Beltane & Creating Mid-Spring Whimsy
- Apr 30
- 3 min read
Beltane, or May Day is upon us tomorrow. Falling on May 1st, Beltane marks the mid point between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice. As the earth bursts forth with new life of plants and animals alike, this vibrant moment in time has been honored across cultures as an omen of abundance to come as the wheel of the year steadily turns. On this day, we are called to remember what it means to be alive. Get outside and move! Laugh! Create! And of course, simply be. Turn your face to the sun and breathe deeply. Though, beware. Mischief may be in the air! Directly across from Samhain on the wheel of the year, and serendipitously on the full moon this year, Beltane is a high-energy time when the veil is thin. So don’t be surprised if some strange things may happen, and keep an eye out for fairies while you are outside celebrating this special time!
Traditionally celebrated with a flowery festival and feast in Waldorf schools, including a dance around a May pole, you can also celebrate with your family at home with more simple, special moments.
Bake cookies with edible flowers & share them together or with your neighbors. Go on a nature scavenger hunt with a wildflower field guide. Make a list before hand of local wildflowers to look for - or, if you’re local to us in Virginia, use our Wildflower Scavenger Hunt available here. Go on a walk through nature and invite your children (and yourself, of course) to point out all the signs they see of the season and the way earth is bursting with life. You could even record their findings and repeat these walks each season. Over the years you’ll end up with a book full of wonder and growth.
Spring Crafts
🌼Make a lantern with pressed flowers. Use a recycled glass jar, glue and a few pressed flowers. Glue the flowers to the jar and add a beeswax tea light candle. Now you have a beautiful, blooming lantern to bring you joy at family dinners or wherever you’d like to add a touch of spring whimsy.
🌼Make kite paper flowers & butterflies. Spring is my favorite time for folding window stars. You can make your windows truly sparkle with all the color, and the warming sun shines through them so beautifully. See our blog post here for the details of how to create these daisies and butterflies.
🌼Create a bag to use on your nature walks and scavenger hunts with scrap fabric. Use two squares or rectangles of fabric and stitch together on three sides with a blanket stitch. Then use a finger knitted cord or a long, thin piece of fabric to create the strap. Children delight in having their own small bags to collect their treasures in (and maybe your pockets won’t end up littered with acorns and flower petals quite as much!)
🌼Make a flower crown.
🌼Make a spring fairy peg doll. Grab a peg doll, some scrap wool felt and some silk ribbon or embroidery floss to create a spring fairy with your children. We followed this pattern from the Livie and Luca blog. We carry many different sizes of peg dolls and $5 packs of scrap wool felt that work perfectly for these types of projects.
🌼Invite your children to paint their favorite spring flowers. For younger children, ask them what two colors remind them of spring and encourage them to create a wet on wet painting with these colors. Watch how the colors dance and blend together. Shop our watercolor selection here.
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