Category: Celtic
The Maypole and other May Day Traditions
The beginning of May was an important feast day in many ancient cultures, a time to celebrate the coming of summer. The Druids of the British Isles thought that May 1, the Feast of Beltane, divided the year in half, with the other half ending on Samhain on November 1. Both days were celebrated by [...] Read More »
The Easter Egg
Easter celebrations are filled with many traditions, but nothing has come to symbolize the Easter holiday as much as the colored or painted Easter egg. Many children spend their Easter Sunday hunting for Easter eggs, rolling them, or running races while carrying their eggs in spoons.
Across Eastern and Western cultures, eggs have long symbolized [...] Read More »
St. Patrick’s Day
Irish communities around the world celebrate their patron saint on Saint Patrick's Day, March 17. It is the Irish national holiday, and a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, the territory of Montserrat, and the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The holiday is also widely celebrated in the United States, and [...] Read More »
Irish Wedding Traditions
St. Patrick’s Day – March 17th – is one of the luckiest days on which to be married. “Marry in May and Rue the Day” says one Irish proverb.
Before the wedding, the groom was invited for a traditional meal of stuffed goose at the bride's house cooked a goose in his honor. After [...] Read More »
The Irish Claddagh Ring
The Claddagh ring symbolizes the motto “let love and friendship reign.” Two hands, representing faith, hold a heart. The crown above the heart symbolizes honor.
Single women wear the Claddagh Ring on their right hand, with the heart pointing outward toward the end of her finger. When a woman is engaged, she turns [...] Read More »
Groundhog Day
February 2 is Groundhog Day in the United States and in Canada. The groundhog, also known as a woodchuck (Marmota monax), is a member of the squirrel family. According to American legend, the local television news and Hollywood, he is also a weatherman.
If he sees his shadow when he emerges from his [...] Read More »
The Yule Log and La Bûche de Noël
At Christmas time, people all over France and Belgium serve the “Bûche de Noël” – a cake shaped and decorated to look like a tree trunk. In Anglo-Saxon cultures, many people still burn a “yule log” in their fireplace at Christmas. There is even a television station in New York that shows a [...] Read More »
The Legend of the White Stag, or, Why Rudolph Has a Red Nose
The legend of the white stag is part of the mythology of many cultures, originating with early European and Asian cultures who depended on hunting for their survival.
Star Mythology
The most ancient legend of the stag revolves around the "great hunter" (the constellation of stars known as Orion), who hunts the heavenly stag (Ursa Major), [...] Read More »
Halloween: Spirits, Costumes, Bonfires, Apples and Jack o’ Lanterns
On October 31, Americans celebrate Halloween, which has become an extremely popular holiday. In the evening, children dress in costumes and go trick or treating – walking from house to house, knocking on doors and receiving candies as rewards for their costumes. The costumes range from the stand-by ghosts and witches, to costumes resembling popular [...] Read More »
