I wrote this to describe one of the Pagan Sabbats Beltane. Contributed by dianeknutzen.
At the beginning of summer there is a sabbat. This sabbat is called Beltane. It celebrates the Sun God Bel?s coronation feast and new life. It marks the time when trees, grass, and flowers are coming out of their long, winter hibernation and beginning to grow again. It marks the beginning of summer. Beltane means ?Fire of Bel.? Beltane is celebrated the night of April 30 and May 1.
Beltane is a time to celebrate the fertility of Mother Earth. It is about new life, fire, passion, and rebirth. Beltane starts on the night of April 30 with a huge bonfire. Having a bonfire or any type of fire is an important symbol of Beltane because Beltane is one of the four fire festivals. At the bonfire there is a lot of music, dancing, and magic. The fire burns until morning.
In the morning you go out and gather flowers and sticks to decorate your house with. Females also braid flowers in their hair. Men and women decorate their bodies with Beltane symbols. In the morning there is also a maypole ritual where there is more dancing, music, and magic. The maypole is a giant pole placed in the ground with brightly colored ribbons attached. People would each grab a ribbon and dance around the pole. Men going one direction and women going the other. Once the pole has all the ribbons weaved together it symbolizes Mother Earths womb. Then people would go their own ways to build their own altar in honor of Bel, the Goddess, the Faes, and Mother Earth.
Later everyone comes back to feast. Types of food that are at the feast are dairy foods, oatmeal cakes/cookies with a little bit of honey for an added sweetness, cereal, fruits, and breads.
I got my information from this site:
http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/beltaneritesandrituals/
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