Beltane was an ancient Celtic festival which welcomed in the summer, celebrated before the Romanisation of Britain. It was honoured with fires, livestock breeding and marriage ceremonies. Today’s Beltane Fire Festival takes place on the 30th April on Calton Hill in Edinburgh, and while a paean to the ancient traditions of the nation, is nothing more than a supposed resurrection of what happened all those years ago.
The festival consists mainly of an incendiary procession whereby mytical characters like the Mary Queen, Green Man and Red Man are summoned, burned and resurrected. A fire arch and special bonfire are also lit in honour of the four elements, before hand-tying ceremonies and various merrriments conclude events.
