04/30/2026
(The following is re-printed from my blog post of 4/30/2007)
**********
Tonight, is the Eve of Beltane, one of the two most important Celtic festivals of the year, or, as you probably know it, May Day. It is properly observed from sunset April 30 to sunset May 1.
On Beltane (or Bealtaine) Eve and its counterpart, Samhain Eve (or Halloween), the veil between the two worlds is at its thinnest. But unlike Samhain, when spirits of the dead roam the world, on Beltane Eve it is the fairies who are returning from their winter respite, carefree and full of fairy delight and mischief. Beware, tonight the Queen of the Fairies will ride out on her white steed to entice humans away to fairyland. If you hear the bells on her horse, turn your face away, or she may choose you!
My earliest memory of Beltane, or May Day, was when I was 8 years old. My parents and I were living in a little village in Germany----Grosshaslach. This village was a little over an hour from Post, and we were the only Americans in the village. We rented an apartment in the house of a German family who had a daughter the same age as me--Erica.
Erica and I immediately became the best of friends; we played together, went to school together (I went to school in the village 3 weeks out of every month), and got into so much trouble together. lol
Unbeknownst to Erica and I, and I'm sure every other child in the village, the men of the village had picked out the "May Pole" tree weeks ahead and began preparing. They pick the tallest, straightest tree in the forest, chop it down and strip it bare of all bark. On the eve of May Day--which happens to be tonight--the men carry the May Pole thru the woods and into the town square. Erica and I waited up, both of us in a different window, scanning the tree line of the forest waiting to catch the men carry the May Pole in. The story told to us children was that the May Pole was created by the "daoine maithe," otherwise known as Fairies. We were told that the May Pole was "magically" placed in the town square. Now being 8 years old is very tricky---you are at a crossroads of wanting to believe in fairy tales and wanting to be grown up and know the truth. So, Erica had decided to prove that the "daoine maithe," did not create the May Pole, and we were determined to see for ourselves.
We waited for what seemed like forever. The moon was full and shining light all across the fields; the tree line was lit up and the mist was all around. We stared and stared--switched seats and stared some more. I have no recollection of what time we fell asleep--but we did. The sunlight shining in my room woke us, and we knew we had blown our mission.
Erica and I simultaneously jumped up and ran through my house, past my parents having breakfast, and down the hill towards town. We did not even bother to change out of our nightgowns or put on shoes. I remember the cobblestones on my bare feet and people yelling "Abbremsen! Abbremsen! (Slow down! slow down!) We came around the corner to the square and there she stood--the May Pole!! It was the tallest pole I had ever seen--stripped of all bark, smooth and surrounded by tons of colorful ribbons, all attached at the top of this pole and streaming down. It was one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen. Flowers were everywhere around the village, shopkeepers and families were setting up tables and chairs around the square. Erica and I were dumbfounded. Then it struck me--we were standing there barefooted and in our nightgowns in the middle of the town square. I started to blush until I looked around and saw all the other children standing there in their bare feet and nightclothes, as well. lol It seems Erica and I weren't the only ones who wanted to disprove the May Pole theory. But alas, we couldn't, and to this day I still believe it was the fairies.
The rest of the day was spent celebrating---singing and dancing and an amazing amount of food and goodies. And yes--we children danced around the May Pole, with rings of flowers in our hair--spinning those beautiful ribbons around and around the pole. That night, Erica and I again sat in my windows listening to the adults celebrate Beltane in the village. Music poured over the hills, and this time, instead of moonlight alone--there were two giant bonfires on the hill in honor of Bel, the Sun God. My time spent in that German village were magical and wonderful, and truly the happiest time in my childhood.
