Sermons

READING ~ “May Day 2022: What Is May Day?” in The Old Farmer’s Almanac 2022
May Day (May 1) is a holiday rich in history and folklore, celebrating the return of spring! Learn about some of the fun traditions, from May Day baskets to dancing around the maypole.
Did you know that May Day has its roots in astronomy? Traditionally, it was the halfway point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice! In ancient times, this was one of the Celtic cross-quarter days, which mark the midway points between the (four) solstices and equinoxes of the year.

READING ~ Beltane in Circle Round, Raising Children in Goddess Traditions by Starhawk, Diane Baker and Anne Hill. Bantam Books, 1998.
Beltane is the great spring holiday of the Goddess. Halfway around the year from Halloween, when we honor our beloved dead, Beltane is the festival that celebrates all of the living world: plants, animals, and human beings.

Here in Maine, flowers are beginning to bloom, maple trees are red with buds about to burst open, gardens are getting turned over and seeds, started indoors, are beginning to grow. The hibernating animals are out and about, looking for love and starting families. The loons are back on our lakes and the woodcock is engaged in his mating dance at dusk.

This is a luscious and generative time of year.

Today is May Day. In more ancient times, this day would have been as Beltane. As is the case with so many holidays, it has changed over the centuries. People move from place to place and bring with them their own traditions and celebrations and they become part of the already present celebrations. Conquerors commandeer local holidays and remake them in their own image. Cultures grow and evolve and spirituality changes over time as the cultures change. What began in ancient Celtic and even pre-Celtic times as an observation of the changes in the seasons is now a sort of mash up of spirituality, customs, politics and preferences.

Let me clear with you all right now. I do know that May Day is also recognized as International Labor Day – – a day with its own history and meaning. But … I want to share with you the traditions of the Beltane and May Day holidays that are joyful and associated with the seasons and the turning of the earth another 1/8 turn around the sun. Today is about fertility and joy. Let’s begin with ancient Beltane and finish up with contemporary May Day.

Beltane is a Pagan holiday, and one of the eight Sabbats. It falls about halfway between the spring equinox and the coming summer solstice. Beltane is a Celtic word, meaning “the fires of Bel.” Bel, likely referred to the Celtic sun god, Belenus.
The Celts used to light two bonfires because they believed it would purify themselves, as well as increase their fertility and the fertility of plants and livestock.

It seems that with every bonfire, there is dancing and singing. Beltane is a time for dancing and singing – sometimes all night; sometimes in the hope of attracting a mate. Often, the parings that began on Beltane were recognized with marriage on the Summer Solstice. To begin a partnership on Beltane was thought to be a good omen for the couple’s fertility. And not just human fertility. Life depends on the fertility and successful production of plants and animals, including the human animal.

This time of year is full of new life and the promise of new life.
There is so much beauty and so much joy now that spring is coming into her fullness.

Though we may have an abundance of scientific knowledge about how to increase or assure the fertility of plants and animals, we also carry the ancient mystery and wonder of this repeating cycle each and every year. Gratitude is our natural response. We give thanks. We sing. We dance.

In their guide to raising children in the Goddess traditions, Starhawk, Diane Baker, and Anne Hill remind us and our children that one of Erath’s greatest gifts is her power to grow wonderful flowers and fruit and everything we eat. Reciprocity asks that in return for these great gifts, we keep the land and the soil healthy, we protect and preserve animals and plants and trees so they will thrive in their natural environments. Each living being has a place, a purpose and a special part to play in the great dance of life. In our contemporary lives, we sometimes allow ourselves to become separate from the natural world and we can forget how interconnected we are with all of life. Beltane is a holiday that brings us back to Earth and to gratitude and joy for all that is our bounty and our lives.

As cultures and people have changed and moved, the festival of Beltane has also changed and adapted to the customs of different people and different places. The names of the Celtic world have been adapted to the cultures of more modern times. Beltane is now May Day in many parts of the world and among people who do not identify with the pagan cycles and the Goddess Traditions. The core of the holiday, however, continues to revolve around the beauty and fertility of earth and all her relations.

The Old Famer’s Almanac describes some of these changes.
“May Day has a long history and tradition in England, some of which eventually came to America. Children would dance around the Maypole holding onto colorful ribbons. People would “bring in the May” by gathering wildflowers and green branches, weaving of floral hoops and hair garlands, and crowning a May king and queen. Such rites originally may have been intended to ensure fertility for crops and, by extension, for livestock and humans, but in most cases this significance was gradually lost, so that the practices survived largely as popular festivities.”

Here’s another description of the transition from ancient practices to our contemporary holiday rituals found in the blog archives of the Boston Public Library:
“Modern-day pagans celebrate Beltane in a variety of ways. One way to celebrate is with a maypole. In this custom, a pole is placed in a field with ribbons attached. Each person (usually women and girls) will grab a hold of their own ribbon, and dance around the pole in a special way, so as to weave the ribbons into a specific pattern. This is one of the more common fertility rituals that might take place on this day. Celebrators also might weave flowers into their hair, or create a floral wreath to wear upon their head as a celebration of spring. Some pagans light a bonfire and dance around (or even over) it, which is another common fertility ritual for the day. Lastly, some people prepare “May baskets,” and fill them with flowers and goodwill. They give the baskets to someone in need of care, such as an elderly friend, or someone who is recovering from an illness.”
Do any of you remember May baskets? Do any of you make and give May baskets? It’s a very sweet May Day activity that has almost disappeared. I remember making May baskets from plain white paper – decorated with crayon drawings or tiny buttons or shells or whatever small pretty things could be glued to the outside of the thin delicate basket. If we had any of the plastic green grass left over from Easter baskets, we’d line the inside of the May basket. The basket is filled with spring flowers – crocuses, violets, daffodils – or whatever flowers anyone could find. Sometimes, there might be a bit of candy in the bottom of the basket. May baskets were made two or three days before May 1st and then delivered on May Day. I don’t think I’ve made a May basket in more than twenty years. Maybe it’s time to bring that ritual back into practice. It is such a gentle and happy and meaningful way to tell someone you are thinking of them and sharing the beauty of Earth with them.

Have you ever danced around the May Pole?
The May Pole is still a frequent part of a May Day celebration. There are different customs and various ways of organizing the dance around the May Pole.
Basically, dancers assemble in a circle around the tall pole – often a tree trunk in bygone days, now a metal or wood pole. Colored ribbons are attached to the top of the pole. Each dancer takes the free end of a single ribbon. The ensuing dance – sometimes with intricate steps and turns – results in the ribbons wrapping around the pole in bright colorful patterns. The May Pole dance is a joyous celebration that is fun for people of all ages.

Whatever your own spiritual understandings may be, today is a holiday that ought to bring a smile to your face; it is a time to bring gratitude and joy into your life. This is holiday for setting aside the burdens of daily living and taking up the songs and dances of Earth’s life as it blooms and emerges and is birthed into her fulness.

Beltane/May Day invites us to share joy. If you are like me, you don’t share joy often enough.
Let’s embrace the invitation and go out into this spring day wherever you are and share your joy in the new flowers and baby animals and gardens getting ready for planting or already growing. We could all use a bit more joy in our lives. Today is a day made for joy. Don’t miss it. See it, feel it, smell it, and take in with every breath. Share that joy with everyone you encounter this day – – and maybe every day.

Blessed Be. I Love You. Amen.