Today is the 1st of May and known as Beltaine. A lot of people will have celebrated yesterday, but I always celebrate on 1st May itself.
Today marks the coming of Summer, and it certainly feels like it's been a long time coming. Last week I spent a few days abroad, on Monday when I left the UK barely any trees had budded. When I came back on Friday the trees behind my garden had exploded into green leaf. It was lovely. Because everything is so late, I only took my Ostara decorations down last weekend. Ostara symbolises rebirth, fertility and new growth but we had very little of that on the Spring equinox itself.
Beltaine is a cross-quarter day - the mid point between the Spring equinox and Summer solstice. Beltaine is also a fertility festival but is also seen as being a big magic - fall asleep under a hawthorn tree on May eve and the fairies will take you ;) I see it as a time to be lighthearted and have some fun.
It's dedicated to the God and Goddess in their guide as the Green Man and the May Queen. Colours are green, orange and yellow. Plants are honeysuckle, hawthorn, daisy, primrose and dandelion. Animals are bees and butterflies. Here is a poem about the Green Man I found somewhere:
Your eyes are dark as holly
Of sycamore your horns
Your bones are made of elder branch
Your teeth are made of thorns
Your hat is made of ivy leaf
Of bark your dancing shoes
And evergreen and green and green
Your jacket and shirt and trews
I think it has a nice cadence and great imagery.
Tonight we shall celebrate with, as ever, food. I think we will have prawns fried in butter and garlic (for the fish eater), a soft boiled egg (for the vegetarian), asparagus with a bit of lemon, radish and butter, salad leaves and cucumber and some new potatoes. Then I may make more lemon, honey and ginger biscuits. If I can, I want to get some buttermilk, because I discovered it last week and it is pretty delicious!
Have a great Mayday everybody, and enjoy the new sun and warmth!
Today marks the coming of Summer, and it certainly feels like it's been a long time coming. Last week I spent a few days abroad, on Monday when I left the UK barely any trees had budded. When I came back on Friday the trees behind my garden had exploded into green leaf. It was lovely. Because everything is so late, I only took my Ostara decorations down last weekend. Ostara symbolises rebirth, fertility and new growth but we had very little of that on the Spring equinox itself.
Beltaine is a cross-quarter day - the mid point between the Spring equinox and Summer solstice. Beltaine is also a fertility festival but is also seen as being a big magic - fall asleep under a hawthorn tree on May eve and the fairies will take you ;) I see it as a time to be lighthearted and have some fun.
It's dedicated to the God and Goddess in their guide as the Green Man and the May Queen. Colours are green, orange and yellow. Plants are honeysuckle, hawthorn, daisy, primrose and dandelion. Animals are bees and butterflies. Here is a poem about the Green Man I found somewhere:
Your eyes are dark as holly
Of sycamore your horns
Your bones are made of elder branch
Your teeth are made of thorns
Your hat is made of ivy leaf
Of bark your dancing shoes
And evergreen and green and green
Your jacket and shirt and trews
I think it has a nice cadence and great imagery.
Tonight we shall celebrate with, as ever, food. I think we will have prawns fried in butter and garlic (for the fish eater), a soft boiled egg (for the vegetarian), asparagus with a bit of lemon, radish and butter, salad leaves and cucumber and some new potatoes. Then I may make more lemon, honey and ginger biscuits. If I can, I want to get some buttermilk, because I discovered it last week and it is pretty delicious!
Have a great Mayday everybody, and enjoy the new sun and warmth!
No comments:
Post a Comment