As we approach the Winter Solstice, which is so special in Ireland, we wonder will the light box at Newgrange be filled with light this year.  We reflect on our loved ones who have passed and we reflect on our future for the coming year. We look to the brighter days but the company of our loved ones is all important.

Christmas and Solstice are all about ritual.

We don’t exactly know what rituals our ancestors carried out 5,500 years ago, but they certainly must have from the clues they left behind them at Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth.

Today we have our own ritual of buying and decorating the tree, making a Christmas cake and maybe a pudding.   Gathering holly and ivy to decorate our homes and making the centrepiece for the table to mention just a few. We build these rituals into our festive plans  

Learn to savour each ritual as if it were a moment of magic.

Plan and set the table. Use the lovely table cloth your mam or friend gave you or one you gave yourself. Add a table runner down the centre and place the centerpiece. Then work out the place settings where everyone sits and what cutlery you will need to suit the menu. I find this part of the ritual very relaxing and I get great satisfaction of putting a nice table together. You are half way there to a very successful meal/dinner party.

These are our rituals. They are the rituals our children will remember even when we are gone, but not from their memories we hope.

Involve everyone and say thank you for a job well done.

Happy Solstice and Happy Christmas.

Create and treasure those memories.

Love from

Agnes

Agnes H Design

Irelands Tree of Life or Crann Beathadh

Ireland is an ancient land.  Ireland was inhabited long before we had Newgrange in Co Meath.   Newgrange was built more than 5,500 years ago and it is older than the pyramids in Egypt.

Later when the Celts came to Ireland from other parts of Europe in 500BC until about 400AD, they became the most dominant pagan group and they left behind enough evidence of their deep reverence of nature for us to understand today.  We know that Trees were an important part of Irish Celtic beliefs and culture, so it is no surprise that the Celtic Tree of Life represented how the forces of nature came together to create harmony and balance. It protected wildlife, gave food and shelter. The elders would sit in the shade of the tree and make important decisions, appoint chieftains and hold gatherings. It was common for the tribe to plant a single tree upon clearing a site for settlement.

 These deciduous trees represented death in the winter when they shed their leaves and re birth in the spring with new life. It was as if the tree became the channel between the will of nature or the divine and the mortals who lived there.

The large species were worshiped, especially the Oak and the Ash which are native Irish trees. The Ancients in Ireland believed and it is easy to see, that these tall strong trees extended their branches and leaves to the skies and heavens and their roots strong and deep extended down into the earth. They believed that the deep roots and high branches of the tree connected both the upper and under worlds to the earths plane.  Through this connection the Gods of both worlds could connect and communicate with the people and the people in turn could communicate with their loved ones who had passed.

The Celts believed they came from the trees and so regarded trees as living magical beings. Trees guarded the land and were a doorway into the spirit world.  They were also associated with positive energy.

Cutting down one of these trees was seen as a great crime and often an act committed by tribal enemies.

Although 1500 years and more have passed since the Celtic reign ended, a lot of Celtic history remains with many artifacts and landmarks still prevalent across the country today. This heritage we treasure.

Agnes h design.ie

Our Tree of life is available at Brown Thomas Stores, Grafton St, Dublin.