Welcome to Beltane, May Day, the fires of
Bel, the Celtic Sun god, Belenus. This
is the time of bright fires that were lit to celebrate this festival. There used to be dancing and music played, and
‘going a Maying’ which meant the time to go out into the woods for romance or
whatever that led to. People decorated
themselves, their homes, with lots of flowers that held the blessings of
fertility of Mother Earth. As well, the
Irish saw it as a time for fairies and sprites and spirits. They believed that this is when they were
most apt to be caught dancing amidst the flowers, in the forest, and milk would
be laid out in bowls for them, as offering, to drink.
To the Romans, Bona Dea was celebrated as
eh was their fertility goddess. And, in
the Southern Hemisphere, this was
Samhain, the witches’ new year.
This is the time when we, in the Northern
Hemisphere put out our hanging baskets, plant our pots of flowers and
vegetables, tidy up our plant areas and bring in flowers to celebrate this new
hope. I have been busily doing this, for
sure.
Foods to cook are, green man cake,
asparagus casseroles, candied pansies, fertility breads, and anything with
oats, like oatcakes.
Celebrate, sisters, celebrate this new
spring, in this new world we find ourselves in... flower up your crown, flower
up your house, flowers, flowers everywhere.
Following the group 100 days of hair
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1271149929761276&set=oa.634949147347512
©Carol Desjarlais 5.1.20
I am not promoting sales or buying of
such. It just does a good idea of
suggesting things we can use if we have an altar.
https://myritual.ca/f/beltane-wishes-altar?fbclid=IwAR2YER7D11PDPnurHyiWLLpShj3s7M3awOJ4LeHyzpQVhxzy0U1R-QcnXuw
Love you new painting Carol and I can see the Angela Kennedy influence. May 1st here in Australia is autumn so it's good to read about the traditions in the northern hemisphere
ReplyDeleteI am loving the 100 days of hair. It is fun to start with her idea and create in our own style. Oh, yes, you are in Fall, right. How dopes your environment change? Here, in Fall, our hardwood plants turn bright red and yellows.
ReplyDelete