Minky Things

♥♥♥❥•♪♫¸☆¸♥ Lღ√Ƹ , ☮ ṖƐΛƇƐ and Jღy ♥.Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ"*❥.✫'*°☆.*"

Blessings to You All

for a Magical and Happy Beltane !

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The celebration of May 1st,
 or Beltane is one of the

 most important festivals of the year.

The word Beltane literally means,
 "shining fire."

This is one of the most exciting festivals

of the Wheel of the year.

It is also one of the only holidays that

is usually celebrated in the light of day.

 ♥♥♥❥•♪♫¸☆¸♥ Lღ√Ƹ , ☮ ṖƐΛƇƐ and Jღy ♥.Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ"*❥.✫'*°☆.*"
The collecting of spring flowers is one of

the popular customs of this day.

 For thousands of years, people would go

 into the fields to collect the pretty

 flowers and exchange them.

Towns people would often proceed through

 the village streets putting flowers

on all the houses and buildings.

 People inside the homes would
offer them wonderful

 food and goodies to eat as sort of

a spring version of "trick or treat."

Another benchmark tradition of this

 holiday is the Maypole.

In tradition, a fir was used.

The young, unwed men would go to the forest and

return with the tree that would be

fashioned into the pole.

The pole was brought to the center of the

 village to be guarded through the night

 until the first day of May.

On that day, the people would come and dance

around the maypole clockwise to bring

 fertility and good luck.

Later, brightly colored ribbons were woven

around the pole by the dancers as they

wove around each other.

This symbolizes the balance of

masculine and feminine energies

and the duality of life.

The ribbons would then be removed and kept

 in a safe place to be burned in

the Beltane fires of next year.

This action represents the

old dying to give birth to the new.

Fertility is a central theme of Beltane.

 The people lived in close

connection with the Earth.

To have food to eat,

the crops and the beasts of the fields

 would have to be fertile.

 In the time of the ancients,

this was a life and death matter.

For this reason, we have a number of

holidays and rituals that are

connected with fertility.

Another fertility representation is the

custom of jumping the cauldron.

Couples wishing to conceive children

 will jump the cauldron together.

 Fertility of all areas of life are invoked

during this holiday .

This is the day for Everyone to laugh

 and banter about having

the most joyous of times!