| Belleteyn | |
|---|---|
 Belleteyn festivities - maypole dance. | |
Also called |
Beltane[1] May Night May Day Blossoming |
Observed by |
humans, elves, halflings, possibly dwarves and gnomes |
Type |
Cultural, seasonal, magical |
Significance |
The ongoing spring and forthcoming summer; beginning of Blathe savaed. |
Celebrations |
Feasting, lighting bonfires, electing the May Queen and King, erecting maypoles and decorating homes with May flowers |
Date |
the night of April 30 into May 1 |
Related to |
Blathe savaed |
Belleteyn, sometimes known as "May Night", "May Day" or "Blossoming", takes place on the night of May Eve, the night of April 30 into May 1. This holiday of the elven calendar marks the beginning of the fifth savaed, Blathe.
Traditions[ | ]
Fertility festival beginning at dusk on the 30th and continuing until the dawn of the 1st. The traditional time to begin (or end) relationships of a physical nature. Food, drink, dance and love are the order of the evening and night making this celebration a time of many marriages. It is performed choice of the King and Queen of the May, who - adorned in the wreaths - are solemnly ushered onto the stage with birch trunks by last year's "royal couple", and from this height take the patronage of the fest. Maypoles, symbol of life, rebirth of nature and vitality, are erected. Bonfires abound, and revellers are encouraged to jump the flames for luck and their own fertility.
Notes[ | ]
- According to one part of the framing story in The Last Wish-collection', "The Voice of Reason" , Yennefer was born on Belleteyn, and Geralt calculated that Ciri was born near the festival, too.
- Geralt meets Yennefer at a Belleteyn celebration in "Something More", one of the short stories in Sword of Destiny.
- In the real world, this holiday corresponds with Beltane and May Day.
Magical Holidays[ | ]
References[ | ]
- ↑ David French's translation