Cult Accessories CT054
Celtic Tomes
This chapter covers Temples, Altars, Images, Symbols, and the Cult of Weapons of the Ancient Celts.
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Festivals CT053
Celtic Tomes
The Celtic year was not at first regulated by the solstices and equinoxes, but by some method connected with agriculture or with the seasons.
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Tabu CT052
Celtic Tomes
The Irish geis, pl. geasa, which may be rendered by Tabu, had two senses. It meant something which must not be done for fear of disastrous consequences, and also an obligation to do something commanded by another.
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Sacrifice and Prayer CT051
Celtic Tomes
The Celts offered human victims on the principle of a life for a life, or to propitiate the gods, or in order to divine the future from the entrails of the victim. We shall examine the Celtic custom of human sacrifice from these points of view first.
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Cosmogony CT050
Celtic Tomes
The Celts may have possessed the Heaven and Earth myth, but all trace of it has perished. There are, however, remnants of myths showing how the sky is supported by trees, a mountain, or by pillars.
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Animal Worship CT049
Celtic Tomes
Animal worship pure and simple had declined among the Celts of historic times, and animals were now regarded mainly as symbols or attributes of divinities.
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Tree and Plant Worship CT048
Celtic Tomes
The Celts had their own cult of trees, but they adopted local cults. This chapter also details how the Celts made their sacred places in dark groves, the trees being hung with offerings or with the heads of victims.
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River and Well Worship CT047
Celtic Tomes
Among the Celts the testimony of contemporary witnesses, inscriptions, votive offerings, and survivals, shows the importance of the cult of waters and of water divinities. This chapter also details the many fairies and folklore creatures associated with water.
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Primitive Nature Worship CT046
Celtic Tomes
McCulloch talks about animism, where everything was a person and the greater objects of nature were worshiped for themselves alone.
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The Cult of the Dead CT045
Celtic Tomes
The custom of burying grave-goods with the dead and other grave customs is the subject of this chapter. McCulloch also talks about the role of fairies and the festival of Samhain.
info_outlineSundry Lenten Customs
British Goblins: Welsh Folk Lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions (1881)
Book 3 Chapter 2
by
Wirt Sikes
All about traditions and customs occurring around Lent in old Wales. Sikes tells us all about Hot Cross Buns and how they are tied up in a bag, the ceremony of 'Lifting' women high into the air that takes place at Easter, and the possible origins of April Fool's Day. He talks about the Maypole and the giving of Birch rods as a token of love, as well as the battle between the Winter and Summer Kings that takes place each Mayday.
- Sundry Lenten Customs 0:57
- Mothering Sunday 1:58
- Palm Sunday 2:09
- Flowering Sunday 2:15
- Walking Barefoot to Church 2:52
- Spiritual Potency of Buns 3:18
- Good Friday Superstitions 4:20
- Making Christ's Bed 4:26
- Bad Odour of Friday 5:00
- Unlucky Days 5:20
- Holy Thursday 6:00
- The Eagle of Snowdon 6:18
- New Clothing at Easter 6:57
- Lifting 7:33
- The Crown of Porcelain 8:10
- Stocsio 9:05
- Ball-Playing in Churchyards 11:00
- The Tump of Lies 12:35
- Dancing in Churchyards 13:13
- Seeing the Sun Dance 14:10
- Calan Ebrill, or All Fools' Day 14:56
- May Day 15:42
- The Welsh Maypole 16:33
- The Daughter of Lludd llaw Ereint 17:31
- Carrying the Kings of Summer and Winter 18:45
Names Used in this Section
All proper names, and words in Welsh or other languages, are recorded here in the show-notes and we've done our best to get the pronunciations right for you.
Snowdon
Stocsio
Calan Ebrill
Lludd llaw Ereint
Monmouthshire
Cardiff
Pembrokeshire
Tenby
Brahmins of India
Giraldus
Thor
Hampshire
Bragawd
pic. Lifting
Rhag i'r feinwen losgi ei thalcen ('Lest the maiden burn her forehead')
Aberconwy
Pen Twthil
Dr. Fosbrooke
St. Dogmell's Parish
'Cnwc y Celwydd' videlicet
Aberedwy
Malkin
St. Almedha, Breconshire
Ffwl Ebrill
Saturnalia
Bedwen
Bedw
Collen
Mabinogi
Kilhwch & Olwen
Gwyn ap Nudd
Gwythyr
Greidawl
Arthur
Defynog
Yo ho!
British Goblins can be found on Archive.org
You can find out more about Wirt Sikes on Wikipedia.
Try the Celtic Myth Podshow for the Tales and Stories of the Ancient Celts at http://celticmythpodshow.com or on Apple Podcasts.
Our theme music is "Gander at the Pratie Hole" by Sláinte. You can find their music on the Free Music Archive.