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The Green Man and his Queen perform during the Celtic fire festival Beltain in Waterlooville, southern England on May 4, 2024. The festival, a modern annual participatory arts event, celebrates the Gaelic May Day festival and marks the beginning of summer. Historically it was widely observed in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. Rituals were performed to protect cattle, people and crops, and to encourage growth. Special bonfires were kindled, whose flames, smoke and ashes were deemed to have protective powers. The people and their cattle would walk around or between bonfires, and sometimes leap over the flames or embers. All household fires would be doused and then re-lit from the Beltane bonfire. (Photo by Henry Nicholls/AFP Photo)
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