May Queen and Green Man – What is the Beltane Fire Festival?

Edinburgh’s Calton Hill will be ablaze with fire this week as the Beltane Fire Festival signals the end of the dark months.

The Iron Age Celtic ritual has been celebrated for thousands of years.

Taking place on Calton Hill, the festival marks the birth of the summer and is celebrated on the evening before 1 May.

The modern iteration of the festival was resurrected by a group of devotees in Edinburgh in 1988 and it now involves over 300 voluntary collaborators and performers.

Amongst them are acrobatics, drummers, dancers, musicians, witches and spectators.

But what does the festival involve?

On Tuesday night, the Blues retell the traditional stories of the May Queen, and the death and rebirth of the Green Man.

The Blues are a group of “elder” volunteers, who have been part of the festival for a long time, meaning they hold knowledge and are respected.

They lead the ritual and space in which the May Queen comes to life.

The painted Blues serve as her guides as she leads the Green Man to his death and rebirth, before the Beltane fire is lit to spark the birth of summer.

Siri Pantzar, 32, is a Blues elder who has been part of the festival since 2012.

She describes the experience as “exciting, but sometimes a little overwhelming.”

“I think there’s something really precious in creating something together with people that I think is sometimes lacking in modern societies.”

Siri believes community is a big part of Beltane, but most importantly connecting with nature.

Her job outside of volunteering is working with a climate organization.

“I really love that it gives an opportunity for a lot of people who live in a city, even though we have lots of green space in Edinburgh, to have that direct contact with the natural world.

“There’s something really magical about it and I think there’s something magical about humans.”

Although she is currently on sabbatical as a Blue, Siri will be capturing pictures on the night of the festival.

During the ritual, the May Queen entices the Green Man, so they can rule together over summer.

This year, PHD student, Alixandera Prybyla will be the May Queen.

She joined the fire society in 2021, shortly after she emigrated to Scotland to start her thesis in Evolutionary Biology at Edinburgh University.

The 28-year-old describes the May Queen as a “the goddess that presides over the changing of the seasons.”

“I joined for many reasons but I think the biggest one is community. I come from a culture that is really rooted in community. I’m Louisiana Creole and community is at the heart of many things we do,” she said.

“Especially to be an immigrant and have so many people trust me in a role that’s deeply Celtic, deeply Gaelic, it’s just a huge privilege.”

Each year, the May Queen crafts a new costume.

Alixandera has spent a whole year designing her costume that fits with the theme of the festival.

This year, her dress is bringing attention to the flowers and trees blooming at times they usually wouldn’t.

“As climate changes, so many things are coming out of synch with one another. As May Queen, I really wanted to bring attention to these problems that are tangible and real and affect us in modern day.

“Specifically, we’re interested in empowering people to feel like they can make a change through community.”

The Green man also plays a very significant part in the ritual. He represents life that grows on earth.

As the ritual unfolds, the Winter side of the Green Man is exposed to the May Queen in her maiden form.

He realizes he wants to be with her and must change in order for them to be together and he prepares to surrender his life to her.

The May Queen then gives him life energy and brings him back in his new form, as the Green Man.

This year’s Green Man is 58-year-old White Deer. He and his family moved from America to Edinburgh three years ago.

One of the reasons they moved was to be closer to the festival.

“We’d been admiring their activities from afar for decades and we were involved with similar things in the US for many decades.

Despite not expecting to be the Green Man, White Deer says it has been “life changing.”

“To become green man you have made it a whole other level, it’s bumped it up a notch. It takes quite a bit of time and it’s a big commitment.”

Like the May Queen, he also makes his own costume and props. He has a bark costume, antlers and a crown made of copper.

His focus for the festival is also climate change and how he can incorporate it into his story telling.

“As much as I love every aspect of it, I also think there’ll be a huge sense of relief when the entire thing is over. When I’m settled in to bower, someone hands me a drink and I can sit back and say job well done.”

At the end of the night, the May Queen and Green Man hold court at the Bower, which is the community phase where food and drink is enjoyed.