Midsummer Eve - British Goblins CT024

Midsummer Eve - British Goblins CT024

Author: Gary & Ruth Colcombe November 8, 2017 Duration: 18:59

Midsummer Eve to Hallowe'en

British Goblins: Welsh Folk Lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions (1881)

Book 3 Chapter 3

by

Wirt Sikes

All about Midsummer Eve and the Beltane Fires that precede it leading up to Hallowe'en. Sikes tells us about the Three Nights for Spirits that occur at Halloween - a time at which ghosts and fairies walk abroad. He also talks about bobbing for apples and the Fourth of July celebrations in the States, Guy Fawkes' Night and how important it is that it never be forgotten.

  • Midsummer Eve 0:56
  • The Druidic Ceremonies at Pontypridd 1:56
  • The Snake Stone 3:40
  • Beltane Fires 4:32
  • Fourth of July Fires in America 4:42
  • St. Ulric's Day 6:10
  • Carrying Cynog 6:44
  • Marketing on Tombstones 8:06
  • The First Night of Winter 8:28
  • The Three Nights for Spirits 8:40
  • The Tale of Thomas Williams the Preacher 9:30
  • All Hallows Eve Festivities 10:22
  • Running through Fire 11:17
  • Quaint Border Rhymes 12:03
  • The Puzzling Jug 12:58
  • Bobbing for Apples 14:08
  • The Fiery Features of Guy Fawkes' Day 15:12
  • St. Clement's Day 16:35
  • Stripping the Carpenter 16:59

 

Names Used in this Section

All proper names, and words in Welsh or other languages, are recorded here in the show-notes and we've done our best to get the pronunciations right for you.

Pontypridd
Beltane
St. Ulric
Cynog
Thomas Williams
Guy Fawkes
St. Clement
St. John's Eve
Myfyr Morganwg
Kali
Belenian
Geleiniau Nadroedd
Sun-god Beal
Barnabe Googe
Naogeorgius

'Wheresoever Huldryche hath his place, the people there brings in
Both carpes and pykes, and mullets fat, his fauour here to win.'

Brychan Brycheiniog
Defynog
Nos Calan Gauaf
Nos Cyn Gauaf
Teir Nos Ysprydnos
Mary
'Wissel wassel, bread and possel,
Cwrw da, plas yma'
Twco am falau
crwc
gwyntyn
Bishop Sanderson
Moloch
Pembrokeshire

 

British Goblins can be found on Archive.org

You can find out more about Wirt Sikes on Wikipedia.

Try the Celtic Myth Podshow for the Tales and Stories of the Ancient Celts at http://celticmythpodshow.com or on Apple Podcasts.

Our theme music is "Gander at the Pratie Hole" by Sláinte.  You can find their music on the Free Music Archive.


Imagine a shelf of old, beautifully bound volumes filled with tales of ancient heroes, elusive fairy folk, and age-old wisdom from the misty hills and shores of Celtic lands. Celtic Tomes is an invitation to open those books with Gary and Ruth Colcombe, who serve as your guides through this rich literary landscape. Each episode is a curated reading from classic texts, bringing to life the myths, legends, and folklore of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and beyond. This isn't just a recitation; it's a shared experience for anyone who has ever admired those collections in a shop or library but found the time to delve into them elusive. You'll hear the stories of the Celts themselves, the deep lore of the Otherworld, and accounts of magical encounters that have shaped cultural imagination for centuries. Tuning into this podcast feels like joining a conversation in a cozy study, where the weight of history meets the warmth of storytelling. Whether your interest lies in bardic poetry, ancient battles, or the mysterious customs surrounding fairy forts, Gary and Ruth provide a direct, engaging pathway into these narratives. They handle the reading so you can simply listen and be transported, making the vast world of Celtic literature accessible and vividly alive one episode at a time.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Celtic Tomes
Podcast Episodes
Cult Accessories CT054 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:16
The Religion of the Ancient Celts (1911) Chapter 19: Accessories of Cult by J. A. MacCulloch This chapter covers Temples, Altars, Images, Symbols, and the Cult of Weapons of the Ancient Celts. Religion of the Ancient Cel…
Festivals CT053 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:46
The Religion of the Ancient Celts (1911) Chapter 18: Festivals by J. A. MacCulloch The Celtic year was not at first regulated by the solstices and equinoxes, but by some method connected with agriculture or with the seas…
Tabu CT052 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:38
The Religion of the Ancient Celts (1911) Chapter 17: Tabu by J. A. MacCulloch The Irish geis, pl. geasa, which may be rendered by Tabu, had two senses. It meant something which must not be done for fear of disastrous con…
Sacrifice and Prayer CT051 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:46
The Religion of the Ancient Celts (1911) Chapter 16: Sacrifice and Prayer by J. A. MacCulloch The Celts offered human victims on the principle of a life for a life, or to propitiate the gods, or in order to divine the fu…
Cosmogony CT050 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:33
The Religion of the Ancient Celts (1911) Chapter 15: Cosmogony by J. A. MacCulloch The Celts may have possessed the Heaven and Earth myth, but all trace of it has perished. There are, however, remnants of myths showing h…
Animal Worship CT049 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:41
The Religion of the Ancient Celts (1911) Chapter 14: Tree and Plant Worship by J. A. MacCulloch Animal worship pure and simple had declined among the Celts of historic times, and animals were now regarded mainly as symbo…
Tree and Plant Worship CT048 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:43
The Religion of the Ancient Celts (1911) Chapter 13: Tree and Plant Worship by J. A. MacCulloch The Celts had their own cult of trees, but they adopted local cults. This chapter also details how the Celts made their sacr…
River and Well Worship CT047 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:11
The Religion of the Ancient Celts (1911) Chapter 12: River and Well Worship by J. A. MacCulloch Among the Celts the testimony of contemporary witnesses, inscriptions, votive offerings, and survivals, shows the importance…
Primitive Nature Worship CT046 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:31
The Religion of the Ancient Celts (1911) Chapter 11: Primitive Nature Worship by J. A. MacCulloch McCulloch talks about animism, where everything was a person and the greater objects of nature were worshiped for themselv…
The Cult of the Dead CT045 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:36
The Religion of the Ancient Celts (1911) Chapter 10: The Cult of the Dead by J. A. MacCulloch The custom of burying grave-goods with the dead, or slaying wife or slaves on the tomb and other grave customs is the subject…