Beltane: The Fire Festival That’s Halloween’s Bright Twin

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While the northern hemisphere slips into the spooky chill of Halloween every October, here in South Africa we’re lighting braais, swatting mosquitoes, and wondering why the internet insists we should be carving pumpkins when mangoes are just coming into season. That’s because, for us down south, the calendar is flipped. When the north celebrates death and darkness, we’re celebrating growth and light — and that means Beltane.

Beltane is one of the oldest and most joyful festivals from the ancient Celtic wheel of the year. It sits on the opposite side of the calendar to Samhain (Halloween’s original ancestor) — where Samhain marks the start of winter and the thinning veil between life and death, Beltane celebrates the return of life, fertility, and passion. It’s the fire festival of renewal, love, and pure unashamed celebration of being alive.

The word Beltane comes from the Old Irish Beltene, meaning “bright fire.” It was the time when ancient Celts would drive their cattle between two massive bonfires for protection and prosperity, light torches from sacred flames, and dance around the maypole — a tall wooden pole decorated with ribbons symbolising the weaving together of life, community, and the union between masculine and feminine energy. In short: if Samhain is about death and remembrance, Beltane is about birth, lust, and dancing until sunrise.

At its core, Beltane honours the balance between the wildness of nature and the spark of humanity. It celebrates the union between the Earth and the Sun, often symbolised through the mythical marriage of the May Queen and the Green Man — she, the embodiment of growth and beauty; he, the spirit of the forest and the cycle of rebirth. Together, they represent nature’s unstoppable drive to create, bloom, and thrive. It’s a poetic way of saying: the world is very much alive, and so are we.

Now, because we live in the southern hemisphere, our seasonal wheel runs opposite to Europe’s. When people in the north are celebrating Halloween and preparing for winter, we’re right in the thick of Beltane season. So while they’re lighting candles for the dead, we’re lighting candles for love, joy, and new beginnings. If you’ve ever felt like the whole “spooky season” vibe doesn’t quite fit our sunny, blooming October-November energy, that’s because, in nature’s eyes, it doesn’t. Halloween might fall on 31 October, but energetically, we’re in the season of Beltane — not ghosts, but growth.

So how does one celebrate Beltane in South Africa? You don’t need a maypole or a Celtic forest to get it right. Think of it as a spiritual braai with a dash of magic. Light a fire — safely, obviously — and let it symbolise renewal. Jumping over the flames (carefully) was once thought to bring luck and fertility, though these days most of us settle for roasting marshmallows. Spend time outside, plant something, or dance barefoot in the grass. The idea is to honour nature, connection, and sensuality — not in a raunchy way (well, not necessarily), but in a way that celebrates being human in a living, breathing world.

You could decorate your home or altar with fresh flowers, ribbons, and anything green or gold to represent abundance and sunlight. Write down your intentions for the months ahead — what you want to grow, create, or bring to life — and cast them into the flames. Some people crown themselves with flowers or weave garlands to wear as symbols of fertility and hope. The emphasis is on joy, gratitude, and the sheer ridiculous beauty of being alive in a world that’s bursting with colour again.

It’s worth noting that Beltane and Samhain, though opposites, are deeply connected. They’re the yin and yang of the year — one celebrating the thinning veil between worlds, the other celebrating the fiery pulse of creation. Halloween belongs to the realm of ancestors; Beltane belongs to the realm of lovers. And in a poetic twist, both acknowledge the same truth: life and death are part of the same rhythm, endlessly chasing each other around the wheel of time.

So while the rest of the world dresses in black capes and fake fangs, maybe you light a candle, pour a drink, and toast to the living. Celebrate the warmth, the chaos, the laughter, and the long evenings that make this time of year feel like possibility itself. In South Africa, Halloween may never quite feel right — but Beltane? That’s our season to shine.

As the old saying might have gone (if the Celts had lived in Cape Town): the fire’s hot, the earth’s alive, and the spirits are cheering you on.