There is
some difference of opinion as to the particular day on which the
Beltane festival was held in this country. Dr. Jamieson, Dr. R.
Chambers, and others who have studied this subject say that the 1st May
(old style) was Beltane day. Professor Veitch; in his _History and
Poetry of the Scottish Border_, (p. 118,) says, speaking of the
Druids:--"They worshipped the sun god, the representative of the bright
side of nature--Baal, the fire-giver--and to him on the hill tops they
lit the fire on the end of May, the Beltane." And again, in his remarks
on _Peblis to the Play_, (p. 315,) he says:--"The play was not the name
for a stage play, but indicated the sports and festivals which took
place at Peebles annually at Beltane, the second of May, not the first
of May, as is usually supposed. These had in all probability come in
place of the ancient British practice of lighting fires on the hill tops
in honour of Baal, the sun god, hence the name _Baaltein_, Beltane,
i.e. Baal's fire. The Christian Church had so far modified the
ceremonial as to substitute for the original idolatrous practice that of
a day of rustic amusements.
Pages:
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241