The term Celtic calendar is used to refer to a variety of calendars used by Celtic-speaking peoples at different times in history. The Celtic languages are the languages descended from Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, a branch of the greater Indo-European language family. ...

Continental Celtic Calendar

The Gaulish Coligny calendar is possibly the oldest Celtic solar/lunar ritual calendar. It was discovered in Coligny, France, and is now on display in the Palais des Arts Gallo-Roman museum, Lyon. It dates from the 1st century BC, when the Roman Empire imposed use of the Julian Calendar in Roman Gaul. The calendar is made up of bronze fragments, in a single huge plate. It is inscribed Gaulish with Latin characters and uses roman numerals. overview of the re-assembled tablet detail of Mid Samonios The Gaulish Coligny Calendar was found in Coligny, Ain, France (46°23′N 5°21′E) near Lyons in 1897, along with the head of a bronze statue of a youthful male figure. ... Coligny is a commune in the French département of Ain. ... This article covers the culture of Romanized areas of Gaul. ... The Julian calendar was introduced in 46 BC by Julius Caesar and came into force in 45 BC (709 ab urbe condita). ... Gaul in the Roman Empire Roman Gaul consisted of an area of provincial rule in what would become modern day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and western Germany. ...

The Coligny Calendar is an attempt to reconcile both the cycles of the moon and sun (as is our modern Gregorian calendar.) However, the Coligny calendar considers the phases of the moon to be important, and each month always begins with the same moon phase. The calendar uses a mathematical arrangement to keep a normal 12 month calendar in sync with the moon and keeps the whole system in sync by adding an extra month every 2 1/2 years. The Coligny calendar registers a five-year cycle of 62 lunar months, divided into a "bright" and a "dark" fortnight (or half a moon cycle) each. The months were possibly taken to begin at full moon, and a 13th intercalary month was added every two and a half years to align the lunations with the solar year. In lunar calendars, a lunar month is the time between two successive similar syzygies (new moons or full moons). ... Intercalation is the insertion of an extra day, week or month into some calendar years to make the calendar follow the seasons. ...

The astronomical format of the calendar year that the Coligny calendar represents may well be far older, as calendars are usually even more conservative than rites and cults. The date of its inception is unknown, but correspondences of Insular Celtic and Continental Celtic calendars suggest that some early form may date to Proto-Celtic times, roughly 800 BC. The Coligny calendar achieves a complex synchronization of the solar and lunar months. Whether it does this for philosophical or practical reasons, it points to considerable degree of sophistication. A page from the Hindu calendar 1871-72. ... In traditional usage, the cult of a religion, quite apart from its sacred writings (scriptures), its theology or myths, or the personal faith of its believers, is the totality of external religious practice and observance, the neglect of which is the definition of impiety. ... The Insular Celtic language hypothesis groups the Goidelic languages, which include Irish, Scottish Gaelic and the recently extinct Manx, together with the Brythonic languages, of which the modern ones are Welsh, Breton, and the moribund Cornish. ... The Continental Celtic languages are those Celtic languages that are neither Goidelic nor Brythonic. ... The Proto-Celtic language, also called Common Celtic, is the putative ancestor of all the known Celtic languages. ... Centuries: 10th century BC - 9th century BC - 8th century BC Decades: 850s BC 840s BC 830s BC 820s BC 810s BC - 800s BC - 790s BC 780s BC 770s BC 760s BC 750s BC Events and Trends 804 BC - Hadad-nirari IV of Assyria conquers Damascus. ...

Mediaeval Irish and Welsh calendars

Among the Insular Celts, the year was divided into a light half and a dark half. As the day was seen as beginning at sunset, so the year was seen as beginning with the arrival of the darkness, at Samhain, the first of November. The light half of the year started at Beltane, the first of May. This observance of festivals beginning the evening before the festival day is still seen in the celebrations and folkloric practices among the Gaels, such as the traditions of Oíche Shamhna (Samhain Eve) among the Irish and Oidhche Shamhna among the Scots.^[1][2] Look up Samhain in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Look up November in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about the Gaelic holiday. ... The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group which spread from Ireland to many parts of Britain, specifically Scotland, the Isle of Man, Wales and Cornwall. ... Look up Samhain in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... “Scot” redirects here. ...

Julius Caesar said in his Gallic Wars: "[the Gaulish Celts] keep birthdays and the beginnings of months and years in such an order that the day follows the night." Although Caesar says "at night" he specifically does not say "sunset" so we do not know how much the Gauls' differed from our own method of counting from midnights. Longer periods were reckoned in nights, as in the surviving term "fortnight." Julius Caesar [1] (Latin pronunciation ; English pronunciation ; July 12 or July 13, 100 BC or 102 BC – March 15, 44 BC), was a Roman military and political leader and one of the most influential men in world history. ... Combatants Roman Republic Several Gallic tribes Commanders Julius Caesar Titus Labienus Mark Antony Quintus Cicero Vercingetorix, Ambiorix, Commius, among other The Gallic Wars were a series of military campaigns by several invading Roman legions under the command of Julius Caesar into Gaul, and the subsequent uprisings of the Gallic tribes. ...

"Celtic New Year" questioned

Literature over the last century has given birth to the near-universal assumption that Samhain was the "Celtic New Year". Some historians have begun to question this belief. In his study of the folk calendar of the British Isles, Stations of the Sun, historian Ronald Hutton writes that there are no references earlier than the 18th century in either church or civic records which attest to this usage.^[3] Although it may be correct to refer to Samhain as "Summer's End", this point of descent into the year's darkness may need better proof for us to cite this "end" as also being a "beginning". Whether it is truly consistent with ancient tradition or not, Samhain has now become commonly regarded as the Celtic New Year in the living Celtic cultures, both in the Six Celtic Nations and the Celtic diaspora. For instance, the contemporary calendars produced by the Celtic League begin and end at Samhain.^[4] Ronald Hutton is Professor of History at the University of Bristol and is an occasional commentator on British television and radio on the history of paganism in the British Isles. ... The Six Nations considered the heartland of the modern Celts Celtic nations are areas of Europe inhabited by members of Celtic cultures, specifically speakers of Celtic languages. ... The Six Nations considered the heartland of the modern Celts Celtic nations are areas of Europe inhabited by members of Celtic cultures, specifically speakers of Celtic languages. ... The Celtic League is a political and cultural organisation in the modern Celtic nations of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man. ...

Pre-Celtic, Neolithic "calendars"

Ancient Neolithic stone monuments aligned to the summer and winter solstices, the equinoxes and lunar phenomena can be found across Europe and the Celtic Nations, with particular concentrations in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The most famous of these is Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain, Maeshowe in Orkney, Passage tombs, like the Knowth site in Ireland, and Newgrange in Ireland's Boyne Valley. While these sites are often connected with the Celts in popular imagination, in actuality all or most of these sites are of pre-Celtic origins.^[5] The Six Nations considered the heartland of the modern Celts Celtic nations are areas of Europe inhabited by members of Celtic cultures, specifically speakers of Celtic languages. ... For other uses, see Stonehenge (disambiguation). ... This article is about the plateau in southern England; Salisbury Plain is also an area on South Georgia Island. ... Maeshowe Maeshowe Entrance Maeshowe (or Maes Howe) is a Neolithic chambered cairn and passage grave situated on Mainland Orkney, Scotland. ... Location Geography Area Ranked 16th  - Total 990 km²  - % Water  ? Admin HQ Kirkwall ISO 3166-2 GB-ORK ONS code 00RA Demographics Population Ranked 32nd  - Total (2005) 19,590  - Density 20 / km² Scottish Gaelic  - Total () {{{Scottish council Gaelic Speakers}}} Politics Orkney Islands Council http://www. ... A passage tomb near the town of Sligo in Ireland A Passage grave (sometimes hyphenated) or Passage tomb is a tomb, usually dating to the Neolithic, where the burial chamber is reached along a distinct, and usually low, passage. ... Knowth is the site of a neolithic passage grave, one of the ancient monuments of the Brú na Bóinne complex in the valley of the River Boyne in Ireland. ... Newgrange, which is located at , is one of the passage tombs of the Brú na Bóinne complex in County Meath, and the most famous of all Irish prehistoric sites. ... Aerial view of valley Brú na Bóinne (English: Palace on the Boyne) is an internationally important complex of Neolithic chamber tombs, standing stones, henges and other prehistoric enclosures located in a wide meander of the River Boyne in Ireland. ...

Neopagan calendars

In some Neopagan religions, a Celtic calendar based on that of Medieval Ireland, or other ancient Celtic cultures, is observed for purposes of ritual. Adherents of Reconstructionist traditions may celebrate the four Gaelic festivals of Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane and Lughnassadh, and often devote themselves to language study and the use of Celtic languages in ritual.^[6][7] Neopaganism or Neo-Paganism is any of a heterogeneous group of new religious movements, particularly those influenced by ancient, primarily pre-Christian and sometimes pre-Judaic religions. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. ... A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value, which is prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. ... Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism (CR) is a polytheistic, animistic, religious and cultural movement. ... The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group which spread from Ireland to many parts of Britain, specifically Scotland, the Isle of Man, Wales and Cornwall. ... Look up Samhain in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Imbolc is one of the four principal festivals of the Irish calendar, celebrated either at the beginning of February or at the first local signs of Spring. ... This article is about the Gaelic holiday. ... Lughnasadh (or Lughnasa; modern Irish Lúnasa) is a Gaelic holiday celebrated on 1 August, during the time of the harvesting. ...

Some eclectic Neopagans, such as Wiccans, combine the Gaelic fire festivals with solstices and equinox celebrations derived from non-Celtic cultures to produce the modern, Wiccan Wheel of the Year. Eclectic Neopaganism is not focused on one particular culture or language.^[8] Some eclectic Neopagans are also influenced by Robert Graves's fictional "Celtic Tree Calendar", which has no foundation in historical calendars or actual ancient Celtic Astrology.^[9] The pentagram within a circle, a symbol of faith used by many Wiccans, sometimes called a pentacle. ... In Neopaganism, the Wheel of the Year is the natural cycle of the seasons, commemorated by the eight Sabbats. ... Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was an English poet, scholar, and novelist. ... The term Celtic Astrology is used to refer to the tree calendar invented by Robert Graves, freely based on the historical Ogham script, described in The White Goddess (1952). ...

See also

• Irish calendar

v • d • e Celts
Related	Celtic art • Celtic astrology • Celtic calendar • Celtic Christianity • Celtic knot • Celtic languages • Celtic law • Celtic music • Celtic mythology • Celtic nations • Celtic polytheism • Celtic studies • Modern Celts • Pronunciation of Celtic • Pan-Celticism • Druid
Languages	Brythonic • Celtiberian • Galatian • Gaulish • Goidelic • Lepontic • Noric
Lists	List of Celts • List of Celtic tribes • List of peoples of Gaul • List of Ireland-related topics • List of topics related to Cornwall • List of Celtic deities
Women	Cartimandua • Chiomaca •Boudica • Queen Teuta • Medb of Connacht • Elen Luyddog • Scáthach
Other	Ancient Britain • Celtic cross • Celtic Congress • Celtic League (political organisation) • The Celts BBC documentary series

The Irish calendar does not observe the typical astronomical seasons (beginning, in the Northern Hemisphere, on the equinoxes and solstices), or the meteorological seasons (beginning on March 1, June 1, September 1 and December 1), but rather centers the seasons around the solstices and equinoxes (so that, for instance, midsummer... “Celts” redirects here. ... Muiredacha Cross. ... The term Celtic Astrology is used to refer to the tree calendar invented by Robert Graves, freely based on the historical Ogham script, described in The White Goddess (1952). ... Celtic Christianity, or Insular Christianity (sometimes commonly called the Celtic Church) broadly refers to the Early Medieval Christian practice that developed around the Irish Sea in the fifth and sixth centuries, that is among “Celtic”/“British” peoples such as the Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Manx, etc. ... A classic Celtic knot pattern Celtic knots are a variety of (endless) knots and stylized graphical representations of knots used for decoration, first known to have been used by the Celts. ... The Celtic languages are the languages descended from Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, a branch of the greater Indo-European language family. ... Celtic Law The social structure of Iron Age Celtic society was highly developed. ... Celtic music is a term utilized by record companies, music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic peoples of Western Europe. ... Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, apparently the religion of the Iron Age Celts. ... The Six Nations considered the heartland of the modern Celts Celtic nations are areas of Europe inhabited by members of Celtic cultures, specifically speakers of Celtic languages. ... Celtic polytheism refers to the religious beliefs and practices of ancient Celts until the Christianization of Celtic-speaking lands. ... Celtic Studies is the academic discipline occupied with the study of any sort of cultural output relating to a Celtic people. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... The pronunciation of the words Celt and Celtic in their various meanings has been surrounded by some confusion: the initial, <c> can be realised either as /k/ or as /s/. Both can be justified philologically and both are correct in terms of English prescriptive usage. ... Pan-Celticism is the name given to a variety of movements that espouse greater contact between the various Celtic countries. ... Two druids, from an 1845 publication, based on a bas-relief found at Autun, France. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 605 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1373 × 1361 pixel, file size: 672 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Dessin celtique de forme ronde, contours tracé en noir et blanc, représentant des chiens entrelacés. ... Brythonic is one of two major divisions of Insular Celtic languages (the other being Goidelic). ... Celtiberian (also Hispano-Celtic) is an extinct Celtic language spoken by the Celtiberians in northern Spain before and during the Roman Empire. ... Galatian is an extinct Celtic language once spoken in Galatia in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) from the 3rd century BC up to the 4th century AD. Of the language only a few glosses and brief comments in classical writers and scattered names on inscriptions survive. ... Gaulish is the name given to the Celtic language that was spoken in Gaul before the Vulgar Latin of the late Roman Empire became dominant in Roman Gaul. ... Goidelic is one of two major divisions of modern-day Celtic languages (the other being Brythonic). ... Lepontic is an extinct Celtic language that was once spoken in Northern Italy between 700 BCE and 400 BCE. The language is only known from a few inscriptions discovered that were written in a variety of the Northern Italic alphabet, which was related to the Old Italic alphabet. ... Noric language was the ancient Celtic language spoken in the Roman province of Noricum. ... See: list of Scots list of Irish people list of Welsh people list of English people list of Breton people Celt Category: Lists of people by ancestry ... This is a list of Celtic tribes and associated celtic peoples with their geographical localization. ... A map of Gaul showing the relative position of the tribes. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ireland This page aims to list articles related to the island of Ireland. ... This is a list of topics related to Cornwall, UK. The Cornwall category contains a more comprehensive selection of Cornish articles. ... The gods and goddesses of Celtic mythology are known from a variety of sources. ... Cartimandua (or Cartismandua, ruled ca. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Boudica and Her Daughters near Westminster Pier, London, commissioned by Prince Albert and executed by Thomas Thornycroft Boudica (also spelt Boudicca, formerly better known as Boadicea) (d. ... Queen Teuta (also Queen Tefta), was an Illyrian queen and regent who reigned approximately from 231 BC to 228 BC. After the death of Agron (250 BC?-231 BC) who established the first kingdom of Illyria, extending from Dalmatia on the north to the Aous (Vjosa river) River on the... Queen Medb depicted on the Series B Irish pound note. ... Elen (also known as Saint Helen of Caernarfon) was a late 4th century founder of churches in Wales who is remembered as a saint. ... Scáthach (shadowy) is the female warrior who trains Cúchulainn in the arts of war in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. ... Ancient Britain was a period in the human occupation of Great Britain that extended throughout prehistory, ending with the Roman invasion of Britain in AD 43. ... Celtic cross For Celtic Cross, the ambient/dub band see Celtic Cross (band) A Celtic cross is a symbol that combines the cross with a ring surrounding the intersection. ... The International Celtic Congress is a cultural organisation that seeks to promote the Celtic languagues of the nations of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man. ... The Celtic League is a political and cultural organisation in the modern Celtic nations of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man. ... The introduction of this article does not provide enough context for readers unfamiliar with the subject. ...

References

This article is an autobiography, and may not conform to Wikipedias NPOV policy. ... F. Marian McNeill was a Scottish folklorist, best known for writing The Silver Bough (not to be confused with The Golden Bough), a four-volume set of Scottish Folklore, considered essential by many in the field. ...

Further reading

• Brennan, Martin, 1994. The Stones of Time: Calendars, Sundials, and Stone Chambers of Ancient Ireland. Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions
• Brunaux, Jean-Louis, 1986 Les Gaulois: Sanctuaires et Rites Paris: Editions Errance
• Duval, Paul-Marie, et Pinault, Georges [eds] Recueil des Inscriptions Gauloises (R.I.G.), Vol. 3: The calendars of Coligny (73 fragments) and Villards d'Heria (8 fragments)

External links

• Ray White, "Coligny"
• Pretanic World - Celtic Calendar