Celtic Ways Tales

Christmas day gatherings and sharing over, leftovers sandwiches getting thinner and beginning thoughts about Hogmanay, or more about beyond Hogmanay. A time of plots, plans and a shift to focus on our lives, goals and self improvement. “Where’s our career going, how many pounds will I lose, how will I be better towards others” etc. “Where am I going on vacation” is also a hot topic and I do find that before Christmas day dinner plates are in the sink or dishwasher the emails come in investigating what we are offering from Celtic Ways in Ireland through 2009. So here’s a quickie round up of what we are planning that you could join us with. January Lots of work on our Labyrinth Garden to level the path with the intent of making it walkable barefoot, along with other landscaping work including a water feature. At our Two Worlds Theatre on January 6 th is the first of our regular Meet Up Gatherings , this one on Energy Healing . We aim to launch Two Worl...

The Yule and Christmas Tree wonder In the social media I wonder some people are asking about Christmas tree origins and traditions. It seems, like all of today’s Christmas traditions, the Christmas tree is a collection of images that were created in the heydays of the first mass print productions. The new industry of Victorian printing companies were very creative in firing the imagination of the public into finding reasons to buy their printed products. Their most successful campaign was to introduce jollyness into Christmas by collecting fragments of symbols of ancient traditions and packaging them together in their graphics that supported their jolly verses printed on cards. The amazing response was the people wanting to re-enact the images of these Christmas cards by surrounding themselves with nativity scenes, holly, ivy, mistletoe, visits by Santa moved from early December to Christmas day, presents under the tree, decorations on the tree, stockings or shoes full or presents...

Labyrinth & Garden My work lately has been the clearing of debris around the “site”, mainly left over building materials, which is providing wonderful free fuel for our excellent scrap wood and wood pellet driven underfloor heating system serving both the theatre and cottage. There are still a few more days of clearing. I work this on dryer days, and we have had a good frequency of those this winter, so far. At present, access to the labyrinth garden entrance is a bit muddy so I did start laying a network of lovely limestone paths and will continue to do this soon, hopefully by Yule. The wheelbarrows carrying the scrap wood is currently putting the existing temporary paths a bit out of shape, but by Yule I hope some will walk the labyrinth for observance and reflection. I do look forward to getting back into working within the labyrinth garden. It does amaze me how its essence of peace seems to be stronger every time I enter it. I feel a caressing of love within the...

For people in Ireland or can visit Ireland ……   Have Yourself a Sustainable Kind of Christmas Presented by the Temple Bar Cultural Trust in association with Cultivate Centre Saturday 13th December | 2:30pm – 3:30pm | Cultivate, West Essex St, Old City, Temple Bar | Booking Essential: 01 677 2255 Speaker, Declan McCormac from CODEMA, will discuss saving electricity with decorations; eco presents; socially aware presents; social inclusion such as charity work, what to do with left-over Christmas-wrap/food/extra presents; disposal of Christmas tree; a sustainable forest tree (certified); making your own decorations; finances at Christmas, shopping locally for presents and sourcing local food for your Christmas feast.  

Help to keep a beautiful ancient tradition alive Today media moguls have conditioned many of us to believe that we have to attend theatres, concert halls and stadiums for live music, dance and other performing arts. Some of believe pubs, clubs and cafes are the intimate places for music and performing arts, but really with all of the noise and carry on in these places they rarely are. For several people, the definition of a house concert is switching on the TV to watch a major concert hall or stadium concert, and I must admit I enjoy doing this from time to time too. However, in days before all these media and mega stadiums were around most music, poetry, dance and performing arts were shared in people’s homes, usually the country house homes. Today many of us do have the same if not better luxuries than those old country houses even did, despite their grandeur,  …… so we can do the same. I love the stories of the harper bards of old who travelled...