These are the traditions and rituals of the Gaelic May Day festival

Plans for 2020 have been met with many cancellations, with major events including Glastonbury, the Olympics and the Euros all being forced to postpone.

But while events may not have gone ahead as planned, there are some special days that can still be celebrated during lockdown - including Beltane.

What is Beltane?

Beltane is the Gaelic May Day festival and is most commonly celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and the summer solstice.

The festival was historically widely observed throughout Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man, and is one of four Gaelic seasonal festivals, along with Samhain, Imbolc and Lughnasadh.

Beltane honours spring at its peak and looks forward to the beginning of summer.

It marks the return of fertility to the land when livestock would have been put out to pasture, celebrating the new life that will emerge as the seasons transition.

What rituals were observed?

Historically, rituals were performed to protect the cattle, crops and people, and to encourage fertility and growth.

Beltane has been observed for centuries in Europe and is now embraced by pagans, who mark the occasion with the lighting of bonfires, dance and rituals.

The word ‘Beltane’ originates from the Celtic God ‘Bel’, which means ‘bright one’, and the Gaelic word ‘teine’, meaning ‘fire’.

Together the words make ‘bright fire’, which inspired the traditional lighting of bonfires to honour the sun.