Telling Stories Across the Seasons

 Reconnecting to the seasons, to the natural rhythms of the year, is an essential antidote to the separation from nature that haunts contemporary living.  Traditionally, the stories told would change as the year shifted from dark to light and back again.  The Celtic year was divided by eight holy days: the two solstices and two equinoxes, as well as four days that fall roughly half way between these solar events.  Storytelling would have featured as part of the celebrations on each of these days.  Some of the stories included in our book are associated with particular seasons and we invite you to mark the passing of the year, by sharing these stories on Celtic holy days:

Winter Solstice (December 21^st):

• The Goat and the Strawberries
• Saint Mungo and the Robin

Imbolc (August 2^nd):

• Saint Brigid and the Wolf

Spring Equinox (March 21^st):

• Maggie’s Nest
• Thomas the Thatcher
• The Sunken Palace

Beltane (May 1^st):

• One Tree Hill
• Stolen by Fairies
• The Elf and the Slop Bucket

Summer Solstice (June 21^st):

• Jack and the Dancing Trees
• The King and Queen of the Birds
• The Laddie Who Herded Hares

Lughnasagh (August 2^nd):

• The Blaeberry Girl
• Saving the Forest
• Margaret MacPherson’s Garden
• Jack and the Beanstalk

Autumn Equinox (September 21^st):

• Alder Sprite
• The Tree with Three Fruits
• The Sleeping King
• The Hedgehog and the Fox

Samhain (October 31^st):

• The Beekeeper and the Hare
• Archie’s Besom
• The Tiddy Mun
• Ceridwen’s Cauldron