Latest news with #CelticTradition
CBS News
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
"No Fame Games" brings the spirit of ancient Celtic strongman contests to Massachusetts
A Massachusetts highland games competition is bringing the spirit of ancient Celtic strongman contests to the modern day, kilts and all. At the No Fame Games in Milford, barbells and plates are replaced with stones logs and kilts are the standard dress code. Ancient Celtic competition "It's a great talking point, I say that the highland games elevator speech is that it's track and field meets strongman in kilts," said founder Joshua MacKintosh. MacKintosh started the No Fame Games as a backyard grassroots movement back in 2021 with the hopes of fostering a highland games community in the Boston area. "I felt like, wow, this is an amazing sport, it's an amazing community and seeing these athletes compete, it blew my mind," said MacKintosh. "They're so welcoming and inviting and the biggest thing that I've found is how supportive and that we all want each other to do well." The message stuck and now thanks to MacKintosh's dedication, more than 100 men, women and teenagers come out to celebrate and ancient Celtic tradition. "A sense of belonging" "So to be able to see that and to be a part of that and see the twinkle in those kids' eyes as they're lifting a stone or learning some wrestling or the tug of war that we had. To see that and to have that part of their experience in their life is, of course it's very rewarding for me but I feel like it's an amazing thing to give back to those that have come before us and to give back to the giants upon whose shoulders we stand," said MacKintosh. Eric Dawson, the owner of Titan Barbell Gym in Stoneham, is an award-winning strongman who has competed in highland games around the world. He's one of the judges at the No Fame Games and has seen its impact firsthand. "I think it provides a sense of belonging, to be honest with you, for a lot of people," said Dawson. "Maybe they don't have this sense of belonging at their work, work is a place they go and punch in and punch out and they go home. A place like this, a community like this, the gym, the community, the larger competitive strength community is a place where you can really form lifelong friendships with people and bonds." For MacKintosh, it's about so much more than seeing how far you can hurl a stone. "A rising tide lifts all boats, this is about us being stronger and getting stronger to be better to lift each other up," said MacKintosh.
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
July's buck moon is coming soon. When to see next full moon, how it got its name
The beginning of July means we're heading toward the next full moon. Here are the details on July's moon cycle. The next full moon, a buck moon, will be visible on July 10 at 4:36 P.m., according to Ahead of the full moon, the first quarter moon will appear on July 2 at 3:30 p.m., followed by the last quarter moon on July 17 at 8:38 p.m. and the last quarter moon on July 24 at 3:11 p.m., according to Almanac. Efforts to go green: What to know about Delaware's Styrofoam ban that goes in to effect July 1 In July, the full moon is called the buck moon. It signifies the new antlers that emerge on a deer buck's forehead around this time of year after they shed their previous pair, Farmers Almanac reports. The buck moon is also known as the 'raspberry moon,' 'claiming moon,' 'salmon moon,' 'wyrt moon' and 'herb moon,' among other names, according to Native American and Celtic tradition, according to Some refer to July's full moon as the thunder moon, due to the frequent thunderstorms during the summer, or the hay moon, in honor of the hay harvest in July. Looking ahead, August's full moon is called the sturgeon moon and is named after the large number of lake sturgeon fish found in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain. It will be visible on Aug. 9 at 3:54 a.m., according to Almanac. The prehistoric-looking fish are thought to have existed around 136 million years ago, known as 'living fossils' to many, and were essential to Native American tribes in the area. Male sturgeon fish can live for up to 55 years and females can live for up to 150 years. Each sturgeon fish can grow to over 6 feet long and weighs around 200 pounds. Other names for the sturgeon moon include the 'dispute moon,' 'lynx moon,' 'lightning moon' and 'grain moon,' according to Siren test coming soon: DEMA to test Emergency Alert System, nuclear-generating station sirens in Delaware in July Got a tip or a story idea? Contact Krys'tal Griffin atkgriffin@ This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: July's buck moon is coming soon. How it was named, when to see it
The Independent
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
A Midsummer Night's Dream on acid: Celtic tradition comes to life at Edinburgh's Beltane Fire Festival
'Is this your first Beltane?' a teenager asks me sympathetically – with a subtle hint of an eye roll, blended with a definite note of concern, because I'm clearly lost. I've been to Edinburgh 's Calton Hill before but it did not look like this: a scene of A Midsummer Night's Dream on acid. Around 250 performers swirl around us, acting, chanting, fire dancing, drumming, or mischief making, as they weave between the monuments, re-enacting scenes of traditional Celtic lore across 10 stages and spaces. I'm in Edinburgh for the Beltane Fire Festival, a modern take on the pre-Christian Beltane, which saw ancient Celts mark the change of the season and welcome the summer every year on 30 April right through the night. May Day and maypole dancing stems from this millennia-old tradition. I detect that I am not the only lost person. I don't think the tourists who've been drawn in from the busy streets of Edinburgh below have a clue about what we're about to witness. I sit alongside visitors from France, Germany, Slovenia and the US as we wait patiently for the sun to set over Leith. Dressed-up characters with their faces painted saunter about, setting the scene, but no one performs until the sun has fully set. Darkness falls at 9.20pm exactly; primal beating of drums signals that it's go time, flames are lit by performers in formation along the National Monument of Scotland – its eight columns, based on the Acropolis in Athens, lined with flickering torches. And the show begins. Departing from the monument, a waft of white-gowned ladies-in-waiting donning floral wreaths serve the May Queen, main character of the night, who's being paraded around this hilltop park by these women in white, as well as a large troop of drummers and fire twirlers – all pursued by her future husband the Green Man. He's painted blue not green, but let us not ask too many questions. This is not midsummer, but it's certainly midsummer adjacent in belief; Beltane Fire Festival is celebrated every year on this spot by local pagans who are keeping Celtic tradition alive in Scotland, their fire society promoting the ancient calendar that includes solstices and Samhain (aka Halloween), too. I've been having a quintessentially Scottish time all week. I was driven here on board the extraordinarily comfortable Caledonian Sleeper train. As it wound around the formidable rock foundations of Edinburgh Castle, I raised a glass of early morning Irn-Bru while inhaling some porridge oats in the cafe car – totally ready for my Scottish passport. Edinburgh is awash with pre-Christian tradition masking as Christian. 'As kids we were told that egg pacing on Easter Sunday represents the stone outside Jesus' tomb rolling away,' Díarmaid McDermott, operations manager at boutique hotel 100 Princes Street, told me as I'd marched off to Arthur's Seat in search of egg-rolling families, unknowingly partaking in pagan Celtic tradition. Ten days later it feels poetic that this year's Beltane festival on Calton Hill looks back at Arthur's Seat glowing yellow, coated in heather bushes in full bloom. In ancient Celtic times this celebration took place up on Arthur's Seat before it was squashed by Georgian and Victorian hyper-Protestantism. But the Celtic traditions were too strong to stamp out and live on in Morris dancing, bonfires, May Day and May Queen contests. Beltane Fire Festival as it is today was revived in 1988 by a group of artists and musicians aiming to educate the public on 'the traditions of the Celtic lunar calendar fire festivals and their relevance to contemporary culture'. Almost 40 years ago their first audience was 50 people – this year, 6,000 attendees watched this interactive celebration. It's so interactive that guests are encouraged to wander about and see where the night takes them. 'You will get lost', says the brochure, '...and that's all part of the fun.' Ah good, it's not just me then. But I am glad when my teenage saviour, who's a Beltane veteran by all accounts, shares her map with me so I can get ahead of the crowd and nab a good view for the next dance off between the slightly feral 'reds' and austere ladies in white. To the unknowing eye this might look chaotic, but its finely tuned steps are precise, from the first drum beat at sunset until the bonfire rages at midnight. This year's theme of 'rewilding' is sewn in throughout the night with four performers donning huge papier mache fox heads, leading the processions around the hilltop. Back at my hotel, the concierge at the W Edinburgh tells me that my suite, in their restored James Craig Walk block, is where Robert Burns (the poet) and James Craig (the architect) once partied. I hope Rabbie Burns saw the fires of Beltane at least once in his life. It's right up his street. Travel essentials How to get there The Caledonian Sleeper runs between London and Edinburgh every night of the week. Seats from £74; beds from £250. Where to stay 100 Princes Street Not many hotels have their own tartan. This boutique property – that is unequivocally Scottish in design and demeanour – is so classy that it has not one but five unique tartans used throughout the award-winning hotel. Ask for a room with a view of Edinburgh Castle. W Edinburgh The sleek splendour of the W chain has adapted to its location: the new building in St James Square, shaped like a twirling ribbon (a nod to the city's textiles industry), has a 360-degree view from its rooftop W Lounge, where the new cocktail menu is themed around Scottish folklore.
