A Celebration of Spring in late April

by Joseph Jackson

The celebration of spring in late April /early May is one of the world’s universal festivals. Every culture on earth both ancient and modern, mark the coming of spring and the rebirth of life that it brings.

The Celts celebrated Beltane on the 1st of May. This involved as always, lots of eating and drinking on the last evening of April and letting the house fires that had burned all winter, go out. Then at sun rise on the 1st of May tapers of flame would be lit from a sacred fire and taken back for the houses to light the new fires. The relighting of the fire and the returning sun was a symbol of rebirth. In Britain today, Mayday is celebrated all over the country with fairs, parades, dancing and food and drink. Some of you may remember, “Rose Fates and the May Queen” from times gone by. The origins of today’s celebrations have little to do with the Celtic festival.

The arrival of the Romans did not end the Celtic festivals but over the 367 years of Roman occupation, Beltane became diluted with the traditions not only of Rome but the many other cultures Rome brought into Britain.

Flora was the Roman Goddess of Spring; her festival was celebrated from the 28th of April until the 3rd of May and largely consisted of partying and a lot of lewd behaviour.

The most influential of the Roman festivals on today’s May Day celebrations was the Rosalia Signorum (the Festival of the Standards.) This was a Roman military festival and originated in the early days of Rome when in October soldiers’ weapons were oiled and after a religious ceremony was carried out, they were put in to storage for the winter. The Rosalia Signorum was the celebration of spring and a ceremony was held to bring the weapons out of their winter rest.

By the time the Roman Empire reached its height, this festival had altered as in October it was no longer practical to put the weapons in storage as they were now a professional standing so wooden replicas were used instead.

At the end of April, the ‘return of the weapons’ was still celebrated and the Cohorts’ military standard (The Signium) was brought out and decorated with primroses. The soldiers would then parade through the local village or town with the standard which was then placed in the village centre and women and children would dance around the ‘Pole of the Signium’.

The pre-Christian Angles, Saxons and Jutes, who settled in Britain after the Romans, then brought with them their own gods (Woden, Thunor, and many others). They also celebrated the return of spring around the end of April and early May. Their festival was known as Eostre and was associated with the Goddess Ostara. The month of April was referred to as Ostarmanoth (Easter month) in ancient German (which today we know as English).

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