Since time immemorial, in Celtic lands and most of Western Europe, today is Beltane.
The first day of summer in ancient calendars, a celebration of new growth and joy, of planting and beginning to grow the future.? Also a day of fertility and creativity, when the Goddess and the King made love in the furrows of the fields, to guarantee bountiful crops for the people. Some of the old rituals still exist in parts of Europe.
In Ireland, the bonfires were lit, one after another on the hilltops as the dusk came down.? Herds of cattle, the family, wealth were walked between the bonfires to insure prosperity.? And after that, if there twinkles in eyes here and there, you were free to spend the night with whomever took your fancy, whether you and they were in other partnerships or not. In the last 20 years, the Irish have started to light the bonfires once again.
The Goddess then was the benefactor of humans, long before male gods were imagined.? Which meant that women were free to choose their partners.? And what a joyful and celebratory day this was, after the dreary winter and rainy spring.
Out of this joyous day for the common hu/man have come the traditions of celebrating unions and workers, and of celebrating the law, which protects citizens and gives them the same rights as the nobles.
So May Day has changed and shifted, but is pretty universally recognized around this planet as an important and powerful day.? Thus does The Goddess continue to re-appear on this earth.