Myths and Legends.

The notion of religion was once described by George Frazer in the following way : “ By religion I understand achieving the goodwill of the highest powers which control the nature’s ways and human life. To become a religion, a faith must lead to certain practices. However, the practice without faith cannot be considered a religion. Therefore, it is the presence of worship that makes the most easily observable difference between a faith and a religion. As far as the content and the objectives are concerned, however, certain categories of myths constitute an element of religion. They are the means of handing down religion to posterity and show the genesis of its dogmas.”
Reconstructing the Celtic religious system is a very difficult task. The druids, who led the religious ceremonies, had to memorize the acquired knowledge. The Celtic art, rich in religious themes was a speechless witness of the cult. The most of the information about the mythological world comes from the Irish legends. It is a collection of nearly four hundred works. Considering the subject matter they consist of four parts. The main characters of the first part are god Dagda and the tribe of goddess Danu. The second part is composed of the stories of Irish heroes. The third one is a collection of stories describing wars between the legendary Irish kings. The last section consists of numerous descriptions of duels, whose main character is Finn Mac Cool.
Many Celtic legends have survived in a christianized form. This was how the stories of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, who searched for the Holy Grall came into being. We can assume that there existed one system of beliefs for all the Celts. However, it had many variations, as today we know a total of three hundred and forty seven names of gods and goddesses. Unfortunately, three hundred and five of them appear only once. They are considered to be the local gods – the people of the streams, pits, fields, hills, woods, groves and single trees. They find themselves in minor positions, as compared to the “higher descent”
Among the gods of the “higher descent”, praised all through the nation are: Dagde – the good god, the god of wealth and the patron of agriculture, who possessed the secret knowledge; Luga – the Celtic god of light and sun; Benelos – the god of fire. The religious beliefs of the Celts were strictly related to nature. The most of the worship concentrated on the oak. The etymology of the word “druid” suggests that its first part “dr” means “oak”. Thus, druids were associated with the worship of trees. It was often a large lonely oak tree that functioned as a sanctuary.
According to the Celtic legends, a major role belonged also to the hazel-wood and apple-tree.
The apples and nuts were thought to have supernatural properties, such as the fact that the consumption of them guaranteed wisdom, health or eternal youth.
The following is an example of an Irish myth :
Nearby the river Boyne lived a druid called Finegas, who tried in vain to catch a salmon eating the Nuts of Knowledge. It was only Finn, who managed to do it. Whilst cooking the salmon, he burned his thumb and instinctively put it inside his mouth. This was how he acquired the knowledge about the future, by sticking his thumb into his mouth.
According to the legends the goddess Danu was in high position. Her name indicates the Celts’ worship of water. Springs, sources, rivers and streams, being the indispensable ingredient of fertility of the soil and life, were Celts’ favorite places of cult. The meaning of the worship of water is also confirmed in the Celtic folklore and mythology. Some streams, creeks and springs were inhabited by supernatural powers, which gave them magical or healing properties. It was often the body of fish where those powers lived. Believing in the power of those fish and the geis forbidding to harm it stayed preserved among the Celtic peoples until the present century.
The archeological evidence of the common Celtic worship of water are numerous deposits of the votive gifts found in lakes, rivers and ponds. Also the names of some rivers come from the Celtic goddesses, for example river Dee comes from Deuon.
With the rise of Christianity many of such places of the pagan cult became miraculous pits of particular saints.