SELLEST OSAST
Beltane is over 2000 years old. No one really wanted to give exact or even ballpark dates in my research.
It’s the last of the spring fertility festivals. It’s about bringing the male and female, 2 halves, into a whole as one entity.
It is a fire festival. Fires would be lit and cattle would be led between them for protection.
People would also jump fires for protection/purification, and as couples to be wed or already wedded. Fires were also put out in the homes and fire from the main Beltane bonfire was gotten and brought back to the houses.
Mayday is also known as Walburga( Teutonic), Rudemas(Mexican Craft), and the Festival of Tana (Strega).
The maypole is the symbol of the phallus(or male) while the hole, in the earth, that the pole is put into is the yonic (or female) symbol that are brought together. As a union of the God and Goddess all life is seen as springing from this act.
Maypoles have been found somewhere in Europe as early as the 1400’s.
Ribbons that encircle the maypole were once red and white to symbolize the feminine cycle and purity. Nowadays we use bright colors of blue, lavender, yellow, and pink for our festivities.
A few Gods and Goddesses are: Hera (Greek), Flora (Roman), Brighid (Celtic), Cernunnos (Celtic), Bacchus (Roman), and Pan (Greek).
