Celebrating May Day and Welcoming Spring
Even though it’s officially been spring for over a month now, here in New England April still means jackets and heaters and (mostly) closed windows. But the month of May—with its blossoming of trees and flowers and its warm weather—is supremely spring. And it arrives on Beltane, known in the U.S. as May Day. May Day has a long and varied history as a “working class holiday” that, depending on what country you’re in, might include costumed revelry, fertility dances or political protests. Beltane began as a Pagan celebration that welcomed the coming summer and celebrated fertility, both human and agricultural. Known as a fire festival to the ancient Celts, Beltane was typically marked by music, sword dancing, feasting, drinking and people leaping over huge bonfires for purposes of purification. Prior to motherhood, I actually did celebrate Beltane with outdoor drum circles, scarf dancing and fire leaping, but when Sofie came along … Continue reading
