Alban Eiler?

[sidhemaiden]

The Spring Equinox is nearly hear! I can't wait until the winter is over.

I know that Druids call the Equinox Alban Eiler - where does that come from? Is it the Brythonic name for the festival?

How will you all be celebreating?
I will be decorating my altar with daffodils and will decorate some eggs ;D Probably do a little ritual to say goodbye to winter.


L&B
Lady Eleanor

[siaron]

Well, the words are Welsh...'Alban' simply means equinox/solstice. 'Eiler' is not in my dictionary, although 'eil' is--which means 'second'. So, Second Equinox?

If Samhain is the Celtic New Year, then this would be the second equinox/solstice...the first would midwinter, Dec. 21.

Just a thought....

Bendithion,

Siaron

[Blackbird]

I think those names are from Iolo. According to the OBOD, Alban Eiler means 'Light of Spring'.

I don't think there's evidence that the ancient Brythons had festivals at the equinoxes - but then so much has been lost that we can't know for sure.

However, the 25th of March is the old New Years Day (prior to 1752) so many parts of Britain held celebrations for that, though we're really talking about an English custom there.

As to what I'll be doing... I've been asked to do the ritual for a local grove whom I celebrate with - but haven't really thought about what the content will be yet.

[siaron]

Blackbird,

Sorry to nit pic, but OBOD's "light of Spring" isn't even close to Alban Eiler -()

Light would be 'golau' or one of the other forms; Alban only seems to have two meanings: solstice/equinox and Scotland. There doesn't seem to be a word for the season 'spring', only the words 'tarddell, ffynnon, sbring; for the various noun forms.

So, I guess Iolo really WAS creative! ;D

Bendithion,

Siaron

[Blackbird]

lol, indeed! The others are:

Alban Heruin (Light of the shore) - midsummer
Alban Elued/Elfed (Light on the water) - autumn equinox
Alban Arthan/Arthuan (Light of the bear/Arthur) - midwinter.

There is a kind of 'folk meaning' for alban here - but as 'white' more than 'light'. An old name for Britain is 'Albion', meaning 'white land'. I can't remember where it comes from, it might be from the Gaelic languages... I'll try to find out.

[branynos]

Albion is Latin coming from "albus" and it was used as a name for the 'mainland' because the White Cliffs of Dover were the first thing the Romans saw when they invaded.

Least thats the version I was told as a kid

[Blackbird]

I heard that it was from the name of a queen, Albina. She came to Britain with a boatload of women, who settled and birthed a race of giants ;D

Any more takers?! ;D

[goldenhand]

I know the name 'Albion' is very old, used by the Romans (See Ptolemy's Geography) to describe the main island of Britain.

Blessings,

Angharad

[branynos]

I was surfing earlier and came across
"Gwyl Canol Gwenwynol" supposedly meaning Gorse Day as a Welsh name for the spring equinox.

Didn't sound right to me, so used two of the online Welsh/English dictionaries to see what gwenwynol means and it looks like a variant word for 'poisonous'

(gwenwynig (gwenwynol)
(adj.) poisonous, venomous

A bit more poking around and I think they meant to write "Gwyl Canol Gwanwyn" , which would translate as the "Mid Spring Feast".

Though they could have meant Alban Gwanwynol which would be Vernal Equinox

Just a heads up really in case you come across the gwenwynol version, as like a lot of internet 'facts' its spreading from the orginal site into other pagan sites on the festivals

[Blackbird]

lol! ;D ;D ;D

I can just imagine all those deluded folks celebrating with a poisonous feast...

*pass the larks vomit*

;D

[goldenhand]

Brilliant, lol! ;D

It's true that a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing ;D

[siaron]

This is what happens when you have translation errors...just look at the New Testament. Virgin indeed.....


Pob Bendith,

Siaron

[nantonos]

branynos said:

Albion is Latin coming from "albus" and it was used as a name for the 'mainland' because the White Cliffs of Dover were the first thing the Romans saw when they invaded.

Albus is indeed a word in Latin, but Latin is not the oly language in which the word occurs.

It has an IE root, *albho- meaning 'white' and also is found in greek as alphós. Its not found in old Irish and very little in Welsh, which made some scholars thing it was a borrowing from latin. However, its attested in personal names such as Albiorix, Αλβιοριξ, Albiorica, Albisia, Albanos, Albula; also in the Albiones, of Teraconnensis. So its clearly a Gaulish and British word too, which was dropped during the early development of Welsh.
-- my translation and abridgement from:
Delmarre, X (2003) Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise pp.37-38

[Blackbird]

I really must get myself a copy of Delamarre...

Interesting that the word survived in names, as in the myth I mentioned earlier, the name itself was said to come from a personal noun.

Still, most such myths connect the names of places with personal names... thinking of the Brutus/Britain story, the Scotia/Scotland story...

[Brochfael]

I've yet to hear any definate evidence for the equinoxes being celebrated in Pre-Roman Britain and Ireland.

That said it's an excuse to celebrate a little isn't it and with that in mind I might just go stone circle spotting near Trecastle.

[goldenhand]

That's very true. Not that much evidence for the solstices either, when it comes down to it. (I know there are a few bits and pieces that have come down, like the Manx rites)

Some people have argued that celebrating at the solstices was just taken as read, so that no-one bothered to record the rites and customs. But that seems a bit lame to me, when there are so many different accounts about May day festivities etc.

As you say, a good excuse to celebrate ;D