Irish Calendars

For us a day begins at sunrise. But for the ancient Celts it began at twilight. A festival would begin at twilight and end at the next twilight. For example Samhain (which we call Halloween) would begin at twilight on October 1 and run until twilight on November 1.

Thus dark was the beginning rather than light. In the same way, the new year begins in the dark half of the year (winter.)

This concept is common to many cultures, including Judaism. Every wonder why? Perhaps it's because of this:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. ~Genesis 1:1-5 NIV

Note "there was evening and there was morning--the first day."

Irish Time

No, I'm not talking about the Irish being perpetually late or not particularly worried about time schedules. That's another topic. I'm talking about the ancient Irish perception of time. This can be a difficult concept for modern thinkers who view time as linear: yesterday, today, tomorrow.

These ancient people believed that for God, all time was simultaneous. That is why many of the legends disregard chronological time. For instance, St. Brigid was said to have been midwife to the Virgin Mary, despite that she lived in the 5th century. St. Ita nursed the baby Jesus. St. Brigid and St. Patrick were contemporaries (when they weren't) and other saints are said to have spoken to St. Patrick before he came back to Ireland even though they lived hundreds of years after St. Patrick died.

Does this sound odd? If it does, consider that it's the stories--not the lack of historical accuracy--that is important. When I give talks people often ask if these ancient saints were real people, is there proof that they existed? I believe the stories are lessons to guide us in our spiritual lives. While Brigid could not have aided in Jesus's birth, the fact that the story says she did points to her character. She was giving and kind, and would have been someone Mary would have asked if she had the chance because Brigid was that special and had that close of a relationship with Christ.

It's hard to think of how God views time because our brains are so limited. I suppose the ancient Irish were trying to picture the concept for themselves, and thus, for us who would read and hear of the tales down through the ages.

Scots-Irish Ancestors

In my last post I provided a link to an article I wrote several years ago on the Scots-Irish. I'm quoting from that article.

They've been called a people without a name. Their roots go back to Scotland, but don't think tartans and bagpipes. They were Lowlanders, mostly coming from the border regions of Galloway, Dumfries, Renfrewshire, Ayrshire, Argyllshire and Lanarkshire in the west and Edinburgh, the Lothians and Berwichshire in the east. They spoke English and were Protestant, specifically Presbyterian.

They were different from their Highland cousins. They didn't wear kilts, didn't belong to clans, or speak Gaelic. But they weren't English either. They didn't support the Anglican Church. They held onto the memory of bloody massacres that their ancestors suffered at the hands of English conquerors centuries earlier.

Their history in Scotland was not pleasant. These people were caught, both geographically and politically, between the English to the south and the Highlanders to the north.

In the seventeenth century, when Scottish and English land-grant owners sought tenants to populate the northern region of Ireland and drive out the Catholics, the Lowland Scots fit the bill. They were not Catholic and they spoke English. To the English monarchy, the Lowland Scots were preferable to the Irish Catholics. The downtrodden Lowlanders had suffered endless cattle raids, had themselves resorted to such raids because of their poverty, and had lived on infertile, over-farmed land for centuries. The prospect of large, bountiful tenant farms in Ireland, a short jaunt across the Irish Sea, was more than appealing.

But as the decades passed, the transplanted Scots became known as dissenters. They did not vow allegiance to the Church of England, detesting tithing to a church they didn't support, and were governed by the Penal Laws. Those laws prevented dissenters from voting, bearing arms or serving in the military. Dissenters could not be married, baptized or buried with the assistance of any minister who was not ordained by the church of the state.

When I learned this, it helped answer why my specific ancestor, Thomas Little, who was born in Dumfries, Scotland, came to Ireland (my direct ancestor, his daughter Nancy Little, was born in Co. Down, Downpatrick, Ireland.) And then doing more historical study I learned why they probably left Ireland and came to America. Thomas Little's name shows up in lists of Dissenters. About the time they left leases were coming due on land that had been renting for decades, and the leases were doubled. Families like the Littles had little choice but to immigrate, and land in America was cheap and plentiful. We are often told that these people immigrated for religious reasons, and while that might be true, it was a small part of the picture. They came with the hope of providing a better life for their families.

Do you have a story like this about your family? I'd love to hear it!

Our Irish Ancestors

When did your Irish ancestors come to America? Was it during the Great Potato Famine of the mid-19th century? Was it more recent? Or was it earlier, pre-Revolutionary War? That's when mine came, in 1771. In that era the vast majority of immigrants from Ireland were Protestant Scots-Irish, or those who earlier had come from Scotland. You can read more about these Scots-Irish in an article I wrote.

I'm excited about a new publication that should be on newstands soon. "Tracing Your Irish Roots" is a culmination of the best articles on Irish genealogy published by Family Chronicle, Internet Genealogy, and the now out of print Discovering Family History. You can order it online. They're offering free shipping until Sept. 1!

Your ancestors may have come through Ellis Island. You can search records here free.

Got any interesting Irish ancestor stories to tell? I'd love to hear!