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EveryParampara

Next: 1 May 2027

Beltane and May Day

The first day of summer in the Gaelic year: bonfires, dew washed on the face, maypoles and morris dancers at dawn.

Beltane: 2012 Beltane Fire Festival bonfire on Calton Hill, Edinburgh, Scotland
Photo: Stefan Schäfer, Lich, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

When is Beltane and May Day in 2027?

Beltane and May Day 2027 is on Saturday, 1 May 2027. Other years: 2026, Friday, 1 May 2026; 2028, Monday, 1 May 2028.

About Beltane and May Day

Beltane, on 1 May or the evening before, was one of the four great Gaelic festivals, marking the beginning of summer and the movement of cattle to their summer pastures. Fires were lit on hilltops, and livestock was driven between two fires to protect them. In Scotland and Ireland, women washed their faces in the dew of the first morning of May for beauty and health, and hawthorn and gorse blossoms were hung on doors. Across England and much of Europe, May Day is celebrated with a maypole, on which ribbons are woven by dancers, a May queen, and morris dancers who greet the sunrise, notably at Oxford on Magdalen Tower. In the Padstow Obby Oss festival in Cornwall, a dancing "horse" parades through town. Edinburgh holds a Beltane Fire Festival on the night of 30 April.

Beltane and May Day dates: 2026, 2027, 2028

YearBeltane and May Day date
2026Friday, 1 May 2026
2027Saturday, 1 May 2027
2028Monday, 1 May 2028

What is eaten

  • oatcakes
  • bannocks
  • May wine

Traditions of Beltane and May Day

BeltaneThe Gaelic festival.MaypoleThe ribboned pole.Morris danceThe English dance.

Also part of it, and being written: Padstow 'Obby 'Oss (The Cornish May Day festival.).

More marked on Beltane and May Day

🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland and 3 moreMay Day A traditional European festival welcoming summer with greenery, dances and bonfiresSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals 🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreNeed-fire A ritual fire kindled by friction to ward off cattle plague, disease and harmFolklore
About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background: "Beltane" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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Every week: one tradition from somewhere new, what is being celebrated around the world this week, and one idea explained.