May Day in Brittany

May Day is known as la Fête du Travail in France and celebrated with a public holiday. It is an occasion to be seen to campaign for workers’ rights and social justice but the date also carries a much older tradition here; it is also la Fête du Muguet, when sprigs of muguet or Lily of the Valley are presented to loved ones. It is also the day of one of the most important festivals celebrated by the ancient Celts, Beltain.

Finding Fortune and Favour

When ignorance and fear were faced with danger, our ancestors struggled for understanding. Little wonder therefore that the belief in the existence of spirits sympathetic or antagonistic to people’s daily struggles gave rise to superstitions. Surrounded on all sides by forces that seemed incomprehensible, people tried prayers and practices they hoped would compel the forces of nature to look favourably upon them.