Beltane is usually celebrated as May Day in recent decades.
In some areas of the world, this marked the beginning of the summer
season when
farm animals are allowed to graze on the pastures that have returned
after the
cold winter season. Bonfires are lit on mountains and hills and houses
are
decorated with May Boughs and May bushes. The cattle are sometimes
driven
through the bonfires to purify them. Sometimes the people themselves
run
through the bonfires to cleanse and energize themselves to be more
productive
through the year. Wiccans usually celebrate Beltane as a ritual reunion
of the
Goddess (the Lady) and God. The focus is usually on fertility which
symbolizes
more produce, increased livestock and the resulting increased
prosperity.
Midsummer celebrations are conducted around the summer
solstice because ancient cultures believed that mid-summer plants had
miraculous and healing powers if they are picked on this night.
Bonfires are
lit to protect the people from undesirable or evil powers that were
believed to
roam around the land. This festival is also sometimes celebrated as a
sacrifice
time for the sake of fertility and prosperity of the land. This holiday
is
celebrated in many parts of the world including
Lughnasadh is also a sabbat celebrated by Wiccans as well
as
pagans to celebrate the start of autumn or the harvest season. This
celebration
is marked by the harvest of fruits, community gatherings, festivals,
etc. The
Celtics believed that God Lugh or Goddess Carmun started this
tradition.
Dancing around bonfires as well as ritual blessing of the fields for
the
bountiful harvests are the usual ways to celebrate this festival.
Mabon is another festival that is usually held around the
end of September. This symbolizes gratitude or thanksgiving for the
fruits of
the earth. This signifies the end of the harvest season and a corn
dolly would
be created and paraded through the village. This doll is then drenched
with
water to ensure good rains for the next year.
As we can see, Wiccans do not worship the Goddess and God;
they celebrate Nature in all its glory while thanking the Deities for
their
continued guidance for enabling this bounty.
To get the full "How
To Honor Your Wicca Deity" article you'll need to download it
here.
