May Day Greetings
This morning, I woke up and headed right to the office. The desk with 3 monitors added a glare compounded by fluorescent lights from above. A hum from the various computers and HVAC buzzed endlessly behind the voices coming from my headphones as I tried to stay connected in some fashion to the outside world via a podcast. My interactions during work were some nods to coworkers as we passed to and from the breakroom and had a quick chat about the latest sports event, weather anomaly or news update. As I think back to our forebearers on this first day of May, it would have been met with a very different set of circumstances. Beltane was a day to honor the coming of summer. Old fires from the hearth were put out and lit again from a raging bonfire. People and animals were driven around the fires, or even over them. Livestock were on the way out to the summer pastures. Food and drink were left at the doorstep or areas where the faeries could accept them as an offering. Dances around the maypole took place across the Celtic lands and into mainland Europe. In 1780, Robert Fraser was paid to decorate the Maypole in East Ayrshire. A May Queen was crowned with flowers, a symbol of fertility, growth and new beginnings. Robert Plant sang “if there’s a bustle in your hedgerow, don’t be alarmed now, it’s just a spring clean for the May Queen”. Shout out to his interest in the ways of the old that he often wove into his lyrics. We aren’t as connected to nature and the outdoors as we used to be. I hope you can take some time today or this weekend to appreciate our natural world as our flora and fauna come back to life. Our ancestors were thankful they made it through winter, the food supplies lasted til now. The piles of peat kept them warm all winter as well as providing light to read or knit by its glow. The upcoming months would be important to fatten the herd, grow a bountiful field of oats or barley and a garden of vegetables and potatoes. It was important to start off with the best of intentions. The Celts built up a long tradition of customs to try to bring prosperity. Many of the old ways have been lost. I had to look up some of these tidbits to share. Some of it seems superstitious now yet these seems to linger in my spirit in a primordial way. The reverence and appreciation of the passing of the seasons they had are laudable.
This Sunday, May 4th, Westwood First Presbyterian church is holding a kirking and all are welcome to attend. It starts at 10am. The Caledonian Pipe Band will be participating. Afterward we will march down the street to Westside Brewing to continue the celebration. I hope to see you there.
If you haven’t renewed your membership in 2025, please do so now via the website. We will be getting St. Andrew’s Night details out in June and will likely start accepting some early bird ticket orders with discounts for our members in good standing. Reminder that the date is November 22nd, the weekend BEFORE Thanksgiving again. I am looking forward to our 198th annual event with planning already well under way. I’m excited to share that the pipe band show is shaping up to include some singers and brass instrumentation. If you’d like to learn about more ways to contribute to or participate at the event, please reach out to me.
Regards, Jeff Craig
