Communities prepared a bush decorated with ribbons which was often the cause of raids and fighting between the men of neighbouring districts. Interesting, the Ordnance Survey Memoirs records the name of the Maybush district at Carrickfergus, County Antrim, which might have its origins in the custom of decorating the bushes.

In some parts of Ulster and some towns in Leinster and the Irish midlands, May Day was celebrated by decorating a maypole rather than a bush. Decorating and dancing around the maypole is more familiar as an English custom and is a fertility rite, with the pole representing the god, while the ring of flowers at the top represents the goddess. The dance that weaves the brightly coloured ribbons around each other represents the spiral of life, the union of the god and goddess and the union between earth and sky.

The lighting of bonfires was an important part of the Beltane rituals. One ancient Beltane custom saw cattle being driven ceremoniously between two fires which purified them and blessed them with fertility before they were driven to their summer pastures. People jumped through the flames and danced around the fire. House fires were doused and later re-lit from the Beltane flames.

It was a time for staying up all night and couples blessed the earth with fertility by making love in the woods and fields. Women washed their face in the early morning dew as it was believed to bring beauty and maintain youthfulness.

Greenery and flowers were gathered to decorate the house and out-buildings and to give as presents.

Of course, the ancient Beltane festival survives now as the May Day Bank Holiday, but its origins lie in the pagan past of the Celtic world and is wrapped up in the fascinating world of Irish mythology and folklore.