{"id":26,"date":"2009-05-01T00:01:32","date_gmt":"2009-05-01T04:01:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=26"},"modified":"2011-05-08T19:36:23","modified_gmt":"2011-05-08T19:36:23","slug":"bealtaine-beltain-beltene-or-beltane-for-may-1st-yes-ba%e2%80%99al-tine-%e2%80%93-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/bealtaine-beltain-beltene-or-beltane-for-may-1st-yes-ba%e2%80%99al-tine-%e2%80%93-not\/","title":{"rendered":"Bealtaine, Beltain, Beltene, or Beltane for May 1st? YES! Ba\u2019al tine \u2013 NOT!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bealtaine, Beltain, Beltene, or Beltane for May 1st? YES!\u00a0 <\/span>Ba\u2019al tine \u2013 NOT!<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

May 1st<\/sup> is the first day of summer in the traditional Celtic calendar, and if our current heat wave (ceithre ch\u00e9im is n\u00f3cha Fahrenheit ar an 26\u00fa l\u00e1 d\u2019Aibre\u00e1n<\/strong>, 94\u00b0F on April 26th<\/sup>) is any indication, it will feel like an samhradh<\/strong> (the summer) here on May 1.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In Modern Irish, \u201cBealtaine\u201d<\/strong> can also mean \u201cthe month of May,\u201d but you can contrast \u201cL\u00e1 Bealtaine<\/strong>\u201d (May Day) and \u201cM\u00ed na Bealtaine<\/strong>\u201d (the month of the May Day) to make the distinction.\u00a0 <\/span>There are equivalents in Scottish Gaelic (Bealtuinn<\/strong>) and Manx <\/span>‘Boaltinn<\/strong>‘ or ‘Boaldyn<\/strong>‘<\/span>.\u00a0 <\/span>Some say the phrase means \u201cbright fire,\u201d although I must point out that there is no ordinary word \u201cbeal\u201d for \u201cbright\u201d in Modern Irish.\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBright\u201d would most likely be \u201cgeal<\/strong>\u201d today.\u00a0 <\/span>Some interpret it as the fire of the Celtic god Bel, aka Belenus, aka Bile, aka Belinos.\u00a0 <\/span>One improbable suggestion, made decades ago, is that the holiday refers to the fire of the Semitic god Ba\u2019al, whose name means \u201clord!\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cBeltain\u201d<\/strong> and \u201cBeltene\u201d<\/strong> are older forms of the word.\u00a0 The second element, -taine<\/strong>, is widely accepted as meaning “fire,” as in Modern Irish “tine<\/strong>.”<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBeltane\u201d is the anglicized spelling and is considered a word in English in its own right.\u00a0 <\/span>It is used in various phrases, especially in Scotland, such as the \u201cBeltane term\u201d in Scottish law and \u201cBeltane bannocks,\u201d an oat griddle cake allegedly the origin of Native American frybread.\u00a0 <\/span>Hmm, now what would the Irish for Native American \u201cfrybread\u201d be?\u00a0 <\/span>We\u2019d need to distinguish it from traditional Irish ar\u00e1n friochta<\/strong> (fried bread). \u00a0<\/span>Friochtar\u00e1n<\/strong>? \u00c1bhar machnaimh, p\u00e9 sc\u00e9al \u00e9<\/strong> (food for thought, anyway).\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Although most of the traditional ways of celebrating Bealtaine have now faded into, well, tradition, at least one major landmark event is held annually.\u00a0 <\/span>In Edinburgh, on O\u00edche Bhealtaine<\/strong> (May Day Eve, i.e. April 30th<\/sup>), there is a Beltane Fire Festival on Calton Hill, with about 15,000 people attending.\u00a0 <\/span>I double-checked the current temperature in Edinburgh, a high of 51\u00b0F predicted for May 1st<\/sup>.\u00a0 <\/span>C\u00e9 acu is fearr leat<\/strong>?\u00a0 <\/span>Which do you prefer?\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

You might wonder, wouldn\u2019t O\u00edche Bhealtaine<\/strong> be the night of May 1st<\/sup>?\u00a0 <\/span>It doesn\u2019t work that way in Irish \u2013 the word \u201co\u00edche<\/strong>\u201d (night) before the name of a holiday refers to its \u201ceve\u201d or \u201cevening before,\u201d as in \u201cO\u00edche Nollag\u201d<\/strong> (Eve of Christmas) and \u201cO\u00edche Shamhna\u201d<\/strong> (Eve of Samhain<\/strong>).\u00a0 <\/span>If you want to talk about the night of May 1st<\/sup> or of December 25th<\/sup>, you say \u201cO\u00edche L\u00e1 Nollag<\/strong>\u201d (the night of the day of Christmas) or \u201cO\u00edche L\u00e1 Bealtaine<\/strong>\u201d (the night of the day of May).\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Why \u201cNollag<\/strong>\u201d and not the subject form \u201cNollaig<\/strong>\u201d?\u00a0 <\/span>An tuiseal ginideach<\/strong> (the genitive case or possessive form); we\u2019re saying \u201cof Christmas\u201d here. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Why \u201cShamhna<\/strong>\u201d instead of \u201cSamhain<\/strong>?\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>Ditto, i.e. an rud (f\u00e1th) c\u00e9anna!<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Why \u201cShamhna\u201d <\/strong>and not \u201cSamhna\u201d?\u00a0 <\/span><\/strong>Because the word \u201co\u00edche\u201d <\/strong>is feminine and \u201cSamhna\u201d <\/strong>is considered to modify it.\u00a0 <\/span>With that in mind, can you predict how to say \u201cthe day of Samhain<\/strong>, i.e. November 1st<\/sup>).\u00a0 <\/span>Leid<\/strong> (clue): you\u2019ll be using the word \u201cl\u00e1<\/strong>,\u201d which is masculine.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

However you choose to celebrate it, bain sult as an l\u00e1<\/strong> (enjoy the day).\u00a0 <\/span>Bhur mblag\u00e1la\u00ed – R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Freagra: L\u00e1 Samhna<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bealtaine, Beltain, Beltene, or Beltane for May 1st? YES!\u00a0 Ba\u2019al tine \u2013 NOT! \u00a0 May 1st is the first day of summer in the traditional Celtic calendar, and if our current heat wave (ceithre ch\u00e9im is n\u00f3cha Fahrenheit ar an 26\u00fa l\u00e1 d\u2019Aibre\u00e1n, 94\u00b0F on April 26th) is any indication, it will feel like an…<\/p>\n

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