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Manala

The village of Manala celebrating Bel Tine.

Bel Tine, also known as Festival, is the Westlands celebration of spring's arrival. It is not set to a specific date, and comes later in northern lands than in the south. As part of the celebration, huge bonfires are constructed in the center of town that are almost as big as a house. The women of the village erect a Spring Pole the day before the festival, and even though the men walking by can see it happening, they pretend to be surprised by it when they wake up on the morning of the Festival.

EgweneRand Bel Tine by ravenwing136

Bel Tine in Emond's Field, by ravenwing136

The night preceding Bel Tine is known as Winternight.

At noon on the day of Festival, unmarried women dance around the Spring Pole entwining it with ribbons while the unmarried men sing.

Parallels

Bel Tine comes from the Celtic festival of Bealtaine taking place in spring. Bealtaine is also the Irish word for the month of May.

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