Dancing May Day Through History

by Jon Bergeon

As the sun set, the hilltops became alive with fire. The warm spring air filtered gently through the trees and caressed the lush green landscape as a blanket of night fell over the land. Happiness, hope and passion filled the night as the people danced and celebrated this sacred time, taking time to explore the forests, meadows and even each other.

This night, known as Beltaine, has been celebrated in many cultures and in many different ways. Today, it remains as one of the two most important holidays to modern pagans, the other being Samhain.

Also known as May Day or May Eve, Beltaine falls on the first evening of May, or on the last evening of April, as people once considered that the beginning of a new day occurred at dusk. Beltaine, a fertility Sabbat, marks the last day of the planting season, once a very important time before the advent of modern conveniences and inconveniences. Beltaine also celebrates life and renewal and a time of hope; from this time, things started would tend toward their fruition.

Among the customs of Beltaine, two stand out the most. These are the bonfire, also called the balefire, and the ever popular Maypole.

The balefire played such an important role that not only did certain rules cover its making and uses, but a law was even passed in ancient Ireland making it illegal for anyone to light a balefire until the king first did so himself. One of the balefire’s purposes was purification, a practice used for ages to remove negative energies such as disease and physical impurities and replace them with positive energies. In magickal work, purification mostly takes place between the act of banishment and the act of consecration, being a lesser form of each (though playing an important part connecting the two, which some modern practitioners of the magickal arts seem to overlook nowadays).

One of the many things that underwent balefire purifications was cattle, which were often led through the balefire’s smoke. Cattle held a very important place in those days, not only as food, clothing and whatever else can be made out of a cow, but also as a source of wealth and status. Irish sagas such as the “Tian Bo Cuailgne” demonstrate the important place of cattle. In this tale, the province of Connacht, led by Queen Maeve, goes to war with the province of Ulster, under the leadership of the unsuspecting Cuchulain, the only one able to defend his land as every other adult male in Connacht was undergoing labor pains (don’t ask, just read the story). The war, as it was, raged over a single bull, known as the Brown Bull of Quelgny. Odin’s runes also demonstrate the important role cattle once played in ancient society, which can be seen in the first rune of the aettir, Fehu or Fe, which literally translates as cattle but also symbolizes wealth.

Besides purifying, the balefire also consecrated. A couple who planned to marry on May Eve would jump over through the flames of the bonfire to seal their vows and consecrate the union (not to be confused with consummating the union, which did not take place over or in the fire). How it was regarded if the bride or groom burst into flames I don’t know; the interpretation was probably left to the officiating party.

In addition to the purifying and consecrating properties of the bonfires of May Eve, they served also as a method of insurance, allowing a family or way of life to continue. Traditionally, this was achieved by bringing glowing embers of the balefire into the house, where they would be used in blessings to bring joy and happiness to the family that resided there. The ashes were then taken to the fields, where they would be scattered about, thereby blessing the future crops. Such a blessing works magickally through a quality known as “inherent virtue,” where the properties of a known positive thing are applied to another to obtain a positive result. The result was a better crop yield, at least partly because the ashes made a fine growth supplement due to the nitrogen content of the ash.

Another belief behind the balefires concerned the inhabitants of the underworld, or the world of faery. Folk of ancient Europe once believed, and pagans of the faery faiths may still believe today, that the faery folk could not create fire and had to rely on humans to do it for them. Once the fire began, the faery would then cart coals off to the underworld, where they would be tended and nurtured by the inhabitants.

The holiday of Beltaine didn’t only serve as a fertility Sabbat, as it is commonly known today, but also as a time when the dead came out of the underworld to join the living, as on Samhain. At least, so believed the ancient Teutonic peoples, and without doubt also the modern practitioners of the Northern Mysteries. On Beltaine, the living invited deceased friends and relatives to warm themselves by the fireside and toast to a glorious past.

The other outstanding Beltaine tradition, the Maypole, still survives to this day. The Maypole dance is a fertility rite, which is made obvious by the symbolism of the pole itself, which sticks straight up out of the ground in phallic fashion. To the top of the pole are attached an even number of ribbons of varying color. The dancers, which usually consist of an equal number of males and females, hold high their arms, and with a ribbon in one hand circle the pole counter to the dancers next to them, weaving in and out and wrapping the ribbons down the length of the pole. Once done, the dancers turn, changing direction and unwrapping the ribbons.

The Maypole usually consists of a tall straight tree stripped of its branches. For this purpose, the pine is an excellent choice, though some consider the birch even better due to its qualities as a tree of birth and rebirth. These qualities can be seen in the rune Beorc or Birkana and the first letter of the Celtic Ogham alphabet, Beithe, which both represent the birch tree and the energy of birth and rebirth. However, the Maypole need not be made out of either pine or birch; it can be made out of any pole or beam planted in the ground.

Another Beltaine custom was the activity of going “a-Maying,” usually enjoyed by the young folk. Going a-Maying usually consisted of people going into the forest together looking for the blossoms of the hawthorn tree. The hawthorn, a sacred tree, had protective energies, but only on this night could one take branches and blossoms from the tree. The ancients also believed that sitting beneath a hawthorn on May Eve could result in the unfortunate sitter being abducted to the underworld. Fortunately, this event doesn’t appear to happen often, as I have been to the hawthorn on this day to collect wood for an amulet and was spared the experience. The hawthorn was not the only thing deflowered while a-Maying; those gone a-Maying into the forests and other secluded spots also took time to collect on their natural urges.

Once flowers were gathered, the gatherers created from them wreaths and garlands. These were brought back to decorate, bless and protect houses and people.

Flowers also figured in another May custom, that of the May King and his triumph over the winter. Until relatively recently in Sweden, the May King would parade down a town street, dressed head to toe in flowers, with a man dressed in furs. The man in the furs was the personification of winter, and this was his time to go. During the procession, the May King accosted the man in furs, pelting him with flowers, thereby driving him off. The May King, victorious, then began his reign.

Beltaine has many customs, many more even than I have mentioned. It is a holiday worth celebrating, a time of renewal and rebirth when the skins and troubles of the winter, both in the world and in ourselves, may be shed. At Beltaine, we can nurture new ideas and grow as individuals and as a community.

May Eve has survived for many, many years and shall continue to survive for many, many more. Through these years, we can expect a change in the customs, but never in the idea of hope and rebirth.