We Went to Scotland's Wildest Pagan Festival

Each year, Edinburgh holds the Beltane Fire Festival, a celebration marking the beginning of summer. Rooted in ancient Gaelic traditions, it began as a way to reconnect with ancient traditions and celebrate the cycles of nature. The event has now blossomed into a vibrant event, drawing over 8,000 attendees each year.

At the heart of the festival are the May Queen and the Green Man. The May Queen represents the earth's renewal, while the Green Man symbolizes growth and fertility. We also spoke with Angus Farquhar, the visionary founder of the modern Beltane Fire Festival. Experience the enchantment, the tradition, and the energy that marks the beginning of summer in Edinburgh. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

#Edinburgh #Festival #Travel

00:00 Intro
00:19 The origins of Beltane
01:37 The festivals revival
02:39 Meet the Blues
03:42 The May Queen and Green Man
04:59 Beltane begins
06:26 The walk around Calton Hill
07:24 Event finale
08:11 Conclusion

Lead Producer/Editor - Steven Kelly
Exec Producer - Genevieve Ingham
Producer/Camera - Stuart Smillie
Camera - James Rayner
Graphics - Will Minns

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[GreatBigStory]

Tell us about the craziest festival you've been to 🫣

[rohanmccourt]

Ngl i see this out of my flat and was completely clueless what on earth was happening - now i know! Great vid, really intriguing!

[joey]

I was there! Believe me when i say it was incredible, the moment the may queen appeared on the acropolis, everyone went silent, and the flames seemed to flow as if from within her. It truly felt like we were watching a goddess be born

[AnimeOntheRoof]

I would love to attend this magical and wonderful festival . It looks like a wonderful experience to have, even if only once.

[Sora-uddp]

It breaks my heart when people comment and think that this is somehow evil worship. And, just like what mostly squashed the old cultures, traditions, etc. of the Celtic people (let alone the rest of Europe) people today still look at it as cringe, evil worship, or satansim. Let people be and let cultures be reborn! EVERYONE on this planet deserves to find the things that were taken from them and/or do with THEIR cultures as they see fit.

Edit: I say this as a Christian myself who, in fact, doesn’t practice any “traditional” ways of Christians either. The church is my forest and God everywhere. Let the natural ways of Earth prevail!

Edit #2: Since so many are thinking by comments I mean in this video I don’t mean that. I mean out in the world in general. I should have specified that but I guess I thought people would understand I didn’t mean here (besides a chain that has since been deleted after I wrote all this initially). Also, for those commenting saying I’m condoning everything just read my first reply and you’ll understand that no, I don’t worship any other gods and some other things. Please leave me alone. I can’t explain everything in one post.

[Wyattinous]

That man lit a cultural spark that’s become a big beautiful yearly hearth for people to celebrate the coming spirit of the seasons, such deep historical roots connected to a movement all its own, people all around coming together must be so exhilarating! Would love to join some day 🏛️🔥

[alieninthecaribbean]

Great to see people returning to their indigenous spirituality. Better for the planet than religions that get people to put all their hopes on getting happiness, justice, and community in an afterlife rather than this life and protecting this biosphere as a wonderous gift.

[greenghoul]

The Beltane fire festival is a beautiful way of respecting history, Paganism is ancient, the original religion of Europe

[stolasish]

This is the kind of stuff that births practices, beliefs, and communities that last through the ages. It importantly doesn't ask anything of its participants, but it is founded on ideas and values that people share. How cool!

[sarina]

This is going on my bucket list!! As a Wiccan, this would be an amazing spiritual experience! Just hearing the snippets of drums and hearing people talk about it and seeing the procession fills me up with pride. I hope I am able to save up to attend this event while it continues! It always seems to be that I get to be old enough to do something or finally have the money to do something only to find out it got shut down a couple years before. Please keep this alive!

[hollydugal]

Hello from the United States. I hope in my lifetime I get the opportunity to go into this huge pagan festival in Scotland to celebrate Beltane. It’s a goal. I would love to see more events like this in United States.

[AbigayleFall-spwt]

As a devout pagan, I appreciate that our way of life is finally being shared in a positive light, but there’s a few details that they got completely wrong 😵‍💫
1. This celebration is not just “old”, but ANCIENT. Predates Christianity by THOUSANDS of years.
2. The May Queen is actually “The Maiden”; one of three faces/phases of Goddess, and Beltane was celebrated because it is her wedding day to the Stag God of the green.
3. Beltane is a sacred time for us witches/pagans/wiccans, as a lot of us hold our own weddings on this day. It is also one of two times of year when the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is thinnest, the other time being Samhain, AKA “Halloween”.
Hope this straightens things up! GBWY ✨🌱

[EdNeufeld]

Good for Scotland! Pagans rule we need to keep this alive and healthy. The meek shall inherit the earth!🌹🌹🌹

[travisscottmiller]

This is not crazy at all but this feels the most natural festival that I have ever seen. I cannot wait to go next Beltane!

[francesleones]

Would love to attend this festival someday. Really, I'd love to travel across Europe and have adventures there and meet people.

[AR-mdzq]

I remember that hill from when I lived in Edinburgh as a child!

[Ellary_Rosewood]

Would love to attend this Beltaine festival one day! I've always celebrated alone, but it would be so magical to celebrate with others. I'll be moving to Scotland next year if all goes well, so it will be much easier to attend. Hope everyone had a lovely Beltaine this year! ❤️

[falgalhutkinsmarzcal]

Kinda funny that the most prominent people in this Scottish festival (May Queen and Green Man) are both Americans. I say that as an American.

[Lunasent]

Oh that looks so liberating! I would go to Scotland just for Beltaine!

[oldpossum]

Folks curious about The Green Man might read Russell Hoban’s novel Riddley Walker. Whereas every woman is connected in an unbroken line of umbilical cords to the first human mother (literally), with men the chain is broken. The man becomes fertile in death. In the Green Man imagery, this fertility is represented by the leaves growing out of his mouth. The GM was a favourite theme of wood and stone carvers in the Middle Ages: it has been claimed that there are more GM in old British churches than crosses.