Thus, Nov. 1 was New Year's Day for
the Celts, their year being divided into four major cycles. The onset of each
cycle was observed with suitable rituals that included feasting and sacrifice.
It was called The
Festival of Samhain - linked with Halloween.
The Celts measured the Solar year on a wheel, circle or spiral, all of which
symbolize creation and the constant movement of the universe growth and
development.
To the ancients, the Heavens appeared to wheel overhead, turning on an axis
which points to the north polar stars. At the crown of the axis, a circle of
stars revolved about a fixed point, the Celestial Pole, which was believed to be
the location of Heaven. At the base of the axis was the Omphalos, the circular
altar of the Goddess' temple. The universe of stars turning on this axis formed
a spiral path, or stairway, on which souls ascended to Heaven.
This Sunwise, clockwise, or deiseal (Gaelic), motion of the spirals
represented the Summer Sun. The continuous spirals with seemingly no beginning
or end signified that as one cycle ended another began eternal life. The
spiral's never-ending, always expanding, motion also symbolized the ever-
increasing nature of information and knowledge. Many of these symbols often also
appeared in triplicate, a sign of the divine.
In addition, the seasons of the year were thought to be part of this cycle.
In Gaelic, the names of the four seasons date back to pre-Christian times: 1)
Earrach for "Spring," 2) Samhradh for "Summer," 3) Foghara for "Harvest" which
refers to Autumn, and 4) Geamhradh for "Winter."
DRUIDS
The Druids, who were
occupied with magico-religious duties, were recruited from families of the
warrior class but ranked higher. Thus Caesar's distinction between Druides (man
of religion and learning), eques (warrior), and plebs (commoner) is fairly apt.
As in other Indo-European systems, the family was patriarchal.
Celtic Tree of Life
ECONOMY
The basic economy of the Celts was mixed farming, and, except in times of
unrest, single farmsteads were usual.
Owing to the wide variations in terrain and climate, cattle raising was more
important than cereal cultivation in some regions.
CLOTHING - TEXTILES
Textiles in ancient times were fairly advanced. Weaving is a very basic
technology and was quite advanced as early as 5,000 BCE, and brightly colored
dyes were readily available. If we met our Celtic ancestors, they would probably
look as gaudy to us as they did to the Romans, since they were very fond of
bright colors and ornamentation.
There aren't a lot of textile remains found for Celtic clothing from
prehistoric times through the 16th century; we mostly have to rely on
manuscripts and descriptions of what was worn at various times. However, I will
make some educated guesses based on textile construction techniques from the few
Celtic finds available, as well as evidence from the bog finds in Denmark, which
could arguably be either Celtic or Teutonic. Obviously, fashions varied from
place to place and time to time, so Celtic clothing wasn't universally the same
in all places over the thousand or so years I'm spanning; however, similar
techniques of constructing and decorating clothing were used throughout Europe,
and results can be inferred from these.
HOMES
Hill forts provided places of refuge, but warfare was generally open and
consisted of single challenges and combat as much as of general fighting.
ART - MUSIC
There are many modern 'politically correct' problems surrounding exactly what
is Celtic and what is not. The most common error is to talk of 'Celtic
knotwork', that complicated and elaborate interlacing of lines, curves and
geometric shapes which seems to be appearing everywhere nowadays.
