Beltane

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A festival celebrated in ancient Celtic cultures marking the beginning of summer, often involving fire rituals and fertility celebrations
2. A traditional event held on May 1st in honor of the coming of warmer seasons, associated with various customs and rites
3. An occasion related to the Gaelic celebration of May Day, characterized by bonfires, feasting, and community gatherings

Etymology: Beltane is the old Gaelic and Celtic festival marking the start of summer on May 1, and its name is built from the Celtic "belo-tanos," meaning "bright fire." The fire is the key to the whole word. Communities lit great bonfires on the eve of the festival, and people were said to drive livestock between two fires, a practice that was meant to protect animals and people for the season ahead. The first half of the name, "belo," relates to the idea of brightness, and the second element, "tanos," is the word for fire. Put together, the name points to a ritual that was defined as much by light and heat as by the calendar date. Anyone who speaks of Beltane is therefore naming a festival after its flames rather than after a saint, a ruler or a season.