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Ancient Irish Calendar the seasons
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Ancient Irish Calendar the seasons Sceala Irish Craic Forum Irish Message |
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Irish Granny
Sceala Philosopher
Location: Navan
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| Sceala Irish Craic Forum Discussion:
Ancient Irish Calendar the seasons
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Rona you were asking about the old Irish calendar, and the seasons in ancient Ireland.
This is the old Irish calendar, Pre Christian.
The Irish calendar is a pre-Christian Celtic system of timekeeping used during Ireland's Gaelic era and still in popular use today to define the beginning and length of the day, the week, the month, the seasons, quarter days, and festivals.
Ancient Irish calendar
The old Irish calendar does not observe the astronomical seasons that begin in the Northern Hemisphere on the equinoxes and solstices, or the meteorological seasons that begin on March 1, June 1, September 1, and December 1.
Rather, the middle of the seasons in the Irish calendar fall around the solstices and equinoxes. As a result, for example, midsummer falls on the summer solstice. The beginnings of the seasons are roughly the halfway points between solstice and equinox:
Spring - February, March, April.
Summer - May, June, July.
Autumn - August, September, October.
Winter - November, December, January.
This is a continuation of the Celtic and Gaelic system, which is pagan in origin.
The stone circles are linked to the ancient Irish past.
Ancient Irish calendar names of seasons
This is particularly evident in the names of ancient Irish festivals.
The Irish(Gaeilge) names for
May (Bealtaine),
August (Lúnasaa)
November (Samhain),
were the names of Gaelic pagan festivals.
In addition, the names for
September (Meán Fómhair)
October (Deireadh Fómhair)
translate directly as "middle of autumn" and "end of autumn".
Ancient Irish calendar and Christianity
Christianity has also left its mark on the Irish months: the name for December (Nollaig) means Christmastide.
Ancient Irish calendar times of day
Historical texts suggest that, during Ireland's Gaelic era, the day began and ended at sunset.
Through contact with the Romans, the seven-day week was borrowed by continental Celts, and then eventually spread to Ireland.
Latin / Roman Influence on the Irish Calendar
In Irish, four days of the week (Monday, Tuesday, Saturday, Sunday) have names derived from Latin. The other three relate to the fasting done by Catholic clergy.
Monday in Irish Dé Luain
Tuesday in Irish Dé Máirt
Wednesday in Irish Dé Céadaoin
Thursday in Irish Déardaoin
Friday in Irish Dé hAoine
Saturday in Irish Dé Sathairn
Sunday in Irish Dé Domhnaigh
Ancient Irish Calendar - the seasons - days of the week.
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