Thanksgiving is a holiday favorite for the Walker Metalsmith's family. It’s a time for us to celebrate old traditions and make new memories with family and friends. When most of us think about Thanksgiving, we think of it as a North American celebration, but there are several elements of Thanksgiving that can be linked to Celtic traditions. During today’s blog, we’ll be exploring some of the ways in which these Celtic traditions tie into Thanksgiving!
Gratitude: Celtic spirituality is particularly known for encouraging us to be grateful for everything we have. Gratitude is an essential Celtic virtue that makes Thanksgiving such an amazing opportunity to unite with others and spread a little gratitude. You can exchange a small token of your gratitude for all the love and support your partner has provided throughout the year. Nothing says I appreciate you more this holiday season than one of our gorgeous handcrafted Celtic crosses in 14K Gold.
Community: Celtic traditions venerate community and connection. We are all interdependent and rely on each other. In many ways, the relationships we have with significant people like our parents, are our source of love and strength. Celtic values remind us that we stand on the shoulders of our parents.
Transition: Thanksgiving is also a reminder to mark the changing of the seasons. Within Celtic fall celebrations, there is always a theme that celebrates the ending of one phase of our lives and the start of another.
While there isn’t a specific holiday in Ireland called Thanksgiving, the Irish have a long history of celebrating the bounty of the changing seasons. Autumn has always been venerated as a time to connect and focus on the things that matter the most, our family and friends.
There are three prominent celebrations in Ireland that also share the same values as Thanksgiving; Michaelmas on October 29th, Samhain or Halloween on October 31st, Martinmas or Saint Martin's Day on November 11th. Typically, these holidays were a time to celebrate the transition of the seasons and its effects on the harvest. People would gather in the same ways we do now for Thanksgiving, but they were actually gathering and storing food so they’d have enough to last throughout the year.
Walker Metalsmiths loves sharing our appreciation for the richness of Celtic
culture. Each of our designs incorporates iconic Celtic design and is inspired by Celtic tradition. Even though there isn’t an official “Thanksgiving” celebration in Ireland, there are several autumnal celebrations with deep connections to the same values we share in Andover. If you haven’t gotten a chance to check out our new holiday pieces, you should stop by our store.
You can schedule an appointment to view our showroom and even try on that handcrafted Celtic pendant you’ve been eyeing online, in person! Give us a call to schedule a time to drop by!
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Were you a tourist in London, Dublin or Paris in 1975 – 1978? Did you see a street performer playing bagpipes? Did you take his picture? Was it Steve Walker? If you can share that picture with Walker Metalsmiths you could score some sweet Celtic jewelry.
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