Beltane 2025

Last Thursday (1st May) it was Beltane. (Some people celebrate from sundown on 30th April to sundown on 1st May.) As I mentioned in my Spring Salads + Happy Beltane! post, I normally make salads for this sabbat. 

One of my favourites in recent years is kachumbari (Kenyan/East African tomato and onion salad) and I made that again this Beltane. The recipe is from Precious Core: https://www.preciouscore.com/kachumbari/ 

I had it for my lunch, with some chicken fillets, tortilla chips and guacamole. (Some years I make my own guacamole but lately I've been buying it, lol.) I also had some leftover smashed potato salad that I'd made for my tea (dinner) the night before.

Here's a pic:

I wanted to have an elderflower drink with it but forgot to get one. So I bought one later and had it another day, a Cawston Press elderflower lemonade.

I'd also planned to go to the beach for sunset on Beltane but wasn't feeling like it, so I went the next day instead. It wasn't a really strong sunset but quite nice. Last year I took a candle with me to light on the beach but it  didn't light because the wind was too strong. I tried again this Beltane with some tealights, but it was still too windy! Never mind, lol.

Here are a few photos from the beach: 

Lancing Beach Green.

Spring boat display with an Easter flag! :)

 

The night before Belane (or the start of it, depending how you view it) I lit a grey candle that I already had. I took a picture of the tealights on the beach and lit them when I got home. Here's a pic of the tealights:

 

I also filmed a quick video at the beach (YouTube shorts): https://youtube.com/shorts/zO-AKCri3L4?feature=share

 

So now we're in mid-spring moving towards late spring. I like the longer, lighter days at this time of year.  The next sabbat will be Litha/the Summer Solstice which marks the start of summer. It's 21st June this year (or the 20th depending on your time zone). I will do a post about my celebrations.

We've had a lot of sunny days in the UK in recent weeks, which has been good! It was the sunniest April on record. The weather has varied though, warming up but then getting cooler again. The end of April was hot, although we didn't get the hottest weather in Sussex (at least in my part.). I think it was about 20C (68F). Today it's been 13C (54F). 

I hope you had a good Beltane! (Or Samhain!) :)  

P.S. Since there are a few more weeks of spring to go, here are a couple of my posts with salad recipes to make during the rest of the season:

Salads for Beltane + Extra Ideas!  https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2024/04/salads-for-beltane-extra-ideas.html

Spring Salads + Happy Beltane!: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2025/04/spring-salads-happy-beltane.html 

Or if it's autumn for you, you might like this baking post (written for Madron/Mabon):

Madron Round-up + Autumn Baking: https://livingseasonal.blogspot.com/2021/09/madron-round-up-autumn-baking.html