Beltane, celebrated each year on May 1, marks the transition from winter’s cold and darkness to spring’s warmth and light. Rooted in ancient Gaelic traditions of fire, fertility and protection, the festival saw its popularity fade with the rise of Christianity. However, modern reinventions honor and reimagine some of its early customs.

Celebrating the start of summer, Beltane is one of the four major ancient Gaelic seasonal festivals, alongside Samhain (marking the start of winter), Imbolc (welcoming spring) and Lughnasadh (honoring the harvest season). Beltane's summer tradition centers around bonfires and the ritual of driving cattle between the flames–symbols of purification and protection.

According to Scottish author James Napier’s 1879 book Folk Lore:, or, Superstitious Beliefs in the West of Scotland Within This Century, Beltane (or “Baal’s fire) refers to the Phoenician god associated with the sun and fertility, Baal. Originally held during the spring equinox, Napier writes, Beltane eventually moved to a date between the equinox and the summer solstice.

Napier describes how the ancient Irish let their fires go out on Beltane Eve. Druid priests would gather high on a hill to obtain “fire from heaven,” offering sacrifices and dancing until the flames consumed their offerings. The sacred flames were then used to rekindle their hearths for the coming year.

According to Myriah Williams, a continuing lecturer in the Celtic studies program at the University of California, Berkeley, Beltane originated in Ireland and Scotland. She says medieval Irish literature, particularly Cormac’s Glossary from the ninth century, hints at its fire rituals, and that while its origins are uncertain, one entry suggests Beltane meant “evil fire,” possibly reflecting Christian disapproval. Another describes a ritual involving druids lighting "prosperous" fires with cattle driven between them. 

“In terms of what that fire represented, if Cormac’s Glossary can be relied upon, it may have had a cleansing or protective function for the cattle heading into the warm half of the year,” Williams says. 

Vivianne Crowley, author of Celtic Wisdom: Seasonal Festivals and Rituals, writes that Beltane’s fires were also linked to fertility.

“To leap the bonfire was to take the flame inside yourself,” she writes. “The flame of light, life and sun would bring new life. Couples who wanted to conceive would leap the Beltane fire.” 

Napier also points to superstitions associated with Beltane. “Dew collected on the morning of the first day of May is supposed to confer witch power on the gatherer and give protection against an evil eye,” he writes. He also notes that a person seen in a field at daybreak on May 1 would be seen as an object of fear and “first of May dew preserved the skin from wrinkles and freckles, and gave a glow of youth.” 

Williams adds that a medieval Irish poem mentions foods of the four different Irish festivals of the year. “It names ale or beer, root vegetables, curds and some kind of sweet or soft food as appropriate for Beltane,” Williams says. “It also makes reference to bringing them to the fire.”

With the spread of Christianity, Beltane faded as pagan practices were discouraged. Nevertheless, in the 18th and 19th centuries, various folk customs involving fire and sacrifice during Beltane were recorded in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. According to Williams, these practices may have reflected lingering traces of ancient pagan traditions. However, she adds, they could be misinterpretations or biases from observers documenting them.

One tradition linked to Beltane is the burning of a "Wicker Man"—a towering figure of woven wood said to contain human or animal sacrifices. Though historians debate the accuracy of these claims, the image of the blazing effigy endures as a symbol of the festival’s lore.

Today, Beltane has seen a resurgence, particularly in Neo-Pagan and Wiccan communities. Edinburgh’s annual Beltane Fire Festival, for example, draws thousands with fire displays, drumming, dancing and storytelling. “The present-day celebrations of Beltane should be looked at as reinventions rather than revivals,” Williams says.