Thanks, kind stranger - I tried my best to compile the most scholarly sources on the subject, along with throwing in one or two more speculative theories that I think have merit. If I were to re-make this video today I would probably have included some more information in parts and cut out some others, but the majority of what I said three years ago still stands. Hope you have had a cheerful St. Brigid's day this year.

Ceud mìle taing.

Thanks for both of your very kind comments, Fred, I'm glad you enjoyed the video. I am a humble scholar of the Celtic peoples and their beliefs, with a particular interest in Scotland and everything pre-Christian. I have worked as an outdoor guide but never as a teacher or lecturer. I'd like to make more videos some day, but I'm still looking for the inspiration. People like you keep that flame burning. Hope you had a blessed Imbolc!

Mòran taing, mo charaid! The video did turn out to be quite lengthy but I wanted to cover everything I thought was essential to understanding this feast day. Excellent - hope you spot many a snowdrop while back home. I fear the weather to come for we've got unusually clear skies today... half o' winter's to come and mare!

you were right, this has been the coldest week of winter so far, with multiple snowfalls here in the south!

There's no questioning the wisdom of our ancestors! I hope you've been enjoying a frosty, snowy Sussex. It must look magical.

Thank you for your kind words. I am working on a video about Lùghnasadh at the moment but I have several ideas about what I'd like to cover in the future. The Fir Bolg are also a fascinating topic, although I'd like to visit Ireland and do some on-site filming if I was to cover the Fir Bolg. Time will tell :-)

Gille Slàbhach i'm just wondering where who fits in with mounds vs mead halls. thinking of beowulf, and recent diggings up by orkney showing that the cattle/stones culture seemed to follow the mound culture. also the changing of religious percpetive to sky/male diety from earth/female diety...

rebkah mac The prehistory of Ireland as recorded in the Lebor Gabála Érenn is a fascinating topic which I have wanted to talk about for a while. While we may see the subsequent invasions and migrations of the various prehistoric races as a representation of the medieval Gaels' understanding of their own past, we cannot take the book as a description of any reliable history (especially considering the fact that the Lebor Gabála Érenn was written by medieval Christian monks and not, say, the pre-Christian druidic order which may have actually had more reliable information on Ireland's prehistory through orally transmitted history). I think the key thing to take out of Lebor Gabála Érenn, if we try to shed the Christian pseudohistorical flavourings superimposed over the core story, is that the Gael understood himself to be descended from the Gods. This is not some kind of early medieval racial chauvinism on the Gaels' part; simply a celebration of the divine, or rather the inheritance of divine qualities within each and every Gael. The Gaels were descended from the Tuatha Dé (The Godly Folk); the Tuatha Dé were descended from the Fir Bolg. Even understanding the etymology of Fir Bolg is difficult as it literally means "the men of sacks" but as you saw in this video, "bolg" may also mean "belly"; whether there is a connection between Fir Bolg and Imbolg is very doubtful. Anyhow, the Fir Bolg themselves were descended from yet another race according to this ancient manuscript - the Nemid, where interestingly, the word "nemed" means "holy" in Old Irish, while the sacred groves and meeting sites of pagan Celts all around Europe were called "nemeton". The prevailing message is that us humans are descendants of the divine; perhaps encouraging humans to cultivate that which is divine within them rather than succumb to the desires of the Jötunn within us.

...and a happy mabon to you. i wish you all the best on your endeavors. it is true that not many are on your current path - but i think its important to remember that the first of the first will often feel like the last of the last. coming from canada, i can say that there are many more globally who are on the same path as you. and who more so then the indiginous cultures around the world - those who are trying to figure out what it means to be themself in the current day. as you try to figure your way ahead, i would encourage drawing inspiration, and seeking relationship with these people - they have inspired me. they are much closer to their roots - that of a culture with a healthy relationship with enviroment and community - specifically in their view towards nature/women. as for here, i encounter women from eastern europe (latvia) - who have a knowledge of traditional customs similar to ancient celtic tradition. and to end on a positive note - i do think that when scotland returns to its roots it will not have the same layers of religion to sift through as in Ireland - they are perhaps closer to their pagan roots then some.

Dziękuję. Polski jest moim językiem ojczystym. :)

Gille Slàbhach Aha. Well done! Really good vid. By the way in southern parts of Ireland Bealtaine is pronounced "b'yowl-tin-eh".

Thank you for your comment Rhyannon. I don't think that the appearance of berserkers can be attributed to the mingling of Norse and Gaelic culture (there is some evidence of Germanic "wolf-warriors" and "bear-warriors" from back when the Roman Empire still existed, some 400+ years before the Vikings came to Britain and Ireland). However you are not wrong in seeing the parallels as many scholars, including Séamas Ó Catháin who I refer to in this video, have identified an ancient bear cult that spanned most of the Northern Hemisphere (including all of Europe, Siberia/Northern Asia and stretching into North America). After all the most central figures in our astronomy and astrology are Ursa Major (the Great Bear) and Ursa Minor (the Little Bear), which contain Polaris or the Northern Star, used as a navigational reference by all peoples of the northern hemisphere.

@@gilleslabhach7904 Thank you for your response. I agree that the ancient bear cult of the Ice Ages preceded both the Gaels and the Norse and long preceded even the Romans. And speaking of the Great Bear constellation and Polaris, the north star used for navigation... there is strong evidence that what was later called the Celtic Cross with the circle in it by the Christians was actually an ancient portable navigation instrument. It was used to get the angle between the north star and the horizon to give you latitude. You would align the arms of the cross with Polaris and the movable circle with marks on it that was measured by a vertical plumb line as you aligned the cross arms would give you the angle above the horizon, thus your latitude. That cross instrument that was tied to the north star was a potent cultural symbol of the ancient Gaelic mariner tradition and a symbol of the whole spread of Gaelic culture over the seas LONG before Christianity arrived. When the Christian priests came to Ireland they redefined this sacred "Pagan" symbol of the Gaelic mariner's cross navigation instrument to be the cross of Christ's death. Obviously Brigid herself was anciently connected to the symbol of the old Gaelic navigational cross long before the time of Christ as well. I want to learn much more from you. I just subbed to your channel. Please keep the videos coming! Thank you!

You should be proud of your ancestors - one of the most honourable things a Gael could liken you to is an oak!

Unfortunately it was only the "church follower" element. www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/kilduff/43/ i'd love to be named after an oak!

do you get many placenames connected with oaks in Gaelic Scotland? there are tonnes in Ireland eg. Ballaghaderreen / Bealach an Doirín

They aren't that common, unfortunately. I know of an Achindarroch near Fort William (achadh nan darach, field of oaks), a small creek on the isle of Skye called Allt an Daraich, creek of the oaks, and Creag Darroch (crag of oaks) near Ballater. Since Gaelic was spoken in Ireland for several centuries before it first appeared in Scotland, that could be the reason why there are more oak place-names there - by the time the language crossed the Irish Sea, many oaklands had probably been felled for ship-building, building crannogs, hill forts etc?

I imagine that's right - the western coast and Islands was originally temperate oak rainforest , with brown bears, elk ect - but it was largely destroyed by the early medieval period. I guess many of the surviving forests were largely pine and birch too

Very interesting information, Annikka, thank you for sharing!

@@gilleslabhach7904Here you may find something that interests you. The church in the picture is their church in Jokkmokk Sweden - enjoy and Thank you so much for your fantastic video / Annikka

www.samer.se/religion

Hey Alice, thanks for your comment! Since making this video I've moved to a crofting area and I have become more critical of the "ewe's milk" theory as lambs here are born around March/April as you said yourself. One thing to keep in mind is that humans artificially try to move lambing season throughout the year to suit them and ensure optimal health for lambs. Historically - say a thousand or even two thousand years ago - this may have been earlier, due to the climate being different or due to the fact that grazing animals were moved out to summer grazings early May-time and the lambs had to be sturdy enough by then to walk there and thrive on the rougher, upland grazing.

@@gilleslabhach7904 well I live in the Welsh hills and sheep are still moved up to the high ground early May-time, 6 weeks from the equinox to early May gives them enough time to get strong enough, I see no evolutionary benefit from them being born in February so I expect lambs have always been born around the spring equinox whatever the climate because the increasing light is what drives the hormones in the ewe, just like hens usually start laying eggs again properly around the spring equinox as well....perhaps the milk from the ewes starts to come in around February in preparation but there would not be enough to have any of it

@@gilleslabhach7904 Are you married... Laura