Talk:Beltane

This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Beltane article.
This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject.

Put new text under old text. Click here to start a new topic.
New to Wikipedia? Welcome! Learn to edit; get help.

Article policies

Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL

Archives: 1: 3 months

This article is rated B-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale.
It is of interest to the following WikiProjects:

Holidays High‑importance

	Holidays portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Holidays, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of holidays on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.HolidaysWikipedia:WikiProject HolidaysTemplate:WikiProject HolidaysHolidays
High	This article has been rated as High-importance on the project's importance scale.

Celts High‑importance

	Beltane is within the scope of WikiProject Celts, a collaborative effort to improve Wikipedia's coverage of the ancient Celts and the modern day Celtic nations. If you would like to participate, you can edit this article or you can visit the project page, where you can join the project and see a list of open tasks or take part in the discussion. Please Join, Create, and Assess.CeltsWikipedia:WikiProject CeltsTemplate:WikiProject CeltsCelts
High	This article has been rated as High-importance on the project's importance scale.

Neopaganism High‑importance

	This article is within the scope of WikiProject Neopaganism, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Neopaganism on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.NeopaganismWikipedia:WikiProject NeopaganismTemplate:WikiProject NeopaganismNeopaganism
High	This article has been rated as High-importance on the project's importance scale.

Ireland Mid‑importance

	Ireland portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Ireland, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Ireland on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.IrelandWikipedia:WikiProject IrelandTemplate:WikiProject IrelandIreland
Mid	This article has been rated as Mid-importance on the project's importance scale.
	An image is requested for this article as its inclusion will substantially increase the significance of the article. Please remove the `image-needed` parameter once the image is added.

Scotland Mid‑importance

	Scotland portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Scotland, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Scotland and Scotland-related topics on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.ScotlandWikipedia:WikiProject ScotlandTemplate:WikiProject ScotlandScotland
Mid	This article has been rated as Mid-importance on the project's importance scale.

Religion Low‑importance

	Religion portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Religion, a project to improve Wikipedia's articles on Religion-related subjects. Please participate by editing the article, and help us assess and improve articles to good and 1.0 standards, or visit the wikiproject page for more details.ReligionWikipedia:WikiProject ReligionTemplate:WikiProject ReligionReligion
Low	This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.

Festivals High‑importance

	Holidays portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Festivals, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Festivals on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.FestivalsWikipedia:WikiProject FestivalsTemplate:WikiProject FestivalsFestivals
High	This article has been rated as High-importance on the importance scale.

A fact from this article was featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the On this day section on 34 dates. [show]

This article has previously been nominated to be moved. Please review the prior discussions if you are considering re-nomination.

Discussions:

RM, Beltane → Bealtaine, no consensus, 4 May 2021, (discussion)

tree

Running around the tree with ribbons or strokes of paper reminds me of the may-tree which some villages in the south of the netherlands(where i live) plant in the beginning of may. It is an unusual high (it's very high, 25 meters or something) tree with only some green leaves at the top and it has some ribbons in usually yellow and white hanging from it. It simbolises fertility, just like the beltane feast in Wicca. Thought you might like to know ;) -Gwynn

Etymology section==== Ribbon weaving dance a 19th Century innovation?

In his "Stations of the Sun" (Oxford), the British historian Ronald Hutton says the historical record in the British Isles does not support the ribbon-weaving dance as having any greater antiquity than the 1840's or so. People danced around maypoles for many centuries before that, just not doing the ribbon-weaving thing until well into the 19th century...

EarrachApr.17,2007

Consistency?

Dia dhaoibh, I was looking at this talk page, and I saw that there was a rejected proposal to move the page. I am not really fussed about the title of the page (Although I have always used Bealtaine), but I was thinking that we should at least try for consistency. In the very first line, it contradicts the title of the page and calls the festival Bealtaine, not Beltane. What spelling should be used in the page? If the Gaeilge spelling from the main body of the article is to be kept, I think that the discussion regarding moving the page be reopened.

Edited once for grammar.

Alpha2 5232 (talk) 08:07, 2 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I agree, I think the default title should be changed to Bealtaine, given that this is a celtic/irish festival and that the irish name has been around much longer than "Beltane".. Lievead (talk) 18:49, 4 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Pronunciation

The listed pronunciation in IPA at the start of the article is not what I expected, so I looked at the two sources that are linked. Both of them have a completely different pronunciation. Why are there cites to dictionaries that completely refute the listed pronunciation? I think either the IPA listed should be changed to match the links, or if the IPA listed is "correct", then someone should add cites proving the correctness. Derekt75 (talk) 17:43, 3 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

correct spelling of this festival is "Bealtaine" (pronounced "bee-yowl-tana") Lievead (talk) 18:46, 4 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The Golden Bough

Frazer's "The Golden Bough" is cited here, but that book (by Frazer's own admission) is purely speculative and full of "literary embellishment," and Wikipedia's own page goes into detail on this. The book isn't a credible source for information about the historical practices of Beltaine. Hyphenation (talk) 21:21, 2 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]