 |
May
God grant you many years to live, for
sure he must be knowing, the
earth has angels all too few and
heaven is overflowing. |
|
 |
|
PUBLISHER:
LINDA
KAUFFELDT |
VOLUME
1, ISSUE 4 |
April
2004 |
Greetings and Blessings to all,
A warm welcome back to you and to our new subscribers. We
hope this edition of the newsletter finds you happy,
healthy, contented and enjoying a happy spring! What
a beautiful time of year is before us…spring,
the promise of life, hope, and, more importantly, the
celebration of God’s love. St. Augustine
said of our Risen Lord, "He disappeared from before
our eyes, that we might find Him in our hearts". As
the joy, the glory and the miracle of Easter
is upon us, we join with you in the celebration of
God’s love by examining some the customs and
traditions of a Celtic Easter. May the many blessings
of Easter warm your heart. Rejoice!
Easter in Ireland
In Ireland, Easter is a very sacred
time of fasting and prayer. People dance in the streets on Easter Sunday
and compete for the prize of a cake. On Easter
Saturday hundreds of small candles are lit at church
off the Paschal candle that has been blessed by the priest. On
Easter Sunday a quiet meal is eaten at home and a traditional
Easter meal consists of leek soup and roasted spring
lamb.
Good Friday was an extremely solemn day in Ireland. Most
people ate nothing at all until midday, and went about
barefoot. No one killed animals, no wood was burned
or made into things, and no nail was driven. No
one was allowed to move house, or begin any important
enterprise. Eggs that were laid on Good Friday
were marked with a cross and everybody ate at least
one of these eggs on Easter Sunday.
On Easter Saturday they used to hold herring processions. These
were mock funerals of herrings and these processions
were often held because people were tired of eating
herring during Lent.
Easter in Scotland
Easter is a very important day in the Church of Scotland.
In many parts of Scotland huge fires used to be lit on
Easter Saturday, a tradition that dates back to the pagan
era when spring festivals were held at this time.
Scottish Poetry Selection
~ The Date of Easter ~ The date of Easter
is a mystery to most people -- it moves around the
calendar in March and April and without a diary to
provide the date, most folk would not know when to
celebrate the festival. But in the days
before most of the population had a diary, it was necessary
for people to be able to work out when Easter should
be. This little poem was designed to provide the
answer, in Scotland at least. Of course, you
also have to know the phases of the moon.
The
Date of Easter (in Scots) The
Date of Easter (in English)
First
comes Candlemas. First
comes 2 February.
An
syne the new meen, And
after the new moon,
The
first Tuesday aifter that The
first Tuesday after that
Is
Fastern' Een. Is
Shrove Tuesday.
That
meen oot, That
moon passes,
An
the neist meen's hicht, And
the next full moon,
On
the first Sunday aifter that On
the first Sunday after that
Is
Pess richt. Is
Easter by rights.
Easter in Wales
In Wales Palm Sunday is called Flowering
Sunday, and families traditionally visit the graves
of their relatives to lay flowers on the graves. On this day they
also have famous Welsh singing contests which are known
as Gymansa Ganu. Choirs from various chapels
in the area come together to take part in these festivals,
and at these festivals special conductors are invited.
A feature of Easter in Wales used to be the preaching services
held in the chapels. There would be another on
the Saturday night, and then three on Easter Sunday itself. The
town of Ffestiniog used to hold another three services
on Easter Monday as well. People would flock to
these services at which ministers from other towns and
villages would be asked as guest preachers. These
preachers would take these events of the first Holy
Week to use in sermons.
Did You Know?
-
Easter bonnets are a throw back to the days when
people denied themselves the pleasure of wearing
finery for the duration of Lent.
-
In medieval times, a festival of
egg throwing was held in church, during which the
priest would throw a hard-boiled egg to one of
the choirboys. It was then tossed
from one choirboy to the next and whoever held the
egg when the clock struck 12 was the winner and
retained the egg.
-
The custom of giving eggs at Easter time has been traced
back to Egyptians, Persians, Gauls, Greeks and Romans,
to whom the egg was a symbol of life.
-
The egg has always been a symbol of the Resurrection
to Christians.
Treasured Recipe
Since I have received many requests
regarding Irish Soda Bread recipes, I decided to pass
along a soda bread recipe submitted by one of our soda
bread contest winners. A
special ‘thank you’ to Sheila Whalen for
this month’s contribution to our recipe section. If
you have any Celtic recipes that you would like to
share with our readers, please do pass them along and
I will include them in future newsletters.
Ingredients: 2 cups
flour (I use 1 white/1 whole wheat), 1/4 tsp. salt
, 2 tbsp. white sugar, 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1/2
tsp. baking soda , 1/2 c. raisins, 1 tsp. caraway seeds,
1/4 lb. butter, broken in small pieces, 1 cup buttermilk
Method: Mix dry ingredients, add raisins
and caraway seeds and butter. Work butter in with fingers
until well kneaded. Add milk and form into round bread
shape. Put on a floured board and knead slightly. Put
into greased 8" round pan. Cut cross on top with a knife.
Bake 40-45 minutes @ 350 F. Watch and test with a toothpick. (Canadian
Catholic Ladies Treasured Family Recipes -- St. Peter's
Parish, Goderich, ON)
Treasured Irish Lessons
- Phrase: Happy
Easter Irish: Beannachtaí na
Cásca Pronunciation: Ban-ochth-thee
na caws-ca
- Phrase: May
the blessings of Easter be on you Irish: Beannachtaí Ná Cásca
ort (singular) or oraibh (plural) Pronunciation: Bann-akh-thee
nah caw-skah urth (singular) or ur-iv (plural)
- Phrase: Easter
Bonnet Irish: boinéad
na Cásca Pronunciation: bwinn-aydh
na caw-skah
- Phrase: Easter
Sunday Irish: Domhnach
Cásca Pronunciation: dhoh-nukh
caw-skah
Phrase: Easter
egg Irish: cúbóg
or clúdóg Pronunciation: koo-bohg
or kloo-d
Treasured Quotes
-
By His great mercy we have been
born anew to a living hope through the resurrection
of Jesus Christ. 1Peter
1:3
-
The joyful news that He is risen
does not change the contemporary world. Still before
us lie work, discipline, sacrifice. But the fact
of Easter gives us the spiritual power to do the
work, accept the discipline, and make the sacrifice. --
Henry Knox Sherrill
-
I think of the garden after the
rain; And hope
to my heart comes singing, "At morn the cherry-blooms
will be white, And the Easter bells be ringing!" --Edna
Dean Procter, Easter Bells
-
Easter is the demonstration of
God that life is essentially spiritual and timeless --Charles
M. Crowe
-
Where man sees but withered leaves,
God sees sweet flowers growing. ~Albert Laighton
A Bit O’ Wit
The children were drawing Easter pictures
at Sunday School. One girl had drawn a lovely picture,
but in the top right corner there was an aeroplane. "Why have you drawn that,
sweetheart", asked the teacher, "they didn't have planes
in Jesus' time". "Of course they did", said
the girl, "what else would Pontius Pilot fly
in?"
April 2004 Trivia
Be the first to correctly answer April’s trivia
questions and you will receive a Celtic designed suncatcher,
retail value $14.95. Email your answers to oreillystreasures@bellnet.ca or
phone them in to us at 613-646-7157.
1. According to tradition, what day should
nobody be without meat?
2. On what day during Lent were all restrictions
set aside?
3. What kind of weather was welcomed on Good
Friday?
4. According to tradition, a boy born
on what day was destined for high office in the
Church?
March 2004 Trivia
Answers
Congratulations to Valerie Bartlett
of Petawawa for correctly answering the
Guinness trivia questions.
1. Dublin’s pyramids
were piles of barrels waiting at the quayside to
be loaded onto the barges.
2. James Joyce called the Guinness family ‘Lords
of the Vat’.
3. On average one Irish pub a day opens
around the world.
4. In Dublin in the 1800s, ale was drunk
instead of poorly sanitised water.
Congratulations to Michelle Leon of Pembroke
for correctly answering the Ireland trivia questions. Valerie
and Michelle each won an Irish Blessing mouse pad for
their efforts.
1. The national flag of Ireland is a tricolour
of green, white and orange. The green is symbolic
of old Ireland -- the Gaels and Anglo-Normans, while
the orange stands for newer Protestant Planter Ireland. The
white symbolises the peace between the two factions.
2. In order to lose bashfulness or inhibition
it was said that people should be dipped in the river
Shannon.
3. Murphy and Kelly are the most and second
most common surnames in Ireland.
4. Niall of the Nine Hostages has the claim
to fame of bringing St. Patrick to Ireland.
Treasured Easter
Blessing
May God bless you at Easter, and keep you all year
through.
May God give you all the faith you need, to make your
dreams come true.
May His love and wisdom always help, to guide you on
your way.
May His light shine down upon you now, to bless your
Easter Day.
--Author Unknown
Treasured Events
-
April 23 - 25, 2004 -- Irish
Language Weekend (GAELTACHT DEIREADH SEACHTAINE),
Kingston, Ontario. For more information contact Aralt
Mac Giolla Chainnigh, Dr, Capt, PPCLI, kenny-h@rmc.ca Department
of Physics, RMC, Box 17000, Stn Forces, Kingston,
ON, Canada, K7K 7B4 Telephone: (613) 541-6000
ext 6042, fax: (613) 541-6040
-
May 14 & 15,
2004 -- BreakAway
Theatre Company night of entertainment at the Cobden
Agricultural Hall Cobden, Ontario at 7:30 p.m. Early
in 2004, Jennifer Vallance of Foresters Falls launched
the new BreakAway Theatre Company based in Cobden for
13-18 year olds. The students are from Beachburg,
Douglas, Cobden, Foresters Falls, Renfrew and Eganville
areas and are planning two nights of entertainment with
a difference -- expect lots of comedy interspersed with
drama during 3 one-act plays, some prizes and more. Tickets
are available at the door $8 adults, $5 ages 10 and under. For
any questions about BreakAway or registration for 5 -18
year olds summer drama camp, please contact Jennifer
Vallance at (613) 646 7638.
-
Saturday, May 22, 2004 -- Irish
Language Workshop at O’Reilly’s Treasures. Details
to follow.
New Arrivals
-
House of Rosaries -- First
Communion and Confirmation rosaries, prayer cards,
and mass books, St. Patrick rosaries, statues,
and prayer cards.
-
Cathedral Art Metal Inc. --
First Communion and Confirmation crosses, filagree frames,
plaques, figurines, prayer lockets, bookmarks, sacramental
lapel pins.
-
Celtic Design Collection -- The
Eternity Gift, pure new wool rug hand crafted in
Ireland and shaped in the beautiful Celtic design recognized
as the eternity sequence. Visit www.celticdesigncollection.com to
view the collection.
The Ireland Show
-- Secaucus, New Jersey
God willing, Mark and I hope to attend
The Ireland Show in Secaucus, New Jersey from April 25th to the
27th. We are looking forward to viewing new products,
selecting our summer and fall lines and to meeting
with our suppliers (oh, and to listening to
those lovely Irish accents!). We are especially looking
forward to catching up with our good friends, Steve Hunt
and John Alexander of Nigel Hunt Jewellery Limited, whom
we have not seen since the Dublin Trade Show, January
2002. Future plans for the store include adding
a music line and a new pottery line as well as expanding
our clothing, jewellery, and religious articles lines. While
we are attending the tradeshow, O’Reilly’s
will be left in leprechaun Jenny Vallance’s capable
hands.
As I am writing this edition of the newsletter, Easter
Sunday is coming to a close. I hope that each
of you has had a blessed Easter weekend celebrating
God's presence and goodness in the midst of life and,
in doing so, your hearts were warmed with His love.
Until next time,
May you be blessed
with sunlight after April showers,
Miles and miles of Irish smiles
For golden happy hours.
Shamrocks at your doorway
For luck and laughter, too,
And a host of friends that never ends
Each day your whole life through.
And, remember, mind yourself.
The Leprechauns of O'Reilly's Treasures
Mark & Linda Kauffeldt
Ryan, Dylan & Liam Bradley
16 Pembroke St., P.O. Box 489, Cobden, Ontario K0J
1K0
Tel: 613-646-7157 Fax: 613-646-7187
Email: oreillystreasures@bellnet.ca Visit
us at www.oreillystreasures.com
April Store Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 10
a.m. until 5 p.m.
(If you are travelling through Cobden on a Sunday or
a Monday and you would like to drop in for a wee visit,
please call us during the week and we will do our
best to accommodate your schedule.)
|
[
Home | About Us ]
[ Guinness |
Wee Ones | Clothing | Finnians | Home
Decor | Kitchen |
Jewellery |
Fragrances ]
[ Heraldry |
Music | Religious | Wedding |
Novelty ]
[ Events | Newsletter | Contact
Us ]
© 2004,
O'Reilly's Treasures. All rights reserved.
Website design by Hackett ITC
|
|
Our monthly newsletter is
full of interesting stories, recipes, information,
trivia contests and much more!
Please use the form below
to subscribe or unsubscribe and we'll e-mail
you a handy reminder and easy-click link
on the day each newsletter comes out.
|
|
|
St. Patrick's Day is, perhaps,
the only holiday that's celebrated all over
the globe.
|
 |
|
