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This Day in History
no:1 ~ Druid Remembrance Day
This March 17th, I will not be celebrating someone who held great responsibly for the cultural genocide of the Celtic Pagans and Druids.
Instead I will be celebrating the life and culture of the Druids that were wiped out during Saint Patrick's missionary days.
Make sure to note that I said 'cultural genocide'. This doesn't mean he went around killing all the Druids. He instead convinced the leaders and kings of the time to convert to a new religion which meant that nobody needed the Druids any more.
WHO WERE THE DRUIDS?
Ever since the Indo-European days, Druids were the keepers of the traditional laws, story tellers, poets, priests, the philosophers of their time, astronomers & king makers.
The name Druid means something on the lines of "to see" (a Seer). They were the connection between the people & the Gods. The name Shaman is also related to Seer, meaning 'One who sees in the dark'. They were the most important people of their time, being roughly between 4500bce to 400ce.
The Celts, along with their Druids, migrated from Central Europe west to the British Isles & Ireland, taking their rich culture, art & traditions with them. The ancient tales of their ancestors & their gods helped the Celts stay a fearless people. Fearless people are hard to control.
Thankfully the Romans didn't occupy Ireland, but their new faith did. A faith which was used to bring all nations & cultures under one ruler (one God).
WHO WAS "SAINT" PATRICK?
Here are 2 fun facts about Saint Patrick:
- He wasn't even Irish, he was Roman British.
- He's mostly known for driving all the snakes out of Ireland, but there never were any snakes in Ireland. "Snakes" was metaphor for Pagans, because they were seen as "evil" for not following the new faith.
All the conversions made the old Celtic faith irrelevant, and eventually got rid of the faith along with the culture of the people. Over time the druids ceased to exist.
Written records weren't exactly common back then and Druids weren't even allowed to write down their knowledge. So all their history was recorded within the minds of the Druids and once they were eradicated, most of their history was too.
BECOMING A DRUID INVOLVED A LIFETIME OF STUDY AND DEDICATION
I think that celebrating the Druids and their rich history is a better way to celebrate Celtic pride.
Hope you enjoyed this.
Skål.
