ABOUT CELTIC NATION USA

Why the name Celtic Nation USA?  While it is true that the different pre-modern Insular (island) and Continental tribes speaking Celtic family languages may never have considered themselves a nation or even "Celtic", today there is a modern Pan-Celtic movement that realizes the survival of existing Celtic cultures and their languages is dependent upon a "group" effort of those living in the surviving six cultures along with those of us in the Celtic Diaspora (people settled far from their ancestral homelands) to help the Celtic language group and related cultures survive and grow.  One of CNUSA's goal is to help energize support for these ideals among the Diaspora here in the States.  How do we do that?  By respecting Celtic culture and traditions while speaking out against cultural misappropriation. By helping to keep Celtic family languages alive against the onslaught of Imperial cultures. By helping to open the eyes of our fellow Anglo-philes to the riches of Celtic cultures, mythos, and traditions and help create a yearning to explore and learn with respectfulness.

Why a Pan-Celtic approach? In addition to the obvious "strength in numbers" argument, it is our opinion, because of the gaps in some disciplines of Celtic culture,  it is necessary to study and incorporate knowledge gained from the varying disciplines from among all of the existing Celtic language family speaking cultures, as well as pre-modern Celtic cultures, to help fill in gaps of understanding in some of those disciplines.

For example, Gaul has much evidence of Celtic religion, with its 100's of named deities in inscriptions, the classical authors who wrote about it, the temples and altars that have been discovered, etc.  But Gaulish mythology in the oral traditions supporting this religion has not survived.  In Ireland, on the other hand, there is a wealth of mythology, but little practical evidence of its direct relationship to a practiced pre-Christian religion.  A Pan-Celtic approach allows us to use the mythology of one Celtic culture to better understand the archaeological evidence in another.

* "Celtic Nation USA" is not responsible for web content of off-site links. Listing of links is for a public service only and does not  infer reciprocal endorsements by either "Celtic Nation USA" or the linked sites in question. 

Last Updated: 08/14/08