May day musings

As mentioned in yesterday's Beltane post, May day marks the start of summer. This morning, as I watched the swallows whip in and out of the barns, swooping down to mere inches above my head and soaring back up against the sky, it did indeed feel like summer is upon us.

Sadly the swallows were too quick for me to get a good photo, so this 

illustration from the RSPB will have to do. 

It was Aristotle who famously said...

'One swallow does not make a summer'

...and by three o'clock, as the dark clouds set in and the rain came tumbling down, I felt a renewed understanding of those wise words. Here in the UK, our weather can be so temperamental that sometimes it does not feel like we have a proper summer at all. 

And then I thought, if we can't always have the sun, what does make summer here?

Oh yes...

...these play a pretty big part!

And so I spent the rest of my afternoon cheerfully potting up a hanging basket of strawberry plants for outside my window. 

As I filled my humble basket with the nutritious soil and watered in my little summer-fruit bearing plants, I smiled thinking that this is exactly what May day is a celebration of: the start of things to come. It marks the beginning of the season which will provide us with food to harvest, in a month or two. 

Or perhaps even sooner, in the case of this little one...

Strawberry plants are pretty versatile and can be grown in all sorts of pots and containers, as long as they have drainage. I was really pleased with my basket which, when I look out of my window, will remind me of the harvests yet to come, both in my garden and in my life.

I can't wait to taste the fruits of my labour soon - hopefully to be enjoyed with a little bit of that elusive sunshine.

Beltane

The fire festival Beltane is celebrated on May Eve and May Day, ushering in summer and marking the opposite point of the wheel to Samhain. 

Much like Samhain, in mythology and legend, Beltane marks a time when the veil between this world and the Otherworld is thin and transitions or communications between the two are believed to be most likely. 

The etymology of the festival's name is from the Old Irish 'beltene' meaning 'bright fire' and traditionally, the bonfires of Beltane were lit as an emblem of purification in preparation for the summer's harvests. 

Nowadays, many of the festivals Gaelic features have been amalgamated with the English and Germanic practices and symbols of 'May Day' which equally celebrates the fertility of the land as summer arrives. 'May blossom' (hawthorn) adorns houses, children dance around the maypole (whose red and white ribbons represent the feminine and masculine elements required for fertility) and an air of gay abandon permeates the celebrations. 

It is a time to ignite your passion and creativity and there's no right or wrong way to do so: beat a drum to envoke the energies of the season; light a bonfire if space permits or an warm coloured candle if not; dance, run and most importantly, give yourself over to instinct and natural desire. Blessed Beltane everyone - enjoy!