The Celtic Republic of Appalachia Newsletter
	Beltaine 1999

TRADITION by Kathleen Dupree

"To this day, the area where my grandmother was born is remote. Little has changed in the 98 years since my grandmother's birth. It is not hard to imagine what life must have been like just after the turn of the century, when the hills and valleys were dotted with small clapboard houses next to fields of corn and the next door neighbor was a half mile down a steep and muddy road.

"I am pleased to admit that for most of my life I was interested in the stories my grandmother told me of how life was when she was young. Often, when I would ask her questions, she would be somewhat sheepish in answering as if she were embarrassed to confess to doing things or having thought in ways she considered to be "old timey" and not in keeping with modern ways. But, I am glad that she told me her stories."

THE ROMANS AND THE GAULS Part 1 of 2 by Tom Crotty

"The Celts were one of the great peoples of ancient Europe. Their lands extended from Ireland to Hungary and as far south as Spain and Galatia in Asia Minor. They shared a common culture in terms of language, customs, and art... The Greeks and Romans feared the Celts and considered them a barbaric people. The only textual accounts that we have of the them are Classical sources, and these probably contain some truth. But these accounts, which are very limited in scope, are also colored by cultural prejudice, misunderstanding, and the need to propagandize."

CELTIC INFLUENCES ON APPALACHIAN SPEECH by Lorien Hightale

"Recently, I realized two paths were coming together for me in the connection between Celtic languages such as Irish and Scottish Gaelic and the idioms of the southern Appalachian region... Many people don't know how many words in English actually have origins in Irish or Scottish Gaelic. However, there are a number of other coincidences that are even more striking."

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Imbolc 1999

Samhain 1998

Lúnasa 1998

Beltane 1998

The submission deadline for articles for the Lúnasa 1999 issue will be July 17th.