Beltane
an ancient Celtic festival observed on May Day in Scotland and Ireland to mark the beginning of summer.
Historical Examples
Folk Lore James Napier
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 5 Various
Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 1 (of 6) Havelock Ellis
Balder The Beautiful, Vol. I. Sir James George Frazer
The Religion of the Ancient Celts J. A. MacCulloch
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 5 Various
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 5 Various
Balder The Beautiful, Vol. I. Sir James George Frazer
Nooks and Corners of English Life, Past and Present John Timbs
Folk Lore James Napier
noun
an ancient Celtic festival with a sacrificial bonfire on May Day. It is also celebrated by modern pagans
n.
The rubbish about Baal, Bel, Belus imported into the word from the Old Testament and classical antiquity, is outside the scope of scientific etymology. [OED]
Also known as “Old May Day,” because after the 1752 calendar reform it continued to be reckoned according to Old Style; it was one of the quarter-days of ancient Scotland.
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