Celtic festivals celebrate Celtic culture, which in modern times may be via dance, Celtic music, food, Celtic art, or other mediums. Ancient Celtic festivals included religious and seasonal events such as bonfires, harvest festivals, storytelling and music festivals, and dance festivals. This list includes Celtic festivals held throughout the world.
History There are several specific and often ancient types of Celtic festivals. A (plural ) is a traditional Gaelic arts and culture festival, currently used referring to Irish dance competitions. In Ancient Ireland communities placed great importance on local festivals, where Gaels could come together in song, dance, music, theatre and sport. Today the Fèis has experienced something of a rebirth, both for ethnic Gaels and for enthusiasts of the Gaelic culture in Ireland and Scotland, and worldwide.Feiseanna for dummies : a comprehensive explanation of the basics of feiseanna Other ancient festivals include the eisteddfod, which is a Welsh festival of literature, music and performance dating back to at least the 12th century. The present-day format owes much to an eighteenth-century revival arising out of a number of informal eisteddfodau. Comparable to the eisteddfod but without the ancient roots, the Mòd is a festival of Scottish Gaelic song, arts and culture. There are both local mods and an annual national Mòd, the Royal National Mòd, which take the form of formal competitions, with choral events and traditional music including fiddle, bagpipe and folk groups. There are spoken word events, original dramas, and competitions in written literature.
The concept of modern Celtic identity evolved during the course of the 19th-century into the Celtic Revival and the growth of Celtic nations. After World War II, the focus of the Celticity movement shifted to linguistic revival and protectionism, e.g. protecting Celtic languages. The Celtic revival also led to the emergence of musical and artistic styles identified as Celtic. Music typically drew on folk traditions within the Celtic nations, and instruments such as Celtic harp. Art drew on decorative styles associated with the ancient Celts and with early medieval Celtic Christianity, along with folk-styles. Cultural events to promote "inter-Celtic" cultural exchange also emerged, including festivals.
Celtic festivals by country Oceania Australia Kernewek Lowender in Moonta, South Australia
National Celtic Festival in Portarlington, Victoria
Europe France Brandivy (section Breizh–Kernow Festival) (Brittany) Festival Celtique, in Plessé Festival de Cornouaille (Quimper) Festival Interceltique de Lorient (Lorient) Festiv'Arz, in Arzal Kan ar Bobl (Pontivy)
Ireland Saint Brigid's Day, Imbolc (Killorglin, Ireland) Fleadh Cheoil (Tullamore, Ireland) Oireachtas na Gaeilge Pan Celtic Festival Puck Fair (Killorglin, Ireland) Seachtain na Gaeilge Willie Clancy Summer School (Milltown Malbay, Ireland) Italy
Insubria Festival, Marcallo con Casone, Lombardia
Spain Interceltic Festival of Avilés or "Festival Intercéltico de Avilés" (Avilés, Asturies, Spain) Ortigueira's Festival of Celtic World, Galicia Festival Internacional do Mundo Celta de Ortigueira (Ortigueira, Galicia, Spain)
United Kingdom
Scotland Celtic Connections, Glasgow Fèis Bharraigh, Barra Fest, Isle of Barra Royal National Mòd, Am Mòd Nàiseanta Rìoghail (Glasgow, Scotland) Hebridean Celtic Festival (Stornoway, Scotland)
Wales National Eisteddfod of Wales, Eisteddfod Genedlaethol Cymru Urdd National Eisteddfod, Eisteddfod Yr Urdd Llangollen International Music Eisteddfod, Eisteddfod Llangollen Tafwyl (Cardiff, Wales) Sesiwn Fawr Dolgellau (Dolgellau, Wales) Cerdd Dant Festival, Gŵyl Cerdd Dant
Northern Ireland
Soma Festival (Castlewellan, Northern Ireland)
Cornwall AberFest, held in Falmouth (Aberfal) (alternating with Breizh-Kernow Festival in Brittany) Perranzabuloe, Lowender Peran, held at Perranporth, Cornwall, in honour of St Piran Isle of Man Yn Chruinnaght (Isle of Man)
North America Canada Celtic Colours, Cape Breton Island. Nova Scotia Goderich Celtic Roots Festival Russell CelticFest Further reading
Danaher, Kevin (1972) The Year in Ireland. Dublin, Mercier
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