Question

During one variant of this holiday, an oatcake called a bannock is divided into nine “knobs” and eaten. Engineering students in Finland took up celebration of another variant of this holiday during which celebrants drink sparkling wine and a homemade mead called sima. In some celebrations of this holiday, men armed with dry brush and blackthorn mock-battle men armed with willows, birch, and (*) young ferns. A bishop of Cashel named Cormac wrote that to protect the herds from disease, cattle were driven between two bonfires on a variant of this holiday named for a “lucky fire.” On the Wheel of the Year, a variant of this holiday directly opposes Samhain (“SAH-win”) and is called (-5[1])Beltane. (10[1]-5[1])Modern celebrations (-5[1])of this holiday in Edinburgh feature the Green Man leading processions. For 10 points, name this springtime festival during which a “queen” is crowned and revelers dance around a namesake pole. (10[1])■END■ (10[1]0[1])

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