What is Celtic?

 

Who were the Celts? And why should we care? I’m Canadian and LOVE it! So what’s in it for us to learn about Celtic ancestors, those pagan Celts? Instead of thinking of a particular people as having all the answers to the Great Mystery ~ the gift of life ~ try taking bits and pieces from all cultures around the world and treating these as pieces of a puzzle to lead us to a peaceful world view where every individual enjoys our sacred planet.

 

For those seekers who have sought out the traditions in the old languages, they have come to some understandings about what our ancestors knew of this world. We know they were a nature based society, so maybe if we learn more about our history and ancient beliefs, we will be in a better position to help with environmental problems faced today. We may even learn how our ancestors related to each other, too. There are many indications in archaeological evidence that Celtic people were self-aware and looked inward for personal growth and spiritual harmony.
But wait! Back to what we do know…

 

The modern world remembers the glorious Roman Empire, the monuments left behind, the tales of the Caesar and a rich history of triumphs and tragedies. We remember, too, the Greeks from their myths and legends and classical literature. What of the Celts? Hieroglyphs and magnificent and mysterious stone megaliths, Druids and kilts, magic and goddesses, books of illumination and fine challices, brilliant oral traditions, faery folk and dragons, ceremonies celebrating the rhythm of nature and ceremonies offering human sacrifices of men, women, children and animals in wicker effigies. What is true and what is Celtic?

 

Throughout time, Celtic languages defined Celtic peoples, with Breton, Cornish and Welsh being in one language family, and Scot, Manx and Irish being in another. Both the Irish and Scots call their language gaelic, with a slight pronunciation difference in each language. (Some Irish simply call their language Irish, too!)

 

Way back when, after eleven centuries of Roman rule, Rome fell to the barbarians who lived across Europe. Scholars now generally accept that Celts came from Europe, and even further East, and these ancestors settled in Ireland, Scotland and its highlands and islands, Breton, Wales, Cornwall and the Isle of Man. There is a scholarly controversy raging today about the definition of celtic, and for the purposes of this website, we acknowledge the controversy and put it aside and will begin to celebrate the archetypal European people who left a dominant cultural imprint on this planet. Yes, the Celts: from the tall and fair-haired to the small, dark and stocky,the magnificent red-haired ~ they wore torques and bejewelled brooches and lived in harmony with nature. The Celts seek balance between light and dark, as evidenced by their festivals marking the changing seasons. From the Bards to The Book of Kells, The Book of Durrow, and The Lindisfarne Gospels, to The Picts who came before them (a Roman nickname meaning ‘the painted ones’), the Keltoi (as named by the Greeks and Romans) civilzation are known for all of this and for Hadrian’s Wall, the Hill of Tara, the Stone of Destiny, Newgrange, Glastonbury, the Rosslyn Chapel, Stonehenge, and the Ring of Brodgar. Yes, there are more wondrous facts, figures and places to learn about, and here begins a Celtic journey.