Hooray, hooray, it's the first of May!

It's also the first day of Beltane...a Celtic quarter day and the start of
the Celtic summer season. Summer? Good grief...Spring has only just
begun and in some places they're still getting snow! Celebrate by
placing a May Day bouquet of flowers on your door (or a friend's door
as a special surprise!) and light a Beltane bonfire outdoors (or in your
fireplace) tonight. If you're in the city, you may want to just light a
candle...LOL!

Beltane is also a fertility festival. If you're in the mood, you just might
want to snuggle up with your sweetie by that nice romantic blaze
...who knows what might happen!

Last night, 30 April, the Beltane Society held their annual Fire Festival
on Calton Hill in Edinburgh, Scotland. It's a "spectacular revival of the
ancient Celtic fertility festival in the heart of the Scottish capital;" a
"unique and wild procession of fire, drumming, and revelry." If you
were fortunate and got to attend, tell us all about it and send a link
to your photos!

Happy Tartan Day! [and a freebie!]

Are you wearing your tartan? I am!

In the United States and Canada, Tartan Day is held on 6 April, the anniversary of the date on which the Declaration of Arbroath was created in 1320. The city of New York celebrates with a Tartan Week.

Today is the 11th anniversary of the official proclamation of 6 April as National Tartan Day. It's really an International holiday as it's celebrated in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and, of course, Scotland. To learn more about it, click here.

To help you celebrate the day, and because it's so close to Easter this year, here's a free Saltire egg for you! (By the way...the quote on the preview is from the Declaration of Arbroath.) Click on the image below to download it.



Send your friends to this blog so they can get their own copy.

Slainte! {Gaelic for Cheers!}

Hogmanay (New Year) Blessings

I got this in an e-mail and thought I'd pass it on to all of you, too...LOL!

2009 Friendship Contract

After serious and careful consideration, your 2009 contract of friendship has been renewed. It was a very hard decision to make, so try not to screw it up!!!

Modern Hogmanay Blessing

May peace break into your house and thieves come to steal your debts.
May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet of $100 bills.
May love stick to your face like Vaseline and laughter assault your lips!
May happiness slap you across the face and may your tears be that of joy.
May your clothes smell of success and the problems you had forget your home address.
May 2009 be the very best year of your life!!!!

And my response...to be said on the evening of 31 December at midnight (or earlier if you just can't stay up). ;-)

Auld Celtic Hogmanay Blessing

May the Gods grant their blessing upon this dwelling,
And upon each stone and beam and stave of it.
And upon all the food and drink,
And the furnishings and clothing.
May the family and the animals
Enjoy the fullness of health
And prosperity, for now and always.

Slainte!

It's Samhain...Trick or Treat!...and a sweet freebie for you!

The Celtic year begins at Samhain [pronounced sow-in]. It is divided into two seasons: the light and the dark, celebrating the light at Beltane on 1 May and the dark at Samhain on 1 November. Some believe that Samhain was the more important festival, since it marked the beginning of a new dark-light cycle. It is a time of death and birth, a time of change, where we leave our old life behind and pass out of the darkness into our new life. The Celts observed time as proceeding from darkness to light because they understood that in dark silence comes whisperings of new beginnings, the stirring of the seed below the ground.

The night of Samhain [in Irish, Oíche Shamhna and in Scots Gaelic, Oidhche Shamhna] is one of the principal festivals of the Celtic calendar, falling on 31 October - Halloween. It represents the final harvest. According to Celtic lore, Samhain is a time when the boundaries between the world of the living and the world of the dead become thinner, at times even fading away completely, allowing spirits and other supernatural entities to pass between the worlds to socialize with humans. It is the time of the year when ancestors and other departed souls are especially honored. It is still the custom, in some areas, to set a place for the dead at the Samhain feast and to tell tales of the ancestors on that night. (Perhaps this is where 'ghost' stories came from.)

Bonfires played a large part in the festivities celebrated down through the last several centuries, and up through the present day in some rural areas. With the bonfire ablaze, the villagers extinguished all other fires. Each family then solemnly re-lit their hearth from the common flame, thus bonding the families of the village together. Often two bonfires would be built side by side, and the people would walk between the fires as a ritual of purification. Sometimes the cattle and other livestock would be driven between the fires, as well.

When Christianization came to the Celtic people, the religious spin doctors of the day turned this ancient celebration of the changing of the seasons into a scary bedtime story of witches and goblins. This misguided belief still survives in various branches of Christianity today. The Celtic Samhain festival was converted to All Hallows' Day on 1 November by All Souls' Day on 2 November. Over time, the night of 31 October and the remnants of the festival dedicated to the dead came to be called All Hallow's Eve which was eventually shortened to Hallowe'en (Hallow's Evening) and today it's Halloween.

Some of the customs and traditions of Halloween that we celebrate today were brought here by Irish and Scottish immigrants. One Irish custom is to bake a ring into a Barnbrack Cake. Each member of the family gets a slice and great interest is taken in the outcome as there is a piece of rag, a coin, and a ring in each cake. If you get the rag then your financial future is doubtful. If you get the coin then you can look forward to a prosperous year. Getting the ring is a sure sign of impending romance or continued happiness. Another custom popular one at parties is dunking for apples and coins: a portent for success and wealth. Even wearing costumes and masquerading as the souls of the dead came from our ancestors from the Celtic countries.

All the designers at PDW have set out some tasty treats for you and they're scattered all over the store. Here's just a few previews of the treats you can find to fill up your goodie bags! Click on the picture below to get started!

Here's a wee lighthearted freebie for your Hallow'een treating...click here. And tell all your friends to come knock on my door to get their free treat, too!

Hooray, Hooray! It's the first of May!

Outdoor lovin' begins today!
(You may have heard this little rhyme a wee bit differently, but you get the picture...hee hee!)

Today is Beltane - the first day of the Celtic summer.



Last year I gave away a special Beltane mini kit. If you didn't get it back then, you're in luck...click here to go to the original article where the freebie is hiding. You might even learn a wee bit about the history of this special day!

Slainte!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

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31 December - Hogmanay - New Year’s Eve!

Hogmanay is when Scotland becomes one huge party where everyone is related to everyone else, and everyone is welcome!

In Scotland, New Year's Eve is called Hogmanay, where the birth of the new year is welcomed with wassail and good wishes. It is a celebration that dates from pre-Christian times and is more important, even today, than Christmas.

The roots of Hogmanay reach back to the celebration of the winter solstice among the Norse, as well as incorporating customs from the Gaelic celebration of Samhain. The Vikings celebrated Yule, which later contributed to the Twelve Days of Christmas or the Daft Days as they were sometimes called in Scotland.

The origin of the word hogmanay, is lost in time but scholars suggest that it most likely came from the French homme est né [man is born]. From other languages come these possibilities:

• hoggo-nott [the feast preceding Yule] - Scandinavian
• hoog min dag [great love day] - Flemish
• haleg monath [holy month] - Anglo-Saxon
• oge maiden [new morning] - Gaelic

As with all things Scottish, there is a lot of tradition designed to ensure good luck and involved in celebrating the end of the old and the beginning of the new year. What happened during Hogmanay was a portent of what the rest of the year would bring. This is why such importance was attached to the First Foot.

The First Foot is the first person to cross the threshold after the last stroke of midnight, embodying the spirit of someone bringing food and comfort to the house and good luck for the coming year. According to tradition, the best person to have come calling as a First Foot is a tall, dark haired man because fair-haired people were considered to be unlucky (were these the Norse invaders of old?). First Footing is the practice of going from house to house with little gifts and a bottle of whisky or wine. The host is given a token gift and a drink from your bottle and, in turn, gives you a drink from his.

The traditional handsel, or gift, brought by the First Foot is to ensure prosperity to the house being visited. To visit a house empty handed for the first time in the New Year signifies poverty will come upon the household. Each of the gifts a First Foot brings has a special meaning. A piece of coal, peat, or a small log symbolizes warmth, a coin symbolizes wealth, and whiskey symbolizes prosperity. An oatcake, piece of shortbread, or slice of black bun (a traditional spiced cake) symbolizes health.

Happy Hogmanay!

Here’s a wee freebie for your celebrations. Click on the image or click here to download it. Remember, it’s polite to send your friends here to get it rather than just share it around. How will they ever learn about Hogmanay?

Slainte! {Gaelic for Cheers!}

Happy Samhain!

Samhain (pronounced sow-in) is the word for November in the Gaelic languages. The Scottish Gaelic spelling is Samhainn or Samhuinn (for the feast), or an t-Samhain (for the month). The fire festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture, and is generally regarded as the Celtic New Year.

The Celtic year was divided into two seasons: the light and the dark, celebrating the light at Beltane on 1 May and the dark at Samhain on 1 November. Therefore, the feast of Samhain marks one of the two great doorways of the Celtic year. Some believe that Samhain was the more important festival, since it marked the beginning of a new dark-light cycle. The Celts observed time as proceeding from darkness to light because they understood that in dark silence comes whisperings of new beginnings, the stirring of the seed below the ground.

The night of Samhain [in Irish, Oíche Shamhna and Scots Gaelic, Oidhche Shamhna] is one of the principal festivals of the Celtic calendar, falling on 31 October - Halloween. It represents the final harvest. According to Celtic lore, Samhain is a time when the boundaries between the world of the living and the world of the dead become thinner, at times even fading away completely, allowing spirits and other supernatural entities to pass between the worlds to socialize with humans. It is the time of the year when ancestors and other departed souls are especially honored. It is still the custom, in some areas, to set a place for the dead at the Samhain feast and to tell tales of the ancestors on that night. (Perhaps this is where 'ghost' stories came from.)

Bonfires played a large part in the festivities celebrated down through the last several centuries, and up through the present day in some rural areas. With the bonfire ablaze, the villagers extinguished all other fires. Each family then solemnly re-lit their hearth from the common flame, thus bonding the families of the village together. Often two bonfires would be built side by side, and the people would walk between the fires as a ritual of purification. Sometimes the cattle and other livestock would be driven between the fires, as well.

With Christianization, the Samhain festival became All Hallows' Day on 1 November by All Souls' Day on 2 November. Over time, the night of 31 October and the remnants of the festival dedicated to the dead came to be called All Hallow's Eve which was eventually shortened to Hallowe'en (Hallow's Evening) and then Halloween.

Samhain is one of the eight annual holidays (Sabbats) observed as part of the Wiccan Wheel of the Year. It is considered by most Wiccans to be the most important of the four greater Sabbats. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is generally observed on 31 October starting at sundown. Samhain is considered by most Wiccans as a celebration of death and of the dead and often involves paying respect to ancestors, family members, elders of the faith, friends, pets, and other loved ones who have died. In some rituals the spirits of the departed are invited to attend the festivities in a similar way to some of the modern Celtic practices.

A year of beauty. A year of plenty.
A year of planting. A year of harvest.
A year of forests. A year of healing.
A year of vision. A year of passion.
A year of rebirth. A year of rebirth.
This year may we renew the earth.
~Samhain chant

Get My New Celtic Seasons Kit FREE!

But wait...there's a catch! (you knew that didn't you?)

It's time for another Download-a-Day (DLAD) challenge! The June DLAD at Divine Digital is 'The Spirit of Dad' by featured designers Michelle Powell, Julie Kelley, and Connie Prince. The challenge is to do a layout using the DLAD kit!

What do you get for completing the challenge? How about my brand new Celtic Seasons kit? Woo hoo! Well, not the whole kit...not right away anyway...you're gonna have to work for it!

The first thing you have to do is sign up in Divine Digital's forum - it's free. Then go to the June 2007 DLAD link. Bookmark the page or subscribe to the topic so you remember to visit every day! Visit the forum each day in June to get a portion of the DLAD kit.

Next, create a LO using the DLAD and post it in your favorite gallery. Yes, you can use images from other kits, but try to use the DLADs as much as possible. Finally, send me a link [catrionamag @ gmail.com] and I'll send you part of Celtic Seasons!

Every week during the month of June there will be another piece of the kit up for grabs - for a total of four: Beltane, Lughnasadh, Samhain, and Imbolc.

Here are the posting dates:

* 1-7 June - part 1
* 8-14 June - part 2
* 15-21 June - part 3
* 22-30 June - part 4
* 30 June is catch up day! If you missed a piece of the Celtic Seasons kit, this is the day to post a last minute LO and let me know which ONE you need. You only get to pick one piece, so plan accordingly!

Don't worry, if you miss a part it will go on sale in my shops at DD and DSO on 1 July.

Here's a preview of Beltane, the first part of my new Celtic Seasons kit and your first posting prize.

Remember, sharing files is a form of digital piracy - even free ones. Please send your friends to my blog so they can participate in this challenge and get their own free kit. It's not that hard!

If you want to learn more about digital piracy and how you can help prevent it, click on the "Stop Digital Piracy" link on the left.

Slainte! {Gaelic for Cheers!}

Hooray, hooray, it's the first of May!

Happy Beltane! The first day of May is celebrated in many countries for many different reasons. It is also an important part of the Celtic calendar. Beltane is a cross-quarter day, marking the midpoint in the Sun's progress between the vernal equinox and summer solstice. Since the Celtic year was based on both lunar and solar cycles, it's possible that the holiday was really celebrated on the full moon nearest the midpoint between the vernal equinox and the summer solstice.

Beltane also marks the beginning of the pastoral summer season when herds of livestock are driven out to the summer pastures and mountain grazing lands. In modern Irish, Mí na Bealtaine {month of Bealtaine} is the name for the month of May. The name of the month is often abbreviated to Bealtaine, with the festival day itself being known as Lá Bealtaine.

The traditional lighting of great bonfires marks a time of purification and transition, heralding in the season in the hope of a good harvest later in the year, and is accompanied with rituals to protect the people from any harm by Otherworldly spirits, such as the Sídhe. Beltane is a time when the Otherworld is seen as particularly close at hand. Early Gaelic sources from around the 10th century state that the druids of the community would create need-fires on top of a hill on this day and drive the village's cattle between them to purify them and bring luck {Eadar dà theine Bhealltainn in Scottish Gaelic - Between two fires of Beltane}. In Scotland, boughs of juniper were sometimes thrown on the fires to add an additional element of purification and blessing to the smoke. People would also pass between the two fires to purify themselves.

The festival persisted widely up until the 1950s, and in some places the celebration of Beltane continues today. A revived Beltane Fire Festival has been held every year since 1988 during the night of 30 April (Beltane eve) on Calton Hill in Edinburgh, Scotland and attended by up to 15,000 people.

One joyful tradition, Maypole dancing, actually has Germanic roots and is most popular in Germany, Sweden, Austria, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, and Finland for Spring, May Day, Beltane, and Midsummer festivities and rites.

Here's a wee Celtic chipboard frame (3"x3") that's a preview for my Celtic Seasons kit - now in development!


Get it here or click on the picture.

Please, no file sharing...that's digital piracy.
Send your friends to this blog so they can get their own copy.

If you use it on a project, send me a note. I'd love to see what you do with it.

Slainte! {Gaelic for Cheers!}

Hooray, Hooray! It's Finally Tartan Day!

Are you wearing yours?

Happy Tartan Day! [6 April]

Are you wearing your tartan?

In the United States and Canada, Tartan Day is held on 6 April, the anniversary of the date on which the Declaration of Arbroath was created in 1320.
(see my blog entry from 29 March)
Last year, 2006, was the first year that the Tartan Day celebration was held in Scotland. In Australia and New Zealand Tartan Day is held on 1 July, the anniversary of the repeal of the Act of Proscription in 1782.

For a list of celebrations and events around the world, click here.

To help you celebrate the day, and because it's so close to Easter this year, here's a free Saltire egg for you! Get it here.
(By the way...the quote on the preview is from the Declaration of Arbroath.)



Please, no file sharing...that's digital piracy. Send your friends to this blog so they can get their own copy.

Slainte! {Gaelic for Cheers!}

Kilt up! Scotland Comes to New York City!

In 1998, the US Senate designated 6 April as National Tartan Day to honor "the outstanding contribution of millions of Scottish-Americans to our great nation" and the House of Representatives passed a similar resolution in 2005. The date of 6 April was chosen because it was also the date of the signing, in 1320, of the Declaration of Arbroath—the model for the American Declaration of Independence.

New York City has celebrated Tartan Day since 1999. The celebrations and events have increased so much each year that it is now referred to as Tartan Week. Most of the events are FREE and highlight the many facets of Scottish culture - both past and present.

The opening ceremony is Saturday, 31 March at the Scottish Village, in Vanderbilt Hall, Grand Central Terminal. The village, open daily, gives visitors a chance to experience Scottish culture with historical displays, help and advice on getting started on your ancestral heritage research, vacationing and golf tips, and shopping and entertainment.

While you're there, don't forget to visit the Loch Ness Monster zone where you can learn all about Nessie and meet Adrian Shine, the world’s leading authority on the Loch Ness Monster and head researcher on the ongoing Loch Ness Project.

Other scheduled events include a 10k Scottish Run in Central Park, Whisky Live at Pier 60, Scotland Rocks New York, and the ever popular Dressed to Kilt fashion show. (love those boys in kilts!)

Ellis Island is also celebrating Tartan Day on Saturday, 7 April, with a family-friendly heritage day featuring Scottish pipes and drums, storytelling and dance. The program is sponsored by the Clan Currie Society and will mark the sixth annual observance of National Tartan Day on Ellis Island.

The week of celebrations will end with a huge Tartan Week Parade down 6th Avenue.

Other Tartan Day links:
National Tartan Day USA
Scottish Executive Tartan Day
Scottish Freemasonry and Tartan Day

The Story of the Shamrock and the Wearing of the Green

The shamrock (traditional spelling: seamróg, meaning summer plant) is a three-leafed clover that grows in Ireland. A common image in Celtic artwork, the shamrock is found on Irish medieval tombs and on old copper coins, known as St. Patrick's money. The plant is also reputed to have mystic, even prophetic powers - for instance the leaves are said to stand upright to warn of an approaching storm. Legend has it that St. Patrick used the shamrock in the fifth century to symbolize the divine nature of the trinity when he introduced Christianity to Ireland. The seamróg is a big part of Irish history. It was used as an emblem by the Irish Volunteers in the 1770s. When it became an emblem of rebellion in the 19th century, Queen Victoria made wearing a shamrock, by member's of her regiments, punishable by death by hanging. It was during this dark time that the phrase "the Wearing of the Green" began. "The Wearing of the Green" also symbolizes the birth of springtime. Irish legend states that green clothes attract faeries and aid crops.

Today the shamrock joins the English rose and the Scottish thistle on the British flag and is an integral part of Saint Patrick's Day celebrations.

Get this wee shamrock to help you celebrate! Please, no file sharing...that's digital piracy. Send your friends to this blog so they can get their own copy.

Slainte! {Gaelic for Cheers!}

Happy Imbolc - it's a Celtic holiday!

Today is the Celtic holiday Imbolc. It is one of the four principal festivals of the Celtic calendar. Originally dedicated to the goddess Brigid, in the Christian period it was adopted as St. Brigid's Day. In Scotland the festival is also known as Latha Fhèill Brìghde, in Ireland as Lá Fhéile Bríde, and in Wales as Gwyl Ffraed.

Imbolc is traditionally a time of weather prognostication, and the old tradition of watching to see if serpents or badgers came from their winter dens is perhaps a precursor to our modern Groundhog's Day on 2 February.

Brigid, also known as Brighid, Bríde, Brigit, Brìd; is the Goddess of poetry, healing, and smithcraft. As both goddess and saint she is also associated with holy wells, sacred flames, and healing.

Imbolc is a festival of the hearth and home, and a celebration of the lengthening days and the early signs of spring. Rituals often involve hearthfires, special foods, divination or simply watching for omens (whether performed in all seriousness or as children's games), a great deal of candles, and perhaps an outdoor bonfire if the weather permits. The lighting of candles and fires represents the return of warmth and the increasing power of the Sun over the coming months.

Here's a special freebie for you to celebrate Imbolc - an embroidered St. Brigid's cross. Read about the cross and it's history here.
Download it here.

Please, no file sharing...that's digital piracy. Send your friends to this blog so they can get their own copy.

Slainte! {Gaelic for Cheers!}
[history source: Wikipedia]