Thursday, May 01, 2008

Beltane

Some cheer to start this month and to see that May Day isn't just military parades... Beltane, the Gaelic name for the month of May, begins the season of Light in one Celtic calendar. Celebrating light and growth has been seen as human necessity as has been continued through human history.

Wikipedia has intriguing directions of study upon this subject, just look up Beltane and click the links provided in the article.

In elementary school we'd play 'ring around the rosey'(from another historical holiday but we didn't know that)and would have crowns of flowers. One year we did have a Maypole!

My father used to make me dandelion crowns. One type of crabgrass here grows very tall (as shown in the post the other day), making for wonderful whistles. Sometimes my father, grandfather and I would sit on a bank, whistling away as a 'crabgrass band' while my mother would smile but think that activity was not a ladylike divergence. For me, it was worth 10,000 scratchy, lacy pink crinolines. A Victorian lady I am not.

2 comments:

Linda said...

Don't you love those Grandpa memories. One of my favorites was of him chasing me down the hall with outstretched fingers - to tickle.

Thanks for the smile.

yarn elf said...

Childhood memories- things that formed who we have become in life.
Makes you wonder what grandkids, and the younger ones will think of us in a few years. After winter's deary days, I can understand bright sunny days and all the new life coming out-flowers blooming, trees leafing and blooming, and grass turning green.