Beltane?

[Malflick]

So, I've done a pretty good job understanding Pagan holidays so far with my girlfriend, but Beltane is coming up, and all the research I've done on it has left me... Confused? There seem to be a lot conflicting views on how to celebrate the holiday, not to mention a bunch of things which I'm not sure if they are media inventions.

What do Beltane celebrations usually consist of for you guys?

[Maria de Luna]

Re: Beltane?

The only public one I have been to consisted of may-day celebration stuff, which may or may not be left over pagan tradition. The bonfires were important on this day, the cross quarter days were big on the large fires, there was (or is, I don't have a great historic background here.) alot of thought regarding fertility on this day. It is a mid-spring celebration, so it is the height of rebirth and young life, and there seems to be an emphasis on youth this day. Symbolise today with flowers and colors and new life, (not totally new, the sprouts are getting bigger and planting outside is something that should have been done by this time depending on where in the world you are.)

Personally I feel like whatever nature is or should be doing in my area is what I should be celebrating, and I sort of go from there, I celebrate pretty much alone, but my very favorite things to do are cook and bake on days like this, (I know this is not the same for everyone.) But eating with seasonal food is great this time of year because so much of the lovely stuff is starting to come in, and while it is a little early for some of it, it is usually really good cooked when it is under ripe. Think fried green tomatoes, or just regular ripe tomatoes if your tomatos are growing properly, (mine never are...) Make the season work for you, if you can, beltaine is an absolutely excellant time to shop for locval produce, try out farmers markets, be outside and roll around in the grass, (beware of doggie presents if you do!) That's what I get from this celebration, it may be different for others though.

[Louisvillian]

Re: Beltane?

So, I've done a pretty good job understanding Pagan holidays so far with my girlfriend, but Beltane is coming up, and all the research I've done on it has left me... Confused? There seem to be a lot conflicting views on how to celebrate the holiday, not to mention a bunch of things which I'm not sure if they are media inventions.

It depends on if you mean the cultural celebration or the modern Pagan celebration. Though related, they are somewhat different. May Day festivals generally celebrate the beginning of summer, the start of the growing season, and have a lot of mythological events associated with them. This holds true in Germanic as well as Celtic cultures, though it is seen less in Mediterranean ones. In Irish and Scottish folklore, particularly, there is an emphasis on great bonfires and various rituals taking place around them. Many of which are very transparent survivals of pre-Christian cultural customs, though some are of a more ambiguous origin.
But, by the 20th century, Beltane celebrations had almost died out, probably as a side-effect of modernisation. It was a rustic festival, and with the coming of the Industrial Age, such things lost their meaning and significance. Beltane and other cultural festivities were latched onto by the Celtic Revival around the same era, which reacted to modernity with deep Romanticism. Along with it came the Neopagan movement and Wicca, both of which were heavily influenced by the Celtic cultural revival. They appropriated Beltane and the other Celtic festivals, merging them with a Frazerian narrative of the archetypal God and Goddess. Wicca particularly introduced strong fertility and sexuality themes and the May Pole ornament--both of which are more strongly associated with Germanic May Day celebrations, which is more about the bloom of spring than the beginning of summer.
It has since become a core celebration in Celtic, eclectic, and Wiccan expressions of modern Paganism, and the most overt fertility festival of the main eight. As such, Beltane is the holiday most strongly associated with sex and sexuality.

[Malflick]

Re: Beltane?

It depends on if you mean the cultural celebration or the modern Pagan celebration. Though related, they are somewhat different. May Day festivals generally celebrate the beginning of summer, the start of the growing season, and have a lot of mythological events associated with them. This holds true in Germanic as well as Celtic cultures, though it is seen less in Mediterranean ones. In Irish and Scottish folklore, particularly, there is an emphasis on great bonfires and various rituals taking place around them. Many of which are very transparent survivals of pre-Christian cultural customs, though some are of a more ambiguous origin.
But, by the 20th century, Beltane celebrations had almost died out, probably as a side-effect of modernisation. It was a rustic festival, and with the coming of the Industrial Age, such things lost their meaning and significance. Beltane and other cultural festivities were latched onto by the Celtic Revival around the same era, which reacted to modernity with deep Romanticism. Along with it came the Neopagan movement and Wicca, both of which were heavily influenced by the Celtic cultural revival. They appropriated Beltane and the other Celtic festivals, merging them with a Frazerian narrative of the archetypal God and Goddess. Wicca particularly introduced strong fertility and sexuality themes and the May Pole ornament--both of which are more strongly associated with Germanic May Day celebrations, which is more about the bloom of spring than the beginning of summer.
It has since become a core celebration in Celtic, eclectic, and Wiccan expressions of modern Paganism, and the most overt fertility festival of the main eight. As such, Beltane is the holiday most strongly associated with sex and sexuality.

This was very helpful. The difference between modern and old celebrations brings in a lot of the confusion, as does the rather very different associations with sex with it. I'd encountered "Its all about sex" all the way to "its not about sex at all" and everywhere in between... And It was rather confusing in that regard.

Thank you very much for that explanation .