The Druids

[mitsuki lover]

Since it's Halloween time I thought a thread about the Druids wouldn't be a bad idea.This is because the Druids were the ones who gave us Halloween to begin with,after all.

[Tenshi no Ai]

Imma druid I enjoy turning into kitties and bears

[Fish and Chips]

[Blitzkrieg1701]

In ancient times, hundreds of years before the dawn of history, there lived a strange race of people...the Druids.
No one knows who they were, or what they were doing, but their legacy remains... hewn into the living rock... of Stonehenge...

[AsianBlossom]

You must realize that they were pagan religious leaders.

[uc pseudonym]

I have relatively little to say about the Druids, other than that they are one of many mystic priest classes that are given far too much attention today. But I have to post because:

Getafix was one of the last people I expected to see on CAA. He's not a meme, is he?

[Fish and Chips]

Getafix was one of the last people I expected to see on CAA. He's not a meme, is he?

No.

No he is not.

Yet.

[mitsuki lover]

Yes they were Pagan,but as I said they were the ones who started Halloween.
The Romans hated the Druids mainly because they were the ones who were always encouraging the Celts to try to regain their freedoms.
Merlin is supposed to been one.

[Tenshi no Ai]

Yes they were Pagan,but as I said they were the ones who started Halloween.

Might I add that the Mexicans had something to do with it too, contributing with their Day of the Dead?

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Imma druid I enjoy turning into kitties and bears

You forgot Moonkin.

[Tenshi no Ai]

You forgot Moonkin.

Feral, not balance. But I CAN be a sea lion... OH and a birdy!

[bigsleepj]

Sadly I could not see the picture of the Great Druid Getafix. But it's glad to hear his name mentioned. Off course he also go by the name of Panoramix (his original French name if I'm not mistaken) but I've always known him as Getafix. You got to admire any druid who can survive being hit by a menhir twice!

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Feral, not balance. But I CAN be a sea lion... OH and a birdy!

Pft, I don't know the Druid specs. XD Leave me alone.

[Technomancer]

Pft, I don't know the Druid specs. XD Leave me alone.

They got a lot better after the switch to 3rd edition.

[Kaligraphic]

Funny. Y'all don't look Druish... *badum-tish*

[Etoh*the*Greato]

You forgot Moonkin.

Moonkin becomes BOOMKIN!

I've got a very good friend of mine that claims druidism as his faith. He's lighting a fire for a hallows eve vigil/ceremony. I've always been curious about his connection to the historic druids.

[Technomancer]

Moonkin becomes BOOMKIN!

I've got a very good friend of mine that claims druidism as his faith. He's lighting a fire for a hallows eve vigil/ceremony. I've always been curious about his connection to the historic druids.

Essentially none. Druidism as it is practiced today is largely the invention of a few 19th century Englishman. The druids themselves left no written records.

[termyt]

I've always wondered about the fascination with Druids.

Sure, we like Pirates and Ninjas and Jesse James and I don’t really know why that is, either, except to say that Americans like underdogs and enjoy romanticizing stories about the under-privileged in society sticking it to the man. The druids, however, weren’t just pro-establishment, they were the establishment. Perhaps all that is not Christian today just seems like a cool antiestablishment alternative regardless if they are understood or not.

[mitsuki lover]

The only records we have are what Caesar and other Roman commentators wrote,and as I pointed out they weren't exactly objective.

[Technomancer]

There are also Irish sources, but these are often mythic and form, and as a result less historical.

[Puguni]

The Druids stuffed criminals in giant wicker men and set them aflame for punishment. I know this because Caesar said so. They also hunt elk that have no knee joints.

[Kat Walker]

Here's what the History Channel has to say:

Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).

The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.

To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.

During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.

By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.

The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.

By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls', were called Hallowmas.