Bringing in the May

It’s easy for the year to slip by without us noticing. With our electricity and air conditioning, with fresh food shipped from around the world, we’re less aware of the changing seasons.

But the Wheel of the Year still turns, with or without us, and today is May Day, when in the Northern hemisphere we welcome the first days of summer into our lives. Traditionally this was the Celtic feast of Beltane, when the gods were reputed to be in prankster mood. Dedicated to the fire god Bel, this day was a celebration of fertility. On May Eve, fires were lit to Bel, over which young people would jump. There was drinking and feasting. Unions made and babies conceived on this night were believed to be especially blessed.

On May Day itself across medieval Europe, blossoming branches were carried into the house to ‘bring in the May’ and symbolise the fertility of nature with hopes of a rich harvest to come.

Beltane is still an important and joyful festival for modern pagans and witches, with a lot of handfastings (weddings) taking place on 1st May. But generally, most of the old customs have been diluted. In some British towns and villages we still see vestiges, with Morris dancing, the occasional May Queen and dancing round the maypole. But it all seems a bit tame and touristy.

When Christianity swept through Europe, the old folk customs were put down or converted to Christian holy days. And of course Christian holy days are important. But I wish we had more of the joy and earthiness of our earlier heritage. I often think that people looking in on Christianity from the outside must think us a po-faced, rigid lot, with great emphasis on our minds and our souls, but a repudiation of the sacredness of our bodies.

And of course that’s part of the reason the Christian church has taken until now to start waking up to the environmental damage it has condoned. Historically the church has not liked the idea that our Mother the Earth should be revered, She might be too much competition for that rumbly Old Testatment God:

…let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth…

Genesis 26

Today I’m going to spend some time in my garden, meditating, touching the soil, listening to the birds and smelling the new green growth. I’m going to give thanks for the health and strength of my body, and then I’m going to bring a branch of blossoms into my home to mark May Day. And I shall be dancing – see below. What about you?

Image above by aprillynn77

Elsewhere:

Jamie at Starshyne Productions has decreed today “Shyne Like a Star Virtual Dance Party“. Join in by dancing for 15 minutes. On your own, with someone else, out of doors if you dare, or the kitchen is fine. I’m in, how about you?

What to dance to? I defy you to sit still when you listen to the driving pipes, fiddles and drums of Loreena McKennitt’s Beltane Fire Dance. Just imagine yourself dancing in a flowered meadow at dusk and jumping Bel’s fire. Go for it: