And for once, it's not about the food. Some of it is the activities - our maypole has, invariably, been accomplished in the dark, while drunk, and generally around a basketball pole. It's the final capstone of the evening though, so that makes sense.
Let me start at the beginning. A proper Beltane, for us, involves several friends, and the woods. This year, lacking a friend with the proper woods, we'll be camping. For several years, we attempted to attend the local Beltane festival, but as it waned in entertainment year after year, we finally gave up and just straight up have our own party.
First, we barbecue. It's a good impetus to bring the fire in right off the bat, and gives everyone a solid chance to start eating and talking. This is the warm-up of several hours.
When dusk is still a few hours away, the face painting begins. Everyone gets appropriately fierce faux-tribal markings of their choice, and we have accidentally roped in up to 15 non-pagans simply by having so much fun doing it. Beer, mead, and wine appears at this juncture, if it hasn't already.
Then, the Feats of Strength. We don't know how this started, but it's been an annual tradition for just about four years. The men-folk decide upon three or four events - push-ups, pull-ups, arm wrestling, real wrestling, whatever is appropriate to the attendees, and proceed to cavort for the women-folks amusement. The women-folk are the final judges and arbiters of all contests. Also, once, the administers of first aid to massive rug burns.
By the time the Feats have been accomplished, and the arguing is done, it's dusk and time for the bonfire. Fire goes up, people seat themselves, and more eating commences, along with story-telling. Story-telling ranges from mythologies and tales appropriate to the olden times to "You would not BELIEVE what
Eventually, this morphs into toasts, boasts, and oaths. Toasting seems to follow Newtonian law in that, the longer it goes on, the more force is required to stop it. It's a momentum thing.
At some point, as the fire burns down, we remember that we havn't done the Maypole yet. Attaching the prepared ribbons (or yarn, or scraps) to the basketball hoop is sometimes accomplished at this point, but if we were lucky, someone remembered to declare a Pole Shimmy as one of the Feats, and it's just waiting for us.
Then, everyone goes to bed. Or, 'bed', as the case may be.
I understand that some people get very irritated by the prevalence of sex in Beltane, but to me, trying to take it out is like trying to take Santa Claus out of Christmas. There are some hard-asses who succeed, in both cases, but it's kind of missing the larger point. Christmas is about giving and receiving (Christmas, Yule, Mid-Winter, every single mid-cold season holiday of greater Europe, as far as I can tell.) Beltane is about sex. It's about fertility, and kicking off the growing season, about creativity and sparks and energy. It's about fire.
As I said, it's my favorite. It's quintessentially about life, and passion, and growth. It is, for me, so unconnected to any Christian American holidays that it holds no other connotations. This is MY holiday, the one I get to tell other people, "Sorry, I'm busy. Maybe next time." The holiday that takes precedence over other obligations - instead of planning my holiday around and between.
And we're celebrating twice this year, which just makes it better. Life, Fire, and Goddess Bless the Winter's passing.
Blessed Be!
Pennanti
