Seasonal Arts Programme: Beltane
- Room to Be
- Apr 27
- 3 min read
Summer is beckoning, and here's the proof: Beltane is soon upon us!
We'll be gathering this coming Sunday to celebrate the change in the season with our usual joyful combination of crafting and sharing a pot luck feast in a lovely garden setting - hopefully with the sun shining over us. For Beltane, we'll be upcycling scrap fabric to create unique handmade baskets. If you'd like to join, you're ever so welcome - simply get in touch for more details.
We'll be meeting this Sunday (3rd May) between 11am - 2pm. Please send us an email for the location details and any further information you might need.
As with all our events, there is no pressure to participate in all aspects of the gathering - you can come along to join in with crafting, for food, or even just to spend time in a garden setting.
Big thank you to Anna for the beautiful background art work featured on our poster.
But what exactly is Beltane? Luckily, the wonderful Caitlin has done the research for us. Thank you Caitlin! Keep reading to see her words and get a sense of what Beltane encompasses.
Beltane is the third fire festival in the Celtic Wheel of the Year, falling between Imbolc (Spring equinox) and Litha (Summer solstice or Midsummer), making it a cross quarter day as it splits the vertical/horizontal cross of the wheel in half (it is important to note that this is in reference to the Northern Hemisphere of Earth where this calendar originated).
The exact etymology of the festival’s name is still debated, but it is widely accepted to fall inline with a translation connected to a meaning related to fire or ‘bright light’ as the day celebrates the ‘first day of summer’ (May 1st/May Day), and the returning light which brings with it prosperity and fertility.
Like many Celtic festivals, fire holds a symbolic purpose to honour the sun, as well as providing protection. Yellow flowers became important to dress the perimeter of land, houses and livestock to ensure a bountiful harvest at the end of the summer (like daffodils or forsythia). It also becomes an opportunity to cleanse yourself, celebrate the year’s achievements and successes so far, and plant further intentions so you may reap the rewards come harvest time. To do so, you may write down an intention and tie it to a tree, or simply tell your intention in confidence to the forest. Green is also heavily symbolic of the regrowth of leaves on the trees and lush fields and pastures, and much like bringing evergreen plants inside for yule, for Beltane freshly cut flowers and tree branches would be decorating every doorway.
Similar to Samhain, Beltane is considered to be a thinning of the veils, but instead of passed on love ones looking for reconnection, Beltane was thought to allow spirits the opportunity to be reincarnated, therefore it was often considered the best time of year to conceive a child. Human fertility was celebrated, praised and sought after as well as the land’s. But if babies aren’t on your mind, the birth of a new idea, a new version of yourself, or new goals can also be envisioned!
What was essential for a successful Beltane, was to spread happiness and positivity, therefore these upcycled baskets can be a gift for a loved one, a neighbour, or even yourself.
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