Page 67 - NT 2022 Almanac

1st May Beltane
The old Gaelic word Beltane means ‘bright fire’. This ancient pagan festival celebrates the return of summer and marks the time of year halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice.
Long ago, it was a time when farmers let their cows and sheep back out into the fields after the cold weather. Farmers lit big bonfires with special herbs inside. They would then make their animals walk in between the fires so that they could breathe in the purifying smells. This was supposed to protect them from illness.
1st May May Day
May Day celebrations are often mixed in with Beltane bonfires. A May queen is chosen and either two people carry her, or she rides through the streets on a cart pulled by a horse. The cart is covered in flowers and the May queen wears flowers in her hair. She sometimes has a man or boy with her representing the Green Man, who is the pagan god of nature. People dance around a maypole, which is a long stick with coloured ribbons coming from the top. Each person takes a ribbon and dances around the pole, weaving in and out of each other until the pole is tightly wrapped in the ribbons.
‘Hobby horses’ are a May Day tradition. Originally a hobby horse was not just a model horse’s head on a stick, like the toys you see today. It was a costume for the May Day parade which made the person wearing it look as though they were riding a real horse.
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