancient Celtic calendar began with the dark part, at Samhain, just as the Celtic day began at sundown.

Within the major divisions of dark and light, the ancient Celtic year was divided into four seasons—winter, spring, summer, and harvest—based on the needs of a herding and farming culture rather than the position of the sun. Each season began with a festival: Samhain (1 November), Imbolc (1 February), Beltaine (1 May), and Lughnasa (1 August).

The major feasts—Samhain, Imbolc, Bealtaine, and Lughnasa—may originally have been movable feasts, with the exact day of celebration based on some variable in the environment and calculations not known to us. Pliny noted that the Celts began their months on the sixth of the moon (Mac Neill, p. 276) which suggests that the Celtic feasts would have originally been considered movable in terms of the fixed, solar-based Julian calendar imposed by the Romans. Séamas Ó Catháin has suggested that the dates of Bealtaine and Samhain in Ireland were once determined by the position in the night sky of the stars known to us as the Pleiades. However, with the adoption of the Julian calendar and the later Gregorian calendar, the Celtic feasts were stabilized, at least nominally, at the so-called quarter-days. In practical fact, MacNeill notes that in more modern times, the feasts tended to be celebrated on the Sunday closest to the quarter-day.

The Social Roles of the Quarter-Days and Seasons

Specific agrarian tasks and special customs were associated with each feast. In the Christian period, the feasts were reassigned to church festivals and various saints became the focus of the rituals. Recent folklore studies have shown how much of the ancient practices survived well into this century, especially in rural areas. What Nerys Patterson notes about early medieval Ireland also applies to other Celtic areas in northern Europe:

"underlying the social organization of time lay the cyclical rhythms of the animals that sustained human life. Of these the sheep seem to have played the leading role because of the narrow time-frame and inflexibility of two of its basic biorhythms, namely upland migration in spring and ovulation shortly after midsummer." (Patterson, 147)

Lambs were born around the time of Imbolc. At the same time, farmers began to work the land in preparation for planting, or, in some areas, actually began planting some crops. Beltaine took place just after (1May) the major crop—grain in ancient times, potato in most recent eras—had been planted and there was a need to get the sheep and cattle away from the newly growing crops. The animals were moved to upland pastures, exploiting the sheep’s natural tendency to do so, and using the rougher vegetation of the hills and mountains to feed the flocks and herds. This migration often entailed a separation of the household members, with unmarried women and older children accompanying the animals for the summer, not to return until after the harvest. In some cases, the women may have returned at Lughnasa, to bring in the flax crop (considered women’s work) and help with other harvesting and food storage tasks.

Ewes were separated from lambs at midsummer to coincide with ovulation and encourage readiness to breed. Near Lughnasa (1 August), ewes and rams were reunited to breed a new generation of lambs. Lughnasa also marked the beginning of harvest.

By Samhain, harvest was complete; any grain and vegetables still left in the fields were abandoned as what was due to the spirits of the land and nature. Hunting ceased and, in medieval times, warriors stopped their raiding and warring until spring. Soldiers who did not have homes of their own were quartered among the people for the winter or traveled with their lord from one house to another. The women and children who had been tending the flocks returned home so that households were reunited before winter set in. With them, flocks and herds had returned from the upper pastures, and surplus male animals were killed and butchered. Some animals were delivered as tribute or rent to the noble who was the household’s protector and/or landlord. Samhain was a time to feast on the harvest plenty, but it was also a time of supernatural instability. When one year ended and another began, the boundaries between the worlds thinned and blended, and inhabitants from each world crossed back and forth, sometimes unintentionally.

Celtic society was organized as a system of clients—landed farmers—who depended on more powerful, wealthier lords for protection from enemies and sustenance in times of great need. In turn, , generally during the summer. Bealtaine was a very important feast for agricultural purposes, the time of growth, but it also marked the time when clients owed half the year’s rents and tributes clients to their lords. While the Samhain rent consisted mostly of animals, the Bealtaine rent was milk products: new soft cheeses and butter, the food often called "white meat" or "summer food" to distinguish it from the animal meat more readily available just after harvest.

When called by their lords, the clients were obliged to participate in raids, hostings, and battles that generally began around Bealtaine. Hunting, often closely associated with warriorship, also took place mostly during the summer. Any troops that had been quartered among the people during the winter were expected to make their own way on hunting or on the foodstuffs the lord received at this time.

At Bealtaine, those who needed work and shelter found new employers. Temporary marriages contracted the previous year at Lughnasa could be ended at Bealtaine. The woman would be paid a flat rate for each month she had spent with the man; then she was free to seek employment caring for herds in the upper pastures for the summer.

Bealtaine in Ritual and Custom

The rituals at each quarter day were intended to ensure the success of the human and agricultural activities that would occur during the coming season. Though the quarter-days became associated with saints, as Patterson notes,

"The Church could not totally efface the indigenous social calendar because this was linked to important agricultural practices…. The year’s round of human activities followed the overlapping cycles of growth in several living resources—grain, vegetables, fruit, flax, nuts, cattle, sheep, pigs, game, and bees, to name only the most important." (Patterson, 120)

Nevertheless, the folk customs do not represent the complete repertoire of rituals known to the pre-Christian Celts. As Alwyn and Brinley Rees write,

"The folk customs observed at Bealtaine, Samhain, and Lughnasad are thus popular versions of a solemn ritual which was fundamental to the well-being of the community and which formerly required the participation of king, officials of the court, and all classes."

By contrast, the folk rituals, as Maire MacNeill observed,

"which have survived in connexion with Samhain, St. Brigid’s Feast, and Bealtaine are of a kind which can be performed in or near the dwelling-place. The social unit taking part is the household or, at most, the youth of a townland."

Though Mac Neill may have overstated the case a bit (after all, Carmichael and others have described numerous Bealtaine customs that involved the entire community), the folk rituals do have a "local" focus that probably was not as characteristic when there was a pagan priestly order to conduct large, complex rituals for the entire tribe.

Still, the purpose of the rituals has not changed much over the years. At Bealtaine, the rituals were intended to:

• >Ensure the health and growth of humans, animals, and crops
• Protect all from any attempts, natural and supernatural, to injure one’s prosperity in the coming quarter
• Celebrate together before those in the community or kin group separated for the summer

Activities and customs associated with all these concerns survived into the Christian period in Celtic countries, although the name "Bealtaine" became "May Day" or its equivalent in many areas. Some customs were dispersed to saints’ days that were celebrated close to 1 May. Other customs—especially the lighting of bonfires—became more identified with Midsummer’s Eve. Although some differences evolved, well into the modern period a remarkable consistency prevailed. The chief customs are summarized below. For details see other essays on this site.

Deck the Houses!

Celebrations of the new growth were marked by decking the outside of homes with flowers or newly-leafed branches. The type of branch or flower varied from place to place. While some regions preferred to use tree branches, others focused on gathering yellow flowers. Indeed, the color yellow—the color of the sun—was especially associated with Bealtaine.

Build the Fire and Share It

A community fire was ritually kindled and used to bless the animals. The fire was then distributed to the homes to re-light the hearths which, for one of the few times in the year, were intentionally allowed to go dark. The kindling customs contain traces that suggest that the sacrifice of people and/or animals was originally part of the Bealtaine rituals.

Protect the Animals

Two fires were ritually kindled and animals were driven along the path between them Although this must have frightened the animals, it was believed that the power of the fire would protect them from harm and disease.

Family Only Allowed

Avoidance of strangers and refusal of requests to share from neighbors were a hallmark of Bealtaine. Although the Celtic community ethic was usually one of generosity and hospitality, on Bealtaine to share was to risk having one’s share of prosperity stolen by an unscrupulous neighbor or Otherworld being. In general, Bealtaine was a time to guard one’s luck and belongings against magical theft.

Omens of the Quarter

In general, it was thought that the fortunes of May Eve and May Day were good indicators for the coming quarter. Generally, this was determined by simple observation, but taking omens for the coming quarter was a Bealtaine custom, too. Like the other feasts, Bealtaine was a border in the fabric of time, a place where the edges gave way and let powerful forces seep through. While it made Bealtaine a time to be careful about assault by Otherworldly powers or by a human attempting to wield them, it also made Bealtaine a good time to seek knowledge from the Otherworld.

Power of Spring and Dew

All the earth was thought to be charged with new power at Bealtaine. The first water to be taken from the well or spring on Bealtaine morning after sunrise was thought to have healing and protecting properties. Equally, if someone else stole some water from your well before you did, they were thought to have the power to steal your luck and good fortune. The dew on the grass at Bealtaine was also thought to be particularly powerful. In Nova Scotia, snow from mountain tops was believed to restore a youthful complexion.

New Beginnings

In the Irish myth called the Book of Invasions, three groups of people are said to have first landed in Ireland on Bealtaine. Similarly, Bealtaine was a time to pay rents or change dwelling, and to find new employment for the summer. Temporary marriages ended at Bealtaine, too, enabling the partners to forge new relationships.

The Lusty Month of May

Much of ancient Celtic magic was sympathetic, meaning that actions were performed to simulate the desired result. May was the time to encourage the untamed forces of nature to expand their power and cause crops, animals, and people to grow and reproduce abundantly. Couplings among unmarried partners, often outdoors or in wooded areas, was one way to encourage this result, but it was considered unlucky to marry at this time of disorder.

Transhumance aka Booleying

Bealtaine was the time when the herds and flocks were taken to the upper pastures. Usually, a special communal meal and gathering for blessing preceded the kin group’s traveling together to the upper pastures. Once the children and younger women had been settled in the houses, the older women and men returned to the lower pastures to run the household and farm the crops. Throughout the summer, young men might take the advantage to court their favorites up on the hills, in preparation for the wintertime marriage season.

Bealtaine Reconstructed

Underlying the ancient Celtic worldview was an assumption that we moderns are only beginning to acknowledge: the ability of this world to sustain life is limited. Because the daily lives of the ancient and medieval Celts were more directly and obviously affected by natural cycles, they were more aware of a basic fact: it is necessary for some inhabitants of this world to die and return their energy to the source so that others will be able to survive on this world's limited resources.

Usually, Samhain is the time when modern Celtic pagans stop to evaluate our lives, discard what no longer works, and bring closure to the losses we have experienced. Bealtaine is usually when we focus on the new, the fresh, the energetic, the pleasurable. However, new crops grow best when the land is first cleared of the dead vegetation from previous seasons. Indeed, the essential imagery of Bealtaine and its place in the ancient Celtic calendar both acknowledge that winter must precede summer, dark comes before light, cold before warmth, night before day, death before growth. The hearth fires, the ever-burning heart and pulse of traditional Celtic homes, were uniformly extinguished before Bealtaine began at sundown. Time was taken to mark the passing of the old in place of which the new was about to begin, or, as one pop song puts it, "Every new beginning is some other beginning’s end."

Not everything or everyone survives the winter, and a fit way to prepare for the celebrations of Bealtaine may be to pause, evaluate our lives, identify the "dead wood" that keeps us from growing, and attempt to clear it. Then, in the darkness we can come together to kindle the fire, the light, the warmth that will energize and empower both the earth and us to grow under the gaze and protection of the Shining One.

Sources /Further Reading

Alexander Carmichael, ed., Carmina Gadelica: Hymns & Incantations, Lindisfarne Books: 1992; ISBN: 0940262509

Kevin Danaher, In Ireland Long Ago, Irish Amer Book Co: 1997; ISBN: 0-8534-2781-X

Kevin Danaher, The Year in Ireland: Irish Calendar Customs, Irish Books & Media: 1972; ISBN: 0-9377-0213-7

Henry H. Glassie; Passing the Time in Ballymenone: Culture and History of an Ulster Community, Indiana Univ Pr: 1995; ISBN: 0253209870

Noragh Jones, Power of Raven, Wisdom of Serpent, Floris Books, 1995; ISBN 0-9402-6266-5

James Mac Killop, Dictionary of Celtic Mythology, Oxford Univ Pr: 1998; ISBN: 0-1986-9157-2

Máire Mac Neill, Festival at Lughnasa, Oxford Univ. Press, 1962

Bernhard Maier, Dictionary of Celtic Religion and Culture, Boydell & Brewer: 1998; ISBN: 0851156606

Séamas Ó Catháin, The Festival of Brigit, DBA Publications, 1995; ISBN 0-9519-6922-6

Nerys Paterson, Cattle Lords and Clansmen, Univ. Notre Dame Press, 1994; ISBN: 0-2680-0800-0

Alwyn & Brinley Rees, Celtic Heritage, Thames & Hudson: 1989; ISBN: 0500270392

This article in the Celtic Well E-Journal is © Copyright 1999 by Francine Nicholson. Sections may be freely quoted, provided the author is properly cited with the URL and the words"electronic version." You may link to this site, but please do not copy this web page and its dependent web pages without contacting one of the Celtic Well List moderators.