Beltane

American  

[bel-teyn, -tin] / ˈbɛl teɪn, -tɪn /

noun

1. an ancient Celtic festival observed on May Day in Scotland and Ireland to mark the beginning of summer.

---

Beltane British  

/ -tən, ˈbɛlteɪn /

noun

1. an ancient Celtic festival with a sacrificial bonfire on May Day. It is also celebrated by modern pagans

---

Etymology

Origin of Beltane

1375–1425; late Middle English ( Scots ) < Scots Gaelic bealltainn, Old Irish bel ( l ) taine, perhaps equivalent to *bel- an obscure element, perhaps the name of a supernatural person + tene fire

Example Sentences

She crosses the video game’s Scottish Highlands on her journey to the coast in time for the Gaelic May Day festival Beltane, where her uncle, a lighthouse keeper, is waiting.

From New York Times • Dec. 6, 2023

Beltane festivities occured more recently than you may think—it was celebrated throughout the centuries until the late 1800s.

From Salon • May 2, 2022

Those in Australasia, South America, and other areas in the Southern Hemisphere swap the positioning of Beltane and Samhain due to having different seasons in play on that side of the world.

From Salon • May 2, 2022

A leathery dominatrix holding hands with a unicorn wished me, using the customary parlance, a happy Beltane.

From New York Times • Aug. 6, 2015

Where the Church was powerful, as in Edinburgh and Peebles, Rood day would be the important festival, and Beltane would gradually become incorporated with it, the names Beltane day and Rood day becoming synonymous.

From Folk Lore Superstitious Beliefs in the West of Scotland within This Century by Napier, James