Rolling in the May Day Dew - My FIRST Attempt
I tried out a new Irish tradition (May Day = Beltane) that I had only heard about last year, but was too late to get into the 'game' so this year I did! It's all about rolling in the May Day dew....
The plainest girl will be beautiful if she rises early on
May Day and bathes her face in morning dew at sunrise. So goes the old
Irish saying...
If she was daring enough to undress and roll naked, she was given great beauty of person; the dew was also believed to bring immunity to freckles, sunburn, chapping, and wrinkles during the coming year. It cured or prevented headaches, skin ailments and sore eyes and, if applied to the eyes, it ensured that its user rose every morning clear-eyed, alert and refreshed, even after a very short sleep.
The man who washed his hands in the dew of May Day gained skill in opening knots and locks, in mending nets and disentangling ropes. The woman who did like-wise could unravel tangled threads with ease.
To walk barefoot in the dew cured soreness, prevented corns and bunions and ensured healthy feet during the year.
So I don't want immunity to freckles (I pretty much love mine), but the rest sounded good!
Here's how my first attempt at bathing in May Day dew went:
I set my alarm to go off about 5 minutes before the sunrise which I looked up yesterday and it said 6:01am. I got up, it was raining and REALLY dark. I went out the front door in my underwear and t-shirt and walked around in the grass and put some on my hands and face. (I want to be REALLY good at untying knots... :)) And I got a bit wet in the process because it was raining pretty well.
I went back to bed woke up at 5:56 and did the same thing in the back yard.... THOUGHT about rolling naked, but there are A LOT of people driving on that road behind my house and it's quite light out at sunrise. I was out in my undies and bare feet though in some quite soggy grass. :) So I wimped out on the real rolling naked at sunrise, but maybe because I was out in my bare feet TWO times bathing, I possibly got a bit closer to the effects of doing so naked. :)
If she was daring enough to undress and roll naked, she was given great beauty of person; the dew was also believed to bring immunity to freckles, sunburn, chapping, and wrinkles during the coming year. It cured or prevented headaches, skin ailments and sore eyes and, if applied to the eyes, it ensured that its user rose every morning clear-eyed, alert and refreshed, even after a very short sleep.
The man who washed his hands in the dew of May Day gained skill in opening knots and locks, in mending nets and disentangling ropes. The woman who did like-wise could unravel tangled threads with ease.
To walk barefoot in the dew cured soreness, prevented corns and bunions and ensured healthy feet during the year.
So I don't want immunity to freckles (I pretty much love mine), but the rest sounded good!
Here's how my first attempt at bathing in May Day dew went:
I set my alarm to go off about 5 minutes before the sunrise which I looked up yesterday and it said 6:01am. I got up, it was raining and REALLY dark. I went out the front door in my underwear and t-shirt and walked around in the grass and put some on my hands and face. (I want to be REALLY good at untying knots... :)) And I got a bit wet in the process because it was raining pretty well.
When I got back in, I decided to look at my iPod for the time.... it said 3:05 AM! I must have had a dream that my alarm went off and that I needed to get up! I guess I was a bit anxious about getting up in time!
I went back to bed woke up at 5:56 and did the same thing in the back yard.... THOUGHT about rolling naked, but there are A LOT of people driving on that road behind my house and it's quite light out at sunrise. I was out in my undies and bare feet though in some quite soggy grass. :) So I wimped out on the real rolling naked at sunrise, but maybe because I was out in my bare feet TWO times bathing, I possibly got a bit closer to the effects of doing so naked. :)
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