Which Fire Is Eternal
I will admit that I do not know very much about the Beltane Fire Festival, in
a place called Calton Hill in Edinborough, Scotland, except what I read about
on line, in my investigation. It is a pagan festival that happens in spring to
welcome summer. It happens outside when the sun goes down for three
hours. There is a parade of the May Queen, representing strength and growth,
and a horned God, representing life and growth. They are followed by dancers
each wearing colorful mythical creature costumes, representing earth, fire,
water and air. Following them are naked acrobats painted in red and blue
paint. They gather around a fire burning high in the night sky to toast nature,
the dead and the future. A rather dark festival that can easily get out of hand. There are very few barriers separating dancers and audience from close
interaction, even face to face exchanges that are against their own 2 meter
rule.
So, the question is did the festival happen during the Covid-19 Lockdown in
2020, or go ahead? Well, their site says it was cancelled, but was it? I sort
of think that it went ahead putting all who participated at risk for getting
Covid, yet there is no proof that anyone did contact it.
Should a festival such as this dark festival of otherworldly creatures be
allowed to go ahead when places of worship are shutdown, it seems unfair.
I am catholic and do you know how hard it was to have my church shutdown,
and it is the same for many religions, but we did it because it was right to do.
The question is should people be allowed to mingle willy-nilly, who in time,
mingle with people beyond the festival. I think not. It is a moral decision,
for a person attending such a festival willing to infect innocent people, old
folks, people just going about their daily tasks, children and babies.
Think about it . . .
______________________
March 04, 2023
Poetry/Prose/Which Fire Is Eternal
Copyright Protected, ID 03-1529-385-04
All Rights Reserved, 2023, Constance La France
Written for the Standard contest, Which Fire Is Eternal
sponsor, Joe Maverick, Judged 03/10/2023
First Place
Copyright © Constance La France | Year Posted 2023
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