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Enjoy this curated selection of theme-related dances for celebrations and holidays, or find a dance associated with a special calendar day, or EVEN your own birthday!
Oct 3
Butterfly Day
Scottish Butterfly
Other Scottish Country Dances for this Day
Today's Musings, History & Folklore
"Two butterflies went out at noon
And waltzed above a stream,
Then stepped straight through the firmament
And rested on a beam"
~ "Two Butterflies Went Out at Noon", Emily Dickinson, 1924
Flitter, flutter! This lively 64-bar reel for 4 couples devised by Maggie & Duncan Keppie has something of a butterfly meadow about it, with rights-and-lefts, ladies' chains and promenades through the opposite couples, suggesting the restless flit and flutter of butterflies darting from flower to flower. Scotland has around 35 breeding species of butterfly, from the favourite Peacocks, Small Tortoiseshells and Orange-tips to Highland specialists such as the Scotch Argus, Mountain Ringlet, Northern Brown Argus and Pearl-bordered Fritillary. Some venture remarkably far into the hills: butterflies can be found in Scotland from gardens and flowery lowlands right up into mountain country.
One particularly intriguing story belongs to the White-letter Hairstreak, a small brown butterfly marked underneath with the delicate white zigzag that gives it its name. Thought lost from Scotland after the nineteenth century, it made a dramatic surprise reappearance in the Scottish Borders in 2017, where colonies were discovered around wych elms near Lennel. Elm is essential to its life cycle, providing the food for its caterpillars, while the adults depend upon a countryside rich in nectar-producing flowers. Welcome back, butterflies! 🕺 💃 ❤️ 💙 🤎 💛 🦋 🦋 🦋
Scottish Butterfly
October 3rd is Butterfly Day! In Scots-Gaelic, butterfly is "dearbadan-de" or "dealan-dé".
In Scottish folklore, butterflies could indicate good or bad luck, depending on the colour.
The appearance of a yellow butterfly represents a good omen. It was once believed that a golden butterfly near a deceased person's resting place indicated that the soul is in heaven. A golden butterfly near a dying person was thought to be an omen of eternal happiness for the dying person.
In the past, children would capture and keep white butterflies for good luck, feeding them with sugared water, while dark brown and spotted Tortoise-shell butterflies were considered unlucky "witch butterflies."
Today there are about 30 or more species of butterflies found regularly in Scotland (and many more moths).
Recently, a White Letter Hairstreak butterfly was sighted in Scotland, the first time since 1884!
And in other positive news, the Comma butterfly, once thought to be dying out in the UK, has seen a huge resurgence in numbers in Scotland.
For a complete identification guide for Scottish butterflies, click the newly spotted rare White Letter Hairstreak Butterfly.
Click the dance cribs or description below to link to a printable version of the dance!
