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Welcome to AllFaith.com and Beit Emunah's AllFaith Community Worship! This is a community service for all people of the Light. We invite your participation and contributions. Let us know if you would like to share a spiritual song or poem.
Please note our schedule change: Our Wednesday 1 PM Bible class has been moved to Mondays at 8 PM to better accommodate those who wish to attend. I hope this works better for everyone. We are currently studying Ezekiel.
This week, our theme is May Day, one of the oldest holidays observed by humanity. In the ancient homeland of my father, Wales, May Day is known as Calan Mai. If you are among those celebrating, we wish you a joyous holiday. Harsh Winter is over, for this turning of the year at least.
Calan Mai, Beltane, or May Day, will be observed this Wednesday beginning at sunset through Thursday night, May 1. The year arises from its slumber and all creatures celebrate life, each in their own way. May we do the same and embrace the sanctity of life.May Day, Calan Mai, Beltane, by whatever name, celebrates the dawning of Summer as evidenced by the arrival of Spring! It's a time for many fun traditions, from leaving surprise flower baskets on people's doorsteps, decorating everything with flowers and bright colors, to exhilarating fire dances, and dancing around the Maypole. And don’t forget to wash your face with morning dew on May 1 for good luck!
The Origins of May Day
Calan Mai ("May Day") or Beltane ("Day of the Fires of Belenus,” the Celtic sun god—there is no linguistic connection to the Middle Eastern Ba’alim) is the first day of May. Many people will celebrate it this Wednesday night and Thursday, so keep your eyes and hearts open. On Nos Galan Mai, May Day Eve, large bonfires and small cauldron fires are ignited, heralding the arrival of summer with 'John Barleycorn,' or, in other words, with substantial drinking. In some communities, skilled fire-dancers will amaze and inspire with flaming torches. On Nos Galan Mai, Beltane fires will erupt, and the Maypole dances will begin, along with other ancient traditions. The joy continues for twenty-four plus hours, into the night of Calan Mai, the next day.
On Calan Mai, a symbolic fight-dance occurs between two men, one representing Winter and the other, Summer. Winter carries a large blackthorn stick and a shield covered with white wool, signifying Winter snow. Summer is adorned with flowers and ribbons and carries a willow wand with many flowers and other decorations. The two perform an ancient dance retelling the battle of Light and Darkness, during which Winter throws straw at Summer, seeking to thwart the inevitable. Summer battles back heroically with his wand and branches of birch and fern. Of course, Summer always wins the battle as Light always triumphs over Darkness, in the end. Afterward, the victorious Summer Lord chooses May King and Queen, and they dance before and are soon joined by the community in mirth. This rite recalls the three battles between Lugh’s Tuatha Dé Danann and the Fomorians and Fir Bolg. Celtic lore is fascinating.
The rites include various traditions based on geography and local lore. Certain customs originating from the Druids and earlier eras are still observed today. These are windows into ancient ways and beliefs.
The holiday partly has its roots in astronomy, as understood by the Welsh and other ancient peoples. This festival aligns its observances with the Celtic cross-quarter days, marking the midway points between the four solstices and equinoxes of the year and the key seasonal points of Candlemas (coopted to commemorate the presentation of Jesus in the Temple 40 days after his birth), Beltane (May Day), Lammas (First Grain Harvest), All Hallows (or Samhain: now Halloween).
Like many other early holidays, May Day is also rooted in agriculture. Such Spring celebrations are marked by song and dance in the fields as they begin to bloom. Some of the early rites aimed to encourage the seeds of the fields to produce plentifully. Cattle are driven to pasture beginning on May Day, special bonfires are lit, and the doors of houses and livestock are decorated with colorful May flowers. Well into the 1900s, the celebrations were widely observed. Throughout the countryside, the people created large bonfires and danced and celebrated throughout the night with Beltane fires, until Calan Mai night in celebration. Although the Church tried to stop the popular annual observances, they continued. The Church incorporated many of the traditions into their own rites as mentioned before. Today, there is a resurgence of earth-based spirituality, and the Old Ways are somewhat making a comeback, to the chagrin of many Christians.
As sung by my old friend Gwydion Pendderwen:
Many hope to see the restoration of pre-Christian spiritualogy.
The Maypole Dance
Did you ever dance around the maypole as a child? Wrapping a maypole with colorful ribbons is a joyous ancient tradition that still exists in some schools and communities, but most do not understand its origins. In earlier times, the I'r fedwen in Welsh, or Maypole, was a living birch tree chosen from the woods with much merrymaking. Ancient Celts danced around the tree, praying for the fertility of their crops, themselves, loved ones, and all living things! The Druid’s love of trees, whether the Maypole birch or the Oak Yule Tree, continues with Christmas trees.
For younger people, there was the exciting possibility of courtship. If a young woman and man were paired up by sundown on May Day, their courtship continued so that the couple could get to know each other and, possibly, marry six weeks later on June’s Midsummer’s Day. This is how the “June wedding” became a tradition. Many modern traditions arise from these Celtic ones. While it is true that for some the dance led to orgies in the fields, that was not the norm.
In the Middle Ages, all the villages and even individuals had maypoles, and communities competed to see who had the tallest or best decorated one. Over time, the festival incorporated dance performances, plays, and literature. Storytelling was immensely popular. The communities, or Lugh, the "Summer Born Lord" as discussed before, would crown a “May Queen and king” for the day’s festivities or the entire summer, depending on local traditions. As the autumn season returned, Summer surrendered his reign to Winter, the goddess to the god.The strict Puritans of New England, like many on the Continent and even in the Misty Isles, considered May Day celebrations licentious and pagan. So they forbade its observance, and the springtime holiday never became an important part of American culture as it was in many European countries. In time the Maypole became a symbol of defiance and for many years its rites were only conducted in secret.
Lugh:
Lugh is a prominent god figure in early Welsh and Irish theology. It is said that Lugh was a skilled warrior and a master of many martial arts, including magic. Hence, he is known as Samildánach. He is a great poet and musician on the harp and flute. He is known for his long arm and prowess with throwing weapons, hence his epithet "Lugh Lámfada" (Lugh of the Long Arm). The name can also be understood as ‘talented of hand,’ showing him to be an expert artist and warrior. Lugh was a key figure in the Battle of Mag Tuired, where he led the Tuatha Dé Danann against the Fomorians, ultimately killing the god-king Balor and establishing 40 years of peace, and each May Day, Lugh defeats Winter. Sir Gawain, the Arthurian Knight, was one of his devotees. Tales of Lugh clearly inspired the Arthurian legends. He is said to have invented several sports and games, including Fidchell (an early form of chess), and various ball games, including, some say, golf. But he is more according to the Wesh traditions. He is a demigod associated with light, knowledge, and skill. Lughnasadh, the harvest festival, was named after him, indicating his importance in agricultural and cultural practices. Lugh had widespread significance before the Christian conquests. The Romans identified Lugh with their god Mercury, suggesting a connection between Lugh's skills and Mercury's role as a messenger and patron of trade.
This week, our service honors the ancient Lugh conception of the Divine and these ancient traditions that were were so influential to the development of modern spirituality.
Other May Day observances
There are dozens of other local and national holidays on May Day bearing no direct connection to those of the Misty Isles we've been discussing. Perhaps the best-known is International Workers Day, promoted by the Soviet Socialist Republic and Communists the world over. In the Soviet Union, May Day was a major public holiday celebrated with large-scale parades, demonstrations, and displays of Soviet military might, especially during the Cold War. It was a significant day for showcasing "worker solidarity" and Soviet technological and military prowess. Modern Communists sometimes still hold events on the day. To be clear, we are not honoring this!
What is AllFaith Spirituality?
AllFaith Spirituality is inclusive of all paths of Light. It is the recognition that all religions contain truth and error, divine revelations and human cultural errors, and biases. We seek to learn from and respect all beliefs while accepting what resonates within our consciousness and placing the rest on our mental shelves. This understanding differs from Universalism and Syncretismin that we do not seek to merge the religions into something new. We honor them as they are while affirming, "If that which you seek, you find not within, you willnever find it without."
AllFaith Spirituality can be considered Omnism, Sanatana Dharma, and similar terms (without the excess baggage such terms may convey). The world religions offer various ways to God and Self-Realization. They were not intended to be destinations themselves but have become such. AllFaith Spirituality is our conviction that God is One, the Source and Destination of all else. As the Rig Veda states, Truth is One, the sages describe it in diverseways. The ancient Welsh, Irise, and others were seeking One God, each in their own ways. And we honor this.
One God, called by innumerable Names, has been here since before the beginning and will be here long after we are gone. Our understanding change but God and Truth do not. Sometimes we move forward and sometimes back, but One God never changes.
Never Forget: God is Everywhere!
It's All About Love!
Praises and Prayers to God. We now invite those present in the Zoom room or on Rumble to share their brief prayers and praises. Speak directly to God or to our community, whatever is on your heart and mind.
May One God hear our prayers and respond favorably to us.
Our Current Prayers and Praises are Now Online.
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Note: All Times are Eastern.My new book Below We Stand is NOW available on Kindle and in paperbook at Amazon.com.
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Be the Blessing you were created to be
And
Don't let the perfect defeat the good
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