Stamp Primer; Research

Our task for this project is to create a stamp for the country I was born or call home, based on a tradition, event or anniversary.

Although I was born in England I am not English, my maternal family being from a rural mining town in South Wales, and my father's family from The Isle of Mull, Scotland.

I wanted to approach this project by researching the traditions of my Gaelic and Celtic ancestors. The Celts, first documented in 7th Century BC, were a collection of tribes throughout Europe which practiced similar traditions and beliefs now referred to as either Pagan or Celtic traditions. When the Romans invaded Britain, most of the Celtic tribes were pushed North, into Wales, Scotland and Ireland, however there were also tribes present in France and Spain. Although with the introduction of Christianity from the Romans, a lot of the original Celtic culture died out, the history and language still remains in Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

 I want to explore the different Celtic/Pagan holidays which were later adopted and adapted by other religions, researching the lost traditions of key holidays and festivals. I will then draw preliminary drawings from these, develop using different media techniques and eventually develop into a single designed stamp commemorating one of these holidays. 

Halloween

Modern traditions of Halloween are thought to have originated from the ancient Celtic festival Samhain (Summers End), which marked the harvest, the end of summer and the beginning of winter. The Celts believed that on the 31st of October the dead were able to walk amongst the living for one night. Traditions included burning fires and hollowing out and cutting faces into turnips (called Neep Lanterns) to ward of any evil spirits. Children would dress up as the dead, in order the blend in with the dead, and keep them from harm, this was called 'Guising'. Guisers would perform tricks and songs and would be rewarded, an ancient tradition that would one day be called trick or treating. Another tradition was 'Apple Dookin'' now called apple popping, where people would grab apples from a water basin with their teeth, as the Celt's though apples were sacred. Today Halloween is thought of as an Americanised holiday, this is because Irish immigrants in America brought their Celtic traditions with them which would later be adopted within American culture. 

Artwork: https://www.nts.org.uk/stories/6-scottish-halloween-traditions

Source: https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Halloween-in-Scotland/

Winter Solstice (Yule)

Greeting card by Karen Cater: https://www.otherwisetrading.co.uk/cards/all-by-artist-karen-cater.php

Winter Solstice occurs on the 21st of December celebrating the shortest day and the longest night of the year, marking the 'turning point' of the season. This Celtic festival predates the Christian Christmas by thousands of years, and it is thought that many of the 'Christian' traditions are simply adopted Celtic rituals. 

The winter brought food shortages and cold weather, and the winter Solstice was thought of as the final celebration before deep winter began. The majority of cattle would be killed in order to preserve food so they would not have to be fed over the winter, and the alcohol made in the summer would have finally been fermented and ready to drink, therefore the festival would revolve around feasting and drinking. 

Many traditions for the Solstice is still celebrated at Christmas today;

• Mistletoe:  The Scottish Celts believed that oak trees were sacred, on the Solstice the Celtic Priests would cut the mistletoe from the oak trees as the fruit that only grew in the winter was seen as a symbol of life in the colder and darker months. 
• Yule Log and the 12 Days of Christmas: The Celts believed that during the Solstice the sun stayed still for 12 days, a log would be lit with the remains of the previous years fire, with the belief this would conquer darkness, ward of spirits and bring luck. 
• Christmas Trees: The sun, the moon and the stars were of great significance to the Celtic people, they would decorate the pine trees with symbolic decorations of these, in order to represent the souls of those who had died in the previous year. 

https://www.truehighlands.com/winter-solstice-history-and-tradition/

Celtic Wheel of the Year: https://classicalastrologer.me/2017/12/10/the-turning-of-the-wheel-winter-solstice/

Imbolc

https://www.mirabellejewellery.co.uk/embolic

One of the four main festivals celebrated by the Celts. There is an ancient Celtic philosophy that with darkness, light must always follow. Imbolc is representative of this, symbolising the ending of winter, and the coming of the light part of the year. The festival is a celebration of new life, as the breeding season for the livestock comes around. This meant the timing of the festival varied, occurring anywhere between mid-January to mid-February, depending on the behaviour of the livestock. Imbolc was celebrated accross the Celtic regions of Ireland, the Isle of Man and Scotland, whilst Wales had a similar festival, Gwyl Fair y Canhwyllau.

Fires were lit in the hearth of every home and candles were lit in each room to symbolise the returning of the sun. The festival was also a time for reading omens and predicting the weather and wealth for the coming summer. The Celts would visit their wells by following the path of the sun, leaving offerings to the goddess of fertility St Brighid, to wish for the health and prosperity for the livestock and crops of the coming year. 

https://www.claddaghdesign.com/special-days/all-about-imbolc/