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CELTIC FESTIVALS
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The Celtic year was divided into two halves, the dark and the light. Samhain was the beginning of the dark half, with its counterpart, Beltane beginning the light half. Between these two 'doors' or portals fell Imbolc, on February 1, and Lughnasadh or Lammas, celebrated on August 1, quartering the Celtic year. These quarters were again divided by the solstices and equinoxes, which were known as the four Albans.
ALBAN ARTHUAN ALBAN EILER ALBAN HERUIN ALBAN ELVED
FIRE FESTIVALS IMBOLIC BELTAIN LUGHNASADH
THE ALBANS
ALBAN
ARTHUAN
The winter solstice, observed on December 21, was the shortest day of the
year. The name 'Arthuan' is interesting in relation to Arthurian legend, as
King Arthur was believed to have been born on the Winter Solstice in Castle
Tintagel in Cornwall.
Alban Arthuan ("The Light of Arthur"), also was referred to as Yule,
Mabon, Jul, Saturnalia, or Christmas. This feast took place on December 21
and marked the longest, darkest night of the year. Alban Arthuan was a festival
of peace and a celebration of waxing solar light. Many honoured the forthcoming
Sun child by burning an oaken Yule log, and honoured the Goddess in her many
Mother aspects. The Father God was also honoured in various forms: as Santa
Claus, the Old Sky God, Father Time, and the Holly King.
The first day of spring, or the spring (Vernal) equinox was celebrated March
21. Alban Eiler, which means, "Light of the Earth," was the day
that night and day stood equal. Crops were typically sown at this time. The
equinoxes and solstices were seen, to the Celts, as a time of transition.
This rare balance in nature made these days a powerful time for magic to the
ancient Druids.
The summer solstice, or Alban Heruin, was the longest day of the year. Observed
on the 21st of June, it was the time when the Sun reached its zenith and cast
three rays to light the world. Alban Heruin, or "The Light of the Shore,"
is also referred to as Litha or Midsummer's Day. It was traditionally celebrated
out in the forest with picnics, games, and a large bonfire.
Alban Elued, "The Light of the Water," the first day of Autumn,
was also called Harvesthome. Observed on September 21, the Autumnal Equinox
was the day when the sun again began to wane, as the dark half of the year
drew near.
As with the Vernal Equinox, day and night were of equal length across the
planet. This balance in nature presented a powerful time for magic.
To the ancients, this was a sacred time. The Irish saw this time of year as the Waning of the Goddess. From the summer to the winter solstice, they would hold festivals for the God who was seen as a dark, threatening being. To the Goidelic Celts, the spring was the time of joy in the rebirth of the Goddess. To Brythonic Celts, however, this was the time of the death of the God (the Sun or the Grain God).
The four fire festivals marked the turning of the seasons. Two of the fire
festivals, Samhain and Beltane, were considered to be male, and Imbolc and
Lughnasadh were female. Each was celebrated for three days - before, during
and after the official day of observance.
Our modern celebration of Halloween is a descendent of the ancient Celtic
festival called "Samhain;" meaning Summer's End. Samhain was the
first day of winter, and the end of one pastoral year. It was the time when
the night became longer than the day, the last apples were picked, and the
year began again with its dark winter half. Also called Samhiunn or Hallowe'en,
this festival is sometimes called Trinoux Samonia or "Three Nights of
the End of Summer."
Originally a Druidic festival, it was celebrated on the eve of November 1
(October 31 - technically, either date is appropriate as the Celts measured
the day from sunset to sunset.) It is balanced by Beltane (or Bealtaine, Beltaine),
which signals the start of summer, 6 months later. The ancient Celts probably
held them exactly mid-way between an equinox (when day and night were equal)
and the following solstice (when the night time was shortest or longest).
In ancient times all of the fires of Ireland were extinguished and relighted
from the one great fire kindled by the King's chief Druid, on the hill of
Tlachtga. Members of each family would light torches to carry back and rekindle
their own hearth-fires, which were then kept burning the rest of the year.
The assemblies of the five Irish provinces at Tara Hill, the seat of the Irish
king, took place at Samhain. These gatherings were celebrated with horse races,
fairs, markets, assembly rites, political discussions, and ritual mourning
for the passage of summer.
Samhain is a time when the veil between this world and the Otherworld (or
the Sídh,) was very thin, and divine beings, the spirits of the dead,
and mortals can move freely between one world and the next. In some Celtic
traditions, most notably the Scottish Highlands, young men would run the boundaries
of their farms after sunset with blazing torches to protect the family from
the Faeries and malevolent forces that were free to walk the land at night,
causing mischief. Samhain was seen as a time when the future could most easily
be predicted, and was a favoured time among Druids for ritual fortune telling.
As in other major Celtic Festivals, Samhain was a gateway, a celebration of
the transition from one season and another. In Celtic mythology, at the heart
of every gateway is a paradox. The threshold is literally between two worlds
but is, in itself, in neither and in both at the same time. Thus Samhain belonged
to both Summer and Winter...and to neither. It was the gateway to the winter,
and a magical time of passage between the seasons.
As in many pastoral societies, winter was regarded with a mixture of anticipation
and dread. Samhain was the last gasp of summer... a time of uninhibited feasting,
dancing and celebration. It was a time of release; a time to let go of all
unwanted baggage, fears and attitudes, just as the trees let go of their leaves.
So the lives of men parallel the sacred cycles of nature.
Imbolc,
which literally means "in milk", traditionally has marked the lactation
period of ewes and cows. Ewes are unable to produce milk until after they
bear their young, which occurs at this time. Since milk was very important
to the basic survival of the tribes, this was a time of great joy. It meant
that the end of a long winter was in sight, and green pastures were only a
few months away.
During the Imbolc ritual it was customary to pour milk (or cream) onto the
earth. This was done in thanksgiving, as an offering of nurturing, and to
assist in the return of fertility and generosity of the earth to its people
(the return of Spring). Imbolc was celebrated in honour of Brighid or Brid
(pronounced breed), also known as Brigid, Brigit, or Bride, in her maiden
aspect. Brighid is the daughter of Dagda.
Imbolc was the second of the four great fire festivals, with significance
placed upon the Light of fire. At Imbolc, Brighid was pregnant with the seed
of the Sun. She was ripe with the promise of new life, as the seeds of the
earth deep within its soil begin to awaken at this time, ripe with the promise
of Spring, new life for the planet. Thus Imbolc was a time of awakening, promise
and hope for the coming spring.
Beltane, the third of the two Celtic fire festivals, was a celebration of
the return of life and fertility to the world, and was celebrated on or around
April 30. It is sometimes referred to as Cetsamhain which means "opposite
Samhain." Beltane was the last of the three spring fertility festivals,
and the second major Celtic festival. Beltane, and its counterpart Samhain,
divide the year into its two primary seasons, Winter and Summer.
In ancient Celtic communities, the festival went by many names: Beltaine in
Ireland, Bealtunn in Scotland, Shenn do Boaldyn on the Isle of Man and Galan
Mae in Wales. The Saxons called this day Walpurgisnacht, the night of Walpurga,
goddess of May. As with Brighid, the Church transformed this goddess into
St. Walpurga and attached a similar legend to her origin. Also known as May
Eve, this festival marked the beginning of Summer and the pastoral growing
season.
The word "Beltaine" literally means "bright" or "brilliant
fire," and refers to the bonfire lit by a presiding Druid in honor of
the proto-Celtic god variously known as Bel, Beli, Balar, Balor or Belenus.
It has been suggested that Bel is the Brythonic Celt equivalent to the Goidelic
Celt god Cernunnos.
At Beltane, the Horned One dies or is taken by the Goddess, only to be reborn
as her son. He then reclaims his role as consort and impregnates the Goddess,
sparking his own rebirth. Other beliefs tell of the Summer God being released
from captivity, or the Summer Maiden wooed away from her Earth-giant father.
The Hawthorne (Huathe) tree represents the giant and sometimes this wood is
used for the Maypole.
Beltane joyfully heralded the arrival of Summer in its full glory. It was
believed that if you bathed in the dew of Beltane morn, your beauty would
flourish throughout the year.
On the eve of Beltane the Celts build two large fires, created from the nine
sacred woods, in honor of Summer. The tribal herds were ritually driven between
them, so as to purify and protect them in the upcoming year. The fires celebrate
the return of life and fruitfulness to the earth. Celebration included frolicking
throughout the countryside, dancing the Maypole, leaping over fires, and "going
a maying". It was customary for young lovers to spend the night in the
forest.
Beltane was the time of sensuality revitalized, the reawakening of the earth
and all of her children. It was the time when tribal people celebrated with
joy the vivid colors and vibrant scents of the season, tingling summer breezes,
and the rapture of summer after a long dormant winter. It was customary that
Handfastings, for a year and a day, take place at this time.
On May Eve people would tear branches from a Hawthorn tree and decorate the
outside of their homes. The Hawthorn, or Whitethorn, is the tree of hope,
pleasure, and protection. The strong taboo on breaking Hawthorne branches
or bringing them into the home was traditionally lifted on May Eve.
Another custom was to leap over the Beltane bonfire. Young people jumped the
fire for luck in finding a spouse, travelers jumped the fire to ensure a safe
journey, and pregnant women jumped the fire to assure an easy delivery.
In Irish mythology, the great undertakings of the Tuatha Dé Danann
and the Milesians - the original supernatural inhabitants of Eiru and their
human conquerors, respectively - began at Beltane. The Milesians were led
by Amairgen White Knee, son of Mil, often reputed to be the first Druid.
Lughnasadh was the first in the trilogy of harvest festivals. It marked the
beginning of the harvest season, and the decline of Summer into Winter. Traditionally
called Lammas from the Saxon word Hlaf-mass, the Feast of Bread, festivities
and rituals typically centred on the assurance of a bountiful harvest season
and the celebration of the harvest cycle. A bountiful harvest ensured the
safe passage of the tribe through the upcoming winter months. The gathering
of bilberries was an ancient practice that symbolized the success of the Lughnasadh
rituals. If the bilberries were bountiful, it was believed that there would
also be a plentiful harvest.
Lughnasadh was celebrated to honor Lugh, the Irish God. Lugh, God of All Skills,
is known as the "Bright or Shining One", He is associated with both
the Sun and agricultural fertility. Lleu, Lugh's equivalent in Britain and
Wales, is the son of Arianrhod, Goddess of the Stars and Reincarnation. Games
of athletic prowess were played in honor of Lugh. They were said to be funeral
games for Lugh or, in some traditions, his foster mother Tailtiu who died
while preparing the fields for planting. Many grains, seeds, herbs and fruits
were harvested and dried at this time.
Death and rebirth were part of the cycle that Lugh journeyed through in his
mating with the Goddess, during the waning year. The Goddess oversaw the festival
in her Triple guise as Macha. She presided in her warrior aspect, the crow
that sits on the battlefields awaiting the dead. She was the Crone, Maiden
and Mother, Anu, Banba, and Macha, who conveyed the dead into the realm of
the deceased. In Irish myth, Macha was forced, while heavy with child, to
race against the King of Ulster's horses. She won the race and gave birth
to twins, and cursed the men of Ulster with the pain of labor when they most
needed their strength