Ne’er cast a clout till May be out….
Meaning: Never discard your winter woollies until the may blossom of the Hawthorne is finished.
BELTAINE :
Half way between the spring equinox and the coming summer solstice, on the first day of May, falls the festival of BELTAINE. The Hawthorne tree is one of the symbols of this festival.
In ancient times, the Celtic people built two bonfires at this time, in the hope that this ritual would purify them, and bring fertility to their lives. It signified the time the animals moved to their summer pastures, and life revolved round longer days, and warmer nights. Beltaine was full of promise as the Celtic cycle of passion and abundance turned.
Although many of our ancient customs no longer show their faces, we still see Maypoles in village greens and school yards, where children dance round to celebrate the coming summer; a residue of Beltaine.
In my book ‘Fires of Brigantia’, I write about the Celtic seasons, and the cycle which drove the hopes and beliefs of those iron-age peoples. Beltaine, over the years, has taken on different meanings, but for me, the promise of summer, when trees begin to open and flowers bring fresh colour to our world; when birds nest and fledglings see the sky for the first time; it will always be a magical time.