![(pic. 9[6])](https://avatars.dzeninfra.ru/get-zen_doc/9703143/pub_64419ad58476d24745a67c6c_64419b766b8c1e4947a9c318/scale_1200)
Beltane(pic. 9) is a Celtic May Day holiday. It is usually celebrated on the first of May. This holiday falls in the middle between the spring equinox and the summer solstice.[1] On the one hand, Beltane on this day, as in Samhain, the border between the world of the dead and the world of the living is thinning.[2] On the other hand, Beltane is a celebration of the earth and nature. This is the beginning of the traditional planting season. In ancient times, farmers built night fires and walked cattle among them to ensure protection and fertility in the upcoming season.[3]
Instead of the Celtic Beltane in England is celebrated Walpurgis Night or the Night of the Witches (the night from April 30 to May 1). In many countries, the spring festival is celebrated on this night.[4]
On the eve of Beltane, a fireplace was extinguished in every Celtic house, and a bonfire was lit at the highest point of the village. Trees for the fire could only be taken oaks.[2]
Directly at the festival, human sacrifices were mostly voluntary: the terminally ill or crippled swore to sacrifice themselves, and druids helped fulfill this oath. Over time, human sacrifices were replaced first by animal sacrifice, and even later by the symbolic burning of figurines or treats.[2]
Unlike the generous Samhain on Beltane, on the contrary, nothing was supposed to be shared: neither water from home, nor flour, nor coal, nor milk. It was believed that luck and prosperity would leave the house of the giver along with the gift.[2]
On Walpurgis Night, a magical ceremony of expelling witches was held: bonfires(pic. 10) were lit, on which a straw effigy of a witch was sometimes burned, and torches were made around the house, church bells were rung, etc. It was believed that herbs gained miraculous power that night.[4]
![(pic. 10 Walpurgis Night bonfire[5])](https://avatars.dzeninfra.ru/get-zen_doc/9731390/pub_64419ad58476d24745a67c6c_64419beee751c96d1ec6ca8e/scale_1200)
In the British Isles, Walpurgis Night is accompanied by the Beltline Fire Festival on Bald Mountain to the sound of Celtic live music. People greet May, arrange dancing parades, create a mystical atmosphere, and light the lights. The louder and brighter the festival is, the more fertile the agricultural season will be. [6]
Resources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beltane
2. https://www.mirf.ru/science/history/beltane-majskaya-noch/
3. https://moon-mood.ru/beltajn-vremja-prazdnovat-zhizn-istorija-tradicii-kak-otprazdnovat-beltajn/
4. https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Вальпургиева_ночь
6. https://pp.userapi.com/c824201/v824201911/17dfe9/ga2I30RKO_U.jpg