The hill of Tailtiu (Tara Hill) is one of the most celebrated spots in Ireland, for it was here that the celebrated Aonach Tailteann, the Lughnasa Festival was first held.
Tailte was the foster mother of Lugh, an ancient Celtic god and patron of fairs. The Tailte (or Teltown) Fair, held in ancient Ireland for more than 2,000 years, was an early harvest festival in which the first fruits of the harvest were sacrificed to the spirit of Tailte, who was further honored by funeral games. Each chieftain brought his best athletes—runners, jumpers, spear throwers, and horsemen—as well as his harpists and poets and storytellers, who competed like the athletes for prizes of gold rings and jeweled ornaments. The Tailteann Games, as they were known, were last held in 1169, and the Irish have since revived them. The fair itself lasted until 1806.
Telltown Marriages were contracts for a year and a day, and are the origin of today's Handfasting so popular in pagan and alternative circles.
Tailte was the foster mother of Lugh, an ancient Celtic god and patron of fairs. The Tailte (or Teltown) Fair, held in ancient Ireland for more than 2,000 years, was an early harvest festival in which the first fruits of the harvest were sacrificed to the spirit of Tailte, who was further honored by funeral games. Each chieftain brought his best athletes—runners, jumpers, spear throwers, and horsemen—as well as his harpists and poets and storytellers, who competed like the athletes for prizes of gold rings and jeweled ornaments. The Tailteann Games, as they were known, were last held in 1169, and the Irish have since revived them. The fair itself lasted until 1806.
Telltown Marriages were contracts for a year and a day, and are the origin of today's Handfasting so popular in pagan and alternative circles.