DASG Blog

Bailc na Bealltainn agus Oidhche Naoimh Marcais

I recently recieved a new book called “The Gaelic Otherworld” written by Alexander Gregorson Campell, a book that looks at folklore, heritage, oral tradition, customs, placename folklore, superstitions, charms and piety of the Gaels, with a chapter looking at fairs and days of saints and special days to celebrate. Perhaps these days aren’t as important with other days, such as Beltane and Lughnasa, but they are interesting inspite of that and we shall look at “Bailc na Bealltainn” and “Oidhche Naoimh Marcais”.
The day is celebrated a fortnight before Beltane. The word “Bailc” is used to mark the rise the rise of the waters and the waves of the ocean with the warming of the weather. We have Tha “Balt Bealltainn,” “Caisean-cumhach,” “Garraiseach na Bealltainn” and “Rotach Bealltainn” in “Faclan bhon t-Sluagh” marking the seaweed and seaware that can be found at springtide. There is a verse connected to this day:

“Masa Bailc-Bhealltainn bhlàth,
Masa turadh an treas là,
’S masa gaoth an-ear a-rithis,
Is cinnteach gum bi meas air chrannaibh.”
[“If warm May-day be swollen,
And it be dry the third day,
And it be an east wind after that,
There certainly will be fruit on trees.”]

This verse reminds me of of another verse said at Hogmanay in order to see the direction of the wind for the year to come. You will find the verse here.

The next day and custom is celebrated in Mann and in northern England instead of Scotland called “Oie Noo Markys”, on the twenty-fourth of April, the day before St Mark’s Day, celebrating St Mark the Evangelical. On this night it is believed that the boundary between this world and the other is very weak, as well as “Boaldyn” and “Hop-tu-naa”. If one goes to the church between eleven at night and one in the morning apparitions of souls of people in the community who are going to die in the year to come can be seen. There is a verse connected to this lore in English:

“’Tis now, replied the villiage belle,
St. Mark’s mysterious eve,
And all that old traditions tell
I trembingly believe;

How, when the midnight signal tolls,
Along the churchyard green,
A mournful train of sentenced souls
In winding-sheets are seen.

The ghosts of all whom death shall doom
Within the coming year,
In pale procession walk the gloom,
Amid the silence drear.”
[This verse can be found at “thebookofdays.com”.]

According to oral tradition, chaff would be spread on the floor in every house of the community and if a footprint could be found going into the house the next morning this meant that the family would have a baby in the year, but if a footprint was found going out this marked that there was to be a death in the family.

Did you know about these two days? Do you have any connected information or lore about them? Let us know on facebook, twitter and our own website!