Beltane

Te saatatte tuntea kyseisen juhlan nimellä vappu, mutta minulle 1.5 on Beltane. Niin monet on tykänneet päästä wiccalaisuuden verhojen taakse kurkistamaan mitä uskonto pitää sisällään ja musta on tosi hyvä aloittaa just näistä pyhistä, koska niissä juhlitaan wiccan perusteemoja ja niissä tulee ilmi luonnon kiertokulku ja sen pyhittäminen.

Beltane, Beltaine (irlantilaisesti gaelia lausuen), Bealtane, Beltan, Walpurgisnacht tai Bealtaine, skottilaisesti Bealltainn, Boaltinn tai Boaldyn (manxilainen gaelin murre) miten sen nyt haluaakaan lausua, on kelttiläinen keväänjuhla jota juhlittiin alunperin itseasiassa toukokuun puolen välin tienoilla, mutta joku taisi tehdä käännöksissä jonkun virheen, eräs muinaisirlantilainen sanonta "Luan Lae Bealtaine" tarkoittaa kesän ensimmäistä päivää, joten eipä toisaalta ole ihme, että päivä vaihtui. Beltanen käännöksiä on myös "hyvä tuli", joka on suuresti liitännäinen siihen, että Beltanena poltetaan kokkoja. Kokkojen uskottiin edistävän karjan hedelmällisyyttä. Kokkoja poltettiin vuorilla ja mäkien huipulla.

Suomessa vastaavanlainen tapa on helavalkeat (helajuhla, toukojuhla), joissa sytytettiin pelloille ja muille aukeille alueille suuria kokkoja. Muinaissuomalaiset uskoivat näiden helavalkeiden karkottavan pahoja henkiä. Juhlissa juotiin simaa ja tanssittiin, karja pääsi laitumelle ensimmäistä kertaa ja ne ajettiin tulien läpi sairauksien ehkäisemiseksi. Tätä tapaa pidetään yllä yhä ainakin Kuusjoella, Kurussa ja Nummi-Pusulassa. Beltanea viettävät myös muut uuspakanat ja aasainuskonto. Vuonna 1988 asti Skotlannissa on elvytetty vanhaa juhlatapaa, Beltainen tulifestivaalia, joissa käy vuosittain tuhansia ihmisiä.

Beltane on wiccoille toiseksi tärkein sapatti, silloin elävien ja kuolleiden raja on ohut ja henkien uskottiin liikkuvan elävien keskuudessa (tästä ehkä se suomalaisten henkien karkoitustapa). Wiccat ottavat siis kuolleetkin huomioon, itsekin muistin tänä vuonna edesmenneitä ystäviäni kokon ja ruuan merkeissä.

Muistatte varmaan, että Oestarana Jumalatar tuli raskaaksi Jumalalle, no nyt Beltanena Jumalatar pukeutuu Äidiksi ja Jumala liittyy hänen rinnalleen, Beltanena juhlitaankin heidän häitään. Wiccat pitävät Beltanea sopivana aikana käteenliittäjäisille, eli häille.

Wiccat juhlivat Beltanea pystyttämällä vappusalon ja tanssien perinteiseiä tansseja sen ympärillä. Monet suorittavat myös Suuren rituaalin maljan ja athamen (kaksiteräinen rituaaliveitsi/tikari) kuvatessa Jumalatarta ja Jumalaa. Sen voi tehdä yksin tai covenin (noitapiirin) kanssa. Kun Oestarana siemenet siunattiin ja istutettiin, on ne nyt alkaneet itää. Tämä onkin sopiva aika alkaa laittamaan terassia, puutarhaa tai parveketta kesäkuntoon kasveilla ja muutenkin koristaen. 

Inspiration pictures for spring/summer balcony

Perinneruokana toimi aikoinaan suuret kaura- ja ohrakakut, mutta kevyt ja värikäs salaatti, hedelmärahka tai hedelmäsalaattikin käyvät hyvin. Uhriruuaksi sopii jokin siemenleipä, jonka voi viedä luontoon hyvillä mielin. Muistakaa ettei ulkona kannata viettää aikaa iltaisin turhan kauaa, koska kuten Yulenakin, on varovaisuus paikallaan. Henkien takia kannattaakin viettää ilta kynttilöiden parissa sisällä tai jos olet ulkosalla, niin kokko on hyvä kaveri. 

Lissee tekstii taas ensi vuonna, nyt alkaa menemään jo hermot tän bloggerin kanssa..

Translation:

Beltane is the anglicised spelling of the Goidelic name for month of May or the festival on the first day of May. In Irish Gaelic it is Bealtaine, in Scottish Gaelic Bealltainn and in Manx Gaelic Boaltinn or Boaldyn. You can call it also Beltane,  Bealtane, Beltan, Walpurgisnacht or Bealtain. 

Beltane was an ancient Gaelic festival celebrated in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. It was linked to similar festivals such as Wels Calan Mai and the Germanic Walpurgis Night. Beltane is cross- quarter day which mark the midpoint in the sun's progress between the spring equinox and summer solstice. The astronomical date is nearer to 5 May or 7 May but I celebrate it at 1 May.

In Irish Gaelic, the month of May is known as Mí Bhealtaine or Bealtaine, and the festival as Lá Bealtaine ('day of Bealtaine' or, 'May Day'). In Scottish Gaelic, the month is known as either (An) Cèitean or a' Mhàigh, and the festival is known as Latha Bealltainn or simply Bealltainn. The feast was also known as Céad Shamhain or Cétshamhainin from which the word Céitean derives. Beltane was formerly spelt Bealtuinn in Scottish Gaelic; in Manx it is spelt Boaltinn or Boaldyn. In Modern Irish, Oíche Bhealtaine is May Eve, and Lá Bealtaine is May Day. In modern Scottish Gaelic, Latha Buidhe Bealltainn or Là Buidhe Bealltainn ('the yellow day of Bealltain') is used to describe the first day of May. This term Lá Buidhe Bealtaine is also used in Irish and is translated as 'Bright May Day'. In Ireland it is referred to in a common folk tale as Luan Lae Bealtaine; the first day of the week (Monday/Luan) is added to emphasise the first day of summer.

Pre-medieval period

According to Nora Chadwick, in Celtic Ireland "Beltine (or Beltaine) was celebrated on 1 May, a spring-time festival of optimism. Fertility ritual again was important, in part perhaps connecting with the waxing power of the sun, symbolized by the lighting of fires through which livestock were driven, and around which the people danced in a sunwise direction." The ninth century Sanas Cormaic (or "Cormac's Glossary") says the "...Druids used to make [the fires] with great incantations," and were lit to safeguard against diseases.

In Irish mythology, the beginning of the summer season for the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Milesians started at Bealtaine. Great bonfires would mark a time of purification and transition, heralding in the season in the hope of a good harvest later in the year, and were accompanied with ritual acts to protect the people from any harm by Otherworldly spirits, such as the Aos Sí. Like the festival of Samhain, opposite Beltane on 31 October, Beltane was also a time when the Otherworld was seen as particularly close at hand. Excavations at Uisnech in the 20th century provided evidence of large fires taking place.Like the festival of Samhain, opposite Beltane on 31 October, Beltane was also seen as a time when the Otherworld was near at hand.

Medieval period

According to Geoffrey Keating, the main Beltane fire in medieval Ireland was on the hill of Uisneach, in what is now County Westmeath. There is no corroborating reference to the Beltane fires at Uisneach in the annals, so Keating's claims cannot be proven. However, there is evidence of large fires and charred bones from excavations at the site, showing it to have been ritually significant.

The lighting of bonfires on Beltane Eve seems to have lasted to the present day only in County Limerick, especially in Limerick itself, and in Arklow, County Wicklow. However, some cultural groups have sought to revive the custom at Uisneach and perhaps at the Hill of Tara.

Beltane marked the beginning of the pastoral summer season, when the herds of livestock were driven out to the summer pastures and mountain grazing lands. Due to the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, Bealltainn in Scotland was commonly celebrated on 15 May while in Ireland "Old Beltane" or "Old May" began about the night of 11 May.

Modern period

Edward Dwelly in Bealltuinn (1911) describes a 1 May custom of his day, practised in the Scottish Highlands, where young people met on the moors, lit a bonfire and made an oatmeal cake toasted at the embers. The cake was cut and one of the pieces marked with charcoal. Drawing the pieces blindfolded, whoever got the marked piece would have to leap over the flames three times.

Another common aspect of the festival in early 20th century Ireland was the hanging of May Boughs on the doors and windows of houses and the making of May Bushes in farmyards, which usually consisted either of a branch of rowan/caorthann (mountain ash) or more commonly whitethorn/sceach geal (hawthorn) which is in bloom at the time and is commonly called the 'May Bush' or just 'May' in both Ireland and Britain. Furze/aiteann was also used for the May Boughs, May Bushes and as fuel for the bonfire. The practice of bedecking the May Bush/Dos Bhealtaine with flowers, ribbons, garlands and coloured egg shells is found among the Gaelic diaspora, most notably in Newfoundland, and in some Easter traditions on the East Coast of the United States.

The festival persisted widely up until the 1950s, and in some places the celebration of Beltane continues today. The town of Peebles in the Scottish Borders holds a traditional week-long "Beltane Fair" every year in June, when a local girl is crowned Beltane Queen on the steps of the parish church. Like other Borders festivals, it incorporates a Common Riding.

Edinburgh festival

A revived Beltane Fire Festival has been held every year since 1988 during the night of 30 April on Calton Hill in Edinburgh, Scotland and attended by up to 15,000 people (except in 2003 when local council restrictions forced the organisers to hold a private event elsewhere).

Gaelic diaspora

The lighting of a community Beltane fire from which each hearth fire is then relit is observed today in some parts of the Gaelic diaspora, though in most of these cases it is a cultural revival rather than an unbroken survival of the ancient tradition. In some areas of Newfoundland, the custom of decorating the May bush, or bough, is also still extant.

Neo-Paganism

Beltane and Beltane-based festivals are held by some Neopagans. As Neopaganism can vary largely from tradition to tradition, representations can vary greatly despite the shared name. Some celebrate in a way as near as possible to how the ancient Gaels did, while others observe the holiday with rituals taken from sundry unrelated sources, Gaelic culture being only one of the sources used.

Celtic Reconstructionist

Like other Reconstructionist traditions, Celtic Reconstructionist Pagans emphasize historical accuracy. They base their celebrations and rituals on traditional lore from the living Celtic cultures, as well as research into the older beliefs of the polytheistic Celts.

Celtic Reconstructionists usually celebrate Lá Bealtaine when the local hawthorn trees are in bloom, or on the full moon nearest this event. Many observe the traditional bonfire rites, to whatever extent this is feasible where they live, including the dousing of the household hearth flame and relighting it from the communal fire. Some decorate May Bushes and prepare traditional festival foods. Pilgrimages to holy wells are traditional at this time, and offerings and prayers to the spirits or deities of the wells are usually part of this practice.^[ Crafts such as the making of equal-armed rowan crosses are common, and often part of rituals performed for the blessing and protection of the household and land.

Wicca

Main article: Wheel of the Year

Wiccans and Wiccan-inspired Neopagans celebrate a variation of Beltane as a Sabbat, one of the eight solar holidays. Although the holiday may use features of the Gaelic Beltane, such as the bonfire, it is more alike the Germanic May Day festival, both in its significance (focusing on fertility) and its rituals (such as maypole dancing). Some Wiccans celebrate "High Beltaine" by enacting a ritual union of the May Lord and May Lady. This is very good time for wedding, handfasting.

Among the Wiccan Sabbats, Beltane is a cross-quarter day; it is celebrated in the northern hemisphere on 1 May and in the southern hemisphere on 1 November. Beltane follows Ostara and precedes Midsummer. 

Etymology

Since the early 20th century it has been commonly accepted that Old Irish Bel(l)taine is derived from a Common Celtic *belo-te(p)niâ, meaning "bright fire" (where the element *belo- might be cognate with the English word bale [as in 'bale-fire'] meaning 'white' or 'shining'; compare Anglo-Saxon bael, and Lithuanian/Latvian baltas/balts, found in the name of the Baltic; in Slavic languages byelo or beloye also means 'white', as in Беларусь (White Russia or Belarus) or Бе́лое мо́ре [White Sea]). A more recent etymology by Xavier Delamarre would derive it from a Common Celtic *Beltinijā, cognate with the name of the Lithuanian goddess of death Giltinė, the root of both being Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- "suffering, death".

According to Dáithí Ó hÓgáin, the term Céad Shamhain or Cétshamhainin means "first half", which he links to the Gaulish word samonios (which he suggests means "half a year") as in the end of the "first half" of the year that begins at Samhain. Ó hÓgáin proposes that this term was also used in Scottish Gaelic and Welsh. In Ó Duinnín's Irish dictionary it is referred to as Céadamh(ain) which it explains is short for Céad-shamh(ain) meaning "first (of) summer". The dictionary also states that Dia Céadamhan is May Day and Mí Céadamhan is May.

Toponymy

Place names in Ireland that contain remnants of the word 'Bealtaine' include a number of places called 'Beltany' – indicating places where Bealtaine festivities were once held. There are three Beltanys in County Donegal – one near Raphoe – another near Killybegs [Bealtine Bridge] and the third in the parish of Tulloghobegly. Two others are located in County Tyrone, one near Clogher and the other in the parish of Cappagh. In the parish of Kilmore, County Armagh, there is a place called Tamnaghvelton/Tamhnach Bhealtaine ('field of the Bealtaine festivities'). Lisbalting/Lios Bealtaine ('fort or enclosure of Bealtaine') is located in Kilcash Parish, County Tipperary. Glasheennabaultina ('the Bealtaine stream') is the name of a stream joining the River Galey near Athea, County Limerick.

Translation mostly from Wikipedia, because this took hours to make.. More my own writing next year! All pictures by Google.

Beltane fire festival 

Edinburgh fire festival 

/Leena