Month of May - Beltane

A Seasonal Celebration of the Land, Garden & Nature

Beginning of Summer, Warmer Days, Burgeoning Growth, 

Explosion of Green, Birdsong, Blossoming Potential, Darting Tadpoles. 

Issue 12  April 2020

The New Month of May

So it's almost May. The month of two bank holidays, of pagan festivals, of white blossom and green leaves. The beginning of the most active part of the year in the natural world.

And yes the world has certainly changed over recent months and we are still learning how to deal with all the adjustments, the unknowns, the restrictions, the loss and fear. But Nature is a positive and strong constant throughout - it keeps moving on. In the wild there are always new things for us to notice and to enjoy. Nature provides a timely reminder that it's a beautiful world.

ROOTS

The month of May is named after Maia the Greek goddess of Spring, fertility and growth. The Anglo-Saxons called this month Thrimilci - because cows could be milked three times a day after eating the abundant new grass.  Ceitean the Scots Gaelic name for May means beginning, whilst the Irish Gaelic name Bealtaine is derived from the Celtic festival of Beltane.

 Photo by Claire Rush on Unsplash

Beltane falls on 1 May, halfway between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice. It is a fire festival of fertility and union and and marks the start of summer.  The name Beltane is thought to derive from the Celtic for 'bright fire' and traditionally fires lit on Beltane were believed to have protective and healing properties. In fact farmers would drive their cattle between two fires to protect them, before taking them up to the summer pastures.

The myth of Beltane tells the story of the Goddess of Nature (May Queen) and the Green Man (May King, Jack the Green, Jack-in-the-May) who join together in handfasting and their union blessed the fertility of the land. Beltane Eve was a time of revelry with people staying up all night, jumping Beltane fires, dancing, walking around labyrinths and sharing food and drink.  Many marriages took place around Beltane with the bride and groom wearing and decorating their bed with hawthorn, for lasting love and fertility.

The familiar children's rhyme and game 'here we go gathering nuts in May…' is likely a corruption of 'here we go gathering knots in May' referring to the knots of Hawthorn (May) collected to hang on doors for good luck and fertility. I always wondered why they were collecting nuts in May when nuts don’t appear until the Autumn!

Ancient wisdom claimed if you washed your face in the dew at sunrise on 1 May you'd be rewarded with a perfect complexion!  Certainly there's plenty of dew around in May, created when the ground (still cold from winter) and cool grass touch moisture-filled air. After more than a month on lockdown I'm wondering how it would work on wrinkles!!

Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

Down through the centuries, in the UK the date has been marked with May Day events. These traditional village based celebrations include flower crowned May Queens in white dresses, village fairs, dancing around decorated maypoles, hobbyhorses, morris dancers with bells on their legs and the dancing figure of the Jack-in-the-Green leading processions.

Oliver Cromwell and his Puritans outlawed maypole dancing as heathen in 1645 and May festivities disappeared until Charles II ‘The Merry Monarch’ was restored. He ordered a massive 40m high maypole be put up in London’s Strand, to signal the return of the fun times!

Today in Wales they celebrate Calan Mai with bonfires and a staged battle between winter (holding blackthorn) and summer (holding hawthorn). In other English towns hobbyhorses (the Oss) rampage through the streets and in Oxford they celebrate by singing a Latin hymn of thanksgiving from the top of Magdalen College Tower, before morris dancing in the streets below.

In Derbyshire Oak Apple Day takes place on 29th May with a procession of followers carrying sprigs of oak. They mark the restoration of Charles II to the throne, after he hid in an oak tree to avoid capture by Cromwell's soldiers.  Remember without ‘The Merry Monarch’ we wouldn't have today May Day celebrations.

However you choose to celebrate in May. It's a joyful time for being outside, for connecting with the Earth, for jumping the Beltane Fire, for dancing and for celebrating friendship and love. Get out amongst all the growth - in your garden, on a balcony or on your hour of daily exercise. 

Keep well, breathe and remember to look outside and notice the details. 

If you have any questions you can reach me via my website www.plotgardendesign.co.uk and please follow/like PLOT Garden Design on social media to receive my seasonal updates and photo