Beltane was one of four Gaelic seasonal festivals: Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane, and Lughnasadh.
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10 Facts About Beltane
2.
Beltane marked the beginning of the pastoral summer season, when livestock were driven out to the summer pastures.
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3.
Beltane was a "spring time festival of optimism" during which "fertility ritual again was important, perhaps connecting with the waxing power of the sun".
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4.
Beltane suggests they were meant to mimic the Sun and "ensure a needful supply of sunshine for men, animals, and plants", as well as to symbolically "burn up and destroy all harmful influences".
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5.
However, "lucky" and "unlucky" trees varied by region, and it has been suggested that Beltane was the only time when cutting thorn trees was allowed.
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6.
Many Beltane practices were designed to ward off or appease the fairies and prevent them from stealing dairy products.
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7.
The first water drawn from a well on Beltane was thought to be especially potent, and would bring good luck to the person who drew it.
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8.
In Ireland, Beltane fires were common until the mid-20th century, but the custom seems to have lasted to the present day only in County Limerick and in Arklow, County Wicklow.
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9.
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.
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10.
In O Duinnin's Irish dictionary, Beltane is referred to as which it explains is short for meaning 'first summer'.
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