Celtic Heritage

Swiss National Day is celebrated on August 1. This is also the date of an important Celtic festival, Lugh or Lughnasad.

Lughnasad goes back to the god Lugus. Lugus comes from the root word lug- – from Wikipedia: 

“A derivation from the Indo-European root leugʰ- / lugʰ- (”oath, swear“) is just as possible as an interpretation as ”bright, radiant“ based on the Welsh lleu (”light,“ compare ancient Greek λευκός- ”bright, clear, white“).”

The national holiday is celebrated at the beginning of August because the most famous federal charter, from 1291, was signed then.

From a Celtic perspective, it makes a lot of sense to sign a treaty on the day that is under the jurisdiction of the god of oaths and swearing.

And, how does our national anthem go again? “When you step forth in the dawn, I see you in a sea of rays...” - here we find “bright, radiant.”

We know that one of the largest gatherings of the Gallic tribes took place at the beginning of August thanks to Emperor Augustus, who incorporated it into the Roman state cult as “The Feast of Mercurius Augustus.”

What I'm getting at is this: Swiss people are Celts. That's why our international license plates say “CH” – Confoederatio Helvetica. We are the descendants of the Helvetians who survived.

This comes with some traumas, such as never standing out, never being loud, always remaining neutral, being very sensitive and spiritual but never admitting it – but it also comes with gifts and privileges, and I think it's time to explore them.

The church, an institution that for me has absolutely nothing to do with holiness or God, has incorporated the knowledge of our ancestors. But if we take a close look at modern Christianity, there are Celtic traces everywhere – or, rather, it almost seems as if the Celtic faith has simply been given a different guise. One of control, hierarchy, and money. Every church, for example, naturally contains runes due to its architecture.

One almost has to ask: who really “won”? Or: is it perhaps not over yet?

Our Celtic heritage is in our national holiday, our anthem, our license plates, in how we treat ourselves and the world – it is time to consciously bring it back. 

Out of the matrix of borders, taxes, and passports – into the soul of true community. 

Important: I am talking about a sense of belonging to a tribe here, NOT nationalism. Tribes unite – nationalism divides.