Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Sap Rise, Beltane and National Green Day

I’m reflecting on this season of ‘Sap Rise’, as I call it in my book Celebrating the Southern Seasons. It’s a time of high sexual, creative, greening energy. The ancient Celtic festival of Beltane was celebrated at this point midway between spring equinox and summer solstice. In the southern hemisphere Beltane falls on October 31.

For some time I’ve dreamed of this date becoming National Green Day, when we wear something green, or maybe a sprig in the buttonhole, and when we do something for the earth: maybe plant a tree, clear rubbish or weeds, create a garden.

My dream is contradicted by the dark energies of Halloween, based on the old Celtic festival of the dead. This festival falls on April 30 in the southern hemisphere, but the commercial world has imported it thoughtlessly to coincide with the northern hemisphere calendar. Sometimes I fantasise about having sprigs of green ready for the children who come around trick and treating. I offer each sprig with a smile, and say, ‘in our hemisphere, it’s actually spring and the Green Festival.’ It’s tricky though; I don’t want to make the children wrong, but at the same time I do object to this misalignment! Maybe I could find a green treat for them, as a graceful way of synchronising with our southern hemisphere season.

What ideas do you have? How can we celebrate this peak of greening, the lusty energy of full-on spring?

Add a comment (click comment, and then sign up for one of the ‘profiles’ that comes up in the list. Google is easy to do, or maybe you are already signed up for one of them. Then write your comment). I’d love to gather ideas about this.

No comments: