In the old Celtic culture, the first of Bealtaine, or May as it is known in English, ushered in summer.
May became known as the merry month! In Britain it was a time for celebrating with dance and song around the maypole. In Ireland, the old customs deemed that Bealtaine, as the month is called in our native language, be a marker in the cultural year, with millennia old traditions relived and enacted.
Wild Flowers and Fairythorn
Bealtaine is a time for celebrating the coming of summer, a liminal time when much is made of the fairy folk and our need to stay in good form with them. In this we leave out food and drink for them to celebrate also.
Bealtaine means ‘bright fire’ and this festival was indeed celebrated with bonfires, lit on all the major hills in Ireland.
The Light
I have often spoken about the importance of the light and especially the returning light. You may already be aware of the fact that the ancient Celts followed the year in terms of the light.
If you think about this, you will understand why the universal Calendar is focused on laws governed by man rather than nature. However, plants, animals and humans are governed by the light.
Thirteen Stones…a homage to the Moon Goddess
A woman’s menstrual cycle is governed by the moon. There are 13 moon cycles and a woman has 13 menstrual cycles each year.
When we come to recognise the power of nature, we then consider merging our lives and our life cycles with nature. In this respect I follow nature not ideology.
Moving
The beginning of summer in Ireland also held some fear…
Bealtaine was the time when the fairies moved their abode from their winter quarters to their summer quarters and consequently caused people to be careful on the land, for it was recognised that the fairy folk had special pathways that one should not interfere with.
A Festival of Flowers
Of course it is only to be expected that the celebration of Bealtaine included an abundance of flowers. People decorated their homes and doorways with flowers.
There is always an abundance of May flowers in Ireland, as the Gulf Stream warms the land and allows Ireland to be about a month ahead of most of Britain.
The west of Scotland and counties in England such as Cornwall and Devon also are warmed by this Atlantic water.
These are just some of the aspects of Bealtaine that I am sharing with you today. May your month ahead be joyful and filled with light and colour.
Blessings from Colette and Patsy XXX
Thank you for this beautiful post. Your land is beautiful and so full of love and magic.
Your beautiful garden is like I imagine Paradise to be X
Love and Light to you
So nice to have a peak at the flowers surrounding you
I finally had time to see your display
Thank you, Colette, I love the retelling of the purposes of the celebrations.
Jakay Jarvis
In Slovenia every year on the eve of 30. of April, we light up huge bonfires all over the country and organize celebrations. I believe this ritual has its roots in ancient times, but sadly the true meaning of it has lost over the time (intentionaly?) and now days serves as celebraten of International Workers’ Day. Also, in old days, there were lots of these bonfires (everywhere you look around), bat now every year less and less, due to lost values and increase of safety and other regulations.
“..Nature, not ideology.” Yes, me too 🙂
Blessings to you Colette and Patsy, your face radiates peace and gratitude. All I see is the love you have for the sanctuary you have created with Mother Nature and your wonderful laugh, whether we see your face or not we hear your smile. I enjoy your rants because you are real and human and never give up. Love conquers any storm that comes your way. Thanks for keeping us company. Marlene
This came to my email via phone. What was SO nice is the lay out and font size was large enough for me to see well including the photos. So many things will be sent that are way too tiny and to enlarge puts it out of alignment. I could scroll down, read and enjoy without any effort or changes so enjoyed its FULL effect. However YOU did it, it was purr-fecto! I LOVED how you easily explained Bealtaine interspursed with photo’s and would love to receive all your celebrations or stories you wish to share this way:) THANK YOU for the thought and time and LOVE you spent on this INSPIRATION💚🐸💚 Sumeroze
Congratulations on your many beautiful books of your lovely Irish home.
You (and Patsy), are the light. Thank you for sharing your cottage life. It means a lot to me and obviously so many others.
Thank you so much for sharing. I love your courage and tenacity. You are an inspiration and a delight to spend time with. Love to Patsy and you.
Sorry you got that negative comment. I’ve come to realize negativity projected towards me is generally projection on the part of the person making the jibe.
I also believe our society expects women to continually serve men and one of those ways is to paste a smile on our faces regardless of the situation. Not my job to appear cheerful for some random man I’m never going to see again.
I like your YT channel and this website and appreciate what you’re doing. Thanks.
Beautiful essay and photos! Happy Bealtaine!
Lovely gardens Collette!! My wildflower garden is coming but in Michigan not so colorful:). Blessings to you this Beltane
Thank you so much! Wonderful photos lift the spirit during a rainy spell in Boston
I’m very grateful to receive your words today as the past few days have been shall I say a bit meh ! Yes it’s an odd one to me too but the younger folks use so why not.
Drought still happening here in western Canada. We have had almost no rain and could definitely use some to save our land from fires.
Lovely, thank you.
Blessings XXX
The Merry month of May is indeed at Beataine Cottage! Lovely.
And a wonderful, blessed May to you too. Filled with warmth, joy, happiness and health.
I love learning this history of Ireland…so very interesting! You are such a great teacher! It’s sad that all the world’s calendar does not “go by the light” for nature knows so much more than man! Thank you for what you do Colette! It is so very appreciated and adored by many! ❤️
Dear Collette, thanks for sharing your comments regarding the Irish Bealtaine. Your photos are beautiful. I always look forward to your videos and posts. Your story has inspired me so much these past 6 years. Again, thak you for sharing your beauty and inspiration.
You are an amazing woman!! I love the pictures of Ireland. Thank you.
Beautiful! Thank you Colette for telling us about the month of Beltaine. There is so much glorious new growth, new birth and change through the chaos and destruction….. We must be patient through the transition. I must remind myself of that every single day…
Another wonderful celebration of the glories of the land and of May time. Thank you again for your wonderful insights, they gave me such joy. XXX
Magical land! Your hard work as a caretaker has created such a beautiful paradise!
So deep and beautiful , thank you
Your posts give me hope in today’s world!Your beautiful photos and writings are such a joy!Thank you!
Beautiful post and thank you for sharing your beauty once again
Thank you for sharing your wisdom with the beautiful pictures!
Blessing to you.. beautiful day Have a chilled weekend X
Thank you, Colette. It is all so beautiful. Blessings to you and Patsy too xx
I think my garden is at its best in May, it is just so beautiful with the profusion of green and the flowers, like special friends returning to visit. Some don’t stay around for long so I try and make the most of them until next year.
Thank you for what you do at Bealtaine Cottage, you have created something so special and you inspire more people than you know. Blessings to you and your family and Patsy of course xxx