“Walpurgisnacht” is performed by the Pagan Folk band Faun, in German wehear:

"Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful."

As you know, Christians in power began persecuting Pagans in an attempt to destroy the old religions, a practice that continued well after the empire had fallen, and there were new kingdoms in its place. One of the ways of ridding out the religion and culture of Paganism, besides a torture and death here and there, was the Christianization of Pagan holidays. The Celtic holiday of Samhain became the Catholic holiday of All Hallows’ Eve, now known as Halloween. Ostara became Easter. For those of you wondering what painting eggs has to do with the return of Jesus, it symbolized the return of Spring, which is what Ostara was about. One of the Pagan holidays was May Day, which is the day after Walpurgisnact.
    

So, the Video by Faun (Watch) proves that Paganism is alive and well, despite two thousand years of attempts at Christianization.

May Day, still celebrated is all about welcoming Summer. The Germanic Pagans celebrated the night before by lighting a bonfire, and dancing around a Maypole which symbolized a big throbbing Schwanz.

The night before May Day, known as Walpurgisnacht (Walpurgis Night) is celebrated by German Pagan Folk band Faun, and they do I beautifully.

Faun’s “Walpurgisnacht” of German Pagans coming out to celebrate goes like this:

“In den Abendhimmel steigen 

Heute Nacht die Zauberweisen

Wildes Volk und Liliths Art

Lauernd Winde heimlich fahrt

Lasst uns zu den Feuern streifen

Raunend nach den Sternen greifen

Gutes und auch böses Wort

Tragen wir heut fort und fort”

In the sky tonight

The witches rise

Wild Folk and Lilith's kind

Lurking, secretly riding the winds

Let us wander to the fires

Whispering, reaching for the stars

Both the good and the bad word

We carry on and on tonight

An English translation really doesn't do justice to how poetic this sounds in German. But as you listen you can feel the music.

   
The very beginning has this nice drum rhythm that lets you know you’re in for something special. Then after the vocalists do some beautiful harmonizing, they move into the chorus.

“Hört die Geigen, hört die Geigen,

Die Feuer sind entfacht

Folgt dem Reigen, folgt dem Reigen

In der Walpurgisnacht”

Hear the violins, hear the violins

The fires are ignited

Follow the dance, follow the dance

In the Walpurgisnacht

 Faun’s ode to Paganism is definitely about the pre-Christian Pagan celebrations bridging  the past with the present.

Beltane, the Gaelic May Day Festival

Beltane the May-Eve Sabbat is coming.

It marks the end of the dark half of year and the beginning of the light half of the year.

Beltane was traditionally the time to seek protection from both natural and supernatural threats. Protection for the home, the family, the crops, the livestock.

The original meaning of the name may be Bel-fire, after the Celtic God Bel or Balor - another name for Cernunnos.

In some traditions, Beltane (along with Lughnasadh) is a good time for handfasting (marriage).

Beltane is considered to be the second greatest of the four Greater Sabbats.

Beltane is traditionally celebrated on April 30th. 

The Beltane celebration actually begins on sundown of the preceding day, April 30, because the Celts always figured their days from sundown to sundown. And sundown was the proper time for Druids to kindle the great Bel-fires.

Frequently, cattle would be driven between two such bon-fires then they would be taken to their summer pastures the next day.


Other May Day activities included walking one's property ('beating the bounds'), repairing fences and boundary markers, processions of chimney-sweeps and milk maids, archery tournaments, morris dances, sword dances, feasting, music, drinking, and girls bathing their faces in the dew of May morning to retain their youthful beauty. 


But many popular customs associated with Beltane didn't exist in the Celtic pagan celebrations.

About the only thing that can be said about ancient Beltane is that it was a fire festival, and most likely not as adventitious as it is today. 

Cattle were routinely run between fires (and in the 9th Century that practice was said to involve Druids) to protect them as they moved from their winter quarters to their summer grazing-land. When you are dependent on cattle as a source of food, you want to do everything possible to ensure their survival, so instead of Beltaning in the woods it was more important to bless the livestock.

Fire as a source of control and good fortune wasn’t just limited to cattle, human beings jumped over fires for good luck as well. 

Up until the 1300’s history doesn't mention the Maypole, and when it eventually does get mentioned, it's not referred to as “phallic” or “ancient pagan.” The earliest function of the Maypole was to simply dance around it. There were no ribbons tied to the top of it, though it was sometimes decorated with flags. 

As time passed the May Pole was given a special dance with the ribbons going around it. And actually this is all kind of new, dating back to just the last few hundred years.

Also relatively recent is the notion that the Maypole is “phallic.” Early Maypoles were not designed or said to look that way.

But let's be honest, Beltane, for last 700 years May Day has been associated with sensuality.

Anyway, today's Beltane traditions may not necessarily be the purest form of paganism, and just because ancient Pagans probably didn’t dance around the Maypole, it doesn’t make Beltane any less fun. 

This festival officially begins at moonrise on May Day Eve, and marks the beginning of the third quarter or second half of the ancient Celtic year.