Beltane

What is Beltane?

Bealtaine (pronounced bee-awl-tin-uh) is still the Irish word for May. The festival begins on the evening of April 30, and in early Ireland it marked the moment the herds were driven out to summer pasture. Great fires were lit, and cattle were walked between two fires to protect them for the season ahead.

It is a festival of fire, growth and life at full strength: blossom on the hawthorn, long evenings returning, and everything turning green at once.

Bealtaine in Ireland

The Hill of Uisneach in County Westmeath, long held to be the centre of Ireland, is linked in legend with the first Bealtaine fire. A fire festival is held there again today.

In homes and villages, a May bush was decorated with ribbons, flowers and eggshells, and people washed their faces in the morning dew on May Day for beauty and good health.

Ways to mark Beltane at home

• Wash your face in the May dew

  Step out early on May 1 and try the old custom.

• Make a May bush

  A branch in a jar, tied with ribbons and flowers, by the door.

• Gather around a fire

  A fire pit, a bonfire or a table of candles, as long as there are friends around it.

• Start something

  Beltane’s energy suits beginnings: a project, a garden bed, a plan.