Holidays - May Day - by Jennifer Lang

MAY DAY:

April showers bring May flowers. May Day, held on May first, is not considered a Christian holiday, but many Christians practice its traditions without knowing what they are participating in. Since May Day is another of the most important holidays to pagans, satanists and witches, I want to mention it briefly. 

It was called Beltane in honor of Bel (Baal). This day was very similar to Halloween. The Druids lit Beltane bonfires to chase away witches and demons in the air, and performed human and animal sacrifices as offerings to Baal. People all over the world celebrated it. They had different names for the same holiday in honor of the same demon god. 

May Pole dances are still popular today. The Druids, Phoenicians and Romans danced around the pole in worship to the tree where demons (who they thought were kind) resided. It was done to drive away evil spirits that they believed brought the cold as well as sickness and barrenness, and it was also a fertility dance. The May Pole was a life and fertility symbol. They wanted ‘Mother Gaia’ to be fruitful and prosper them.

Wreaths were made out of flowers and green boughs to put on each cottage door by groups of carolers on the morning of May Day as well as at Christmas time. They believed the house would be blessed by good fairies if something green was on the door. They even put bowls of milk outside for the fairies to drink, and when the sun evaporated it or animals drank it, they believed the fairies drank it!

        Like Halloween, May Day was also a day for divination. They especially practiced romantic divination games. Leaving a May Basket on the door of a prospective lover, knocking on the door and running to hide was a game that carried over into modern times. The custom was to knock on the door, yell “May basket!” and then run. If the recipient caught the giver, he or she was entitled to a kiss.

        The bonfires were previously called “bailfires” referencing fires for the god Moloch, aka Ba’al. So, in essence we could call them “Ba’alfires.” Again, we see the sacrifice of children to this occult god Ba’al being played out in different forms.

        The pagans believe in the sexual union of the god and goddess at May Day (Beltaine) and the importance of observing it meant couples could not compete with the gods and would delay their weddings until June.