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| Celtic Radio Community > Irish Gaelic > Merry Christmas? |
| Posted by: Outlander 12-Nov-2003, 06:42 PM |
| Can anyone out there tell me how to say Merry Christmas in Irish? Thanks |
| Posted by: Richard Bercot 12-Nov-2003, 10:48 PM | ||
Good Question Outlander,  I went back to see if it had been Posted in here from last year, but I could not find any reference to it. I would kind of like to know that myself. |
| Posted by: Catriona 13-Nov-2003, 03:58 AM |
| Here it is - one of my THREE (only) Irish sentences!!! Happy Christmas to you is.... Nollaig Shona duit Pronounced (I learned it phonetically when I was a teenager and visited Ireland a lot)... Nullug hunna gwitch. |
| Posted by: Richard Bercot 13-Nov-2003, 07:08 AM | ||
Thank you Catriona. I plan to use it a lot this year. |
| Posted by: Outlander 13-Nov-2003, 12:57 PM |
Thanks for your help! I wanted to put it on the UNICEF Christmas cards I bought. They're multilingual as you may know. But I wanted to add some languages from my background. I'm also adding Polish and Ukrainian! So you can see I'm quite a mix! Carol  |
| Posted by: Catriona 13-Nov-2003, 02:33 PM |
WOW - that's a great mix in your genealogy! All those national identities to look into and to learn about  I've got absolutely nothing else but Scottish..... certainly as far back as records begin in my family which is about the 1600s! But lots of my friends at school had Irish background - and indeed one of my best friends (and still is today) was Irish. Her family moved to Scotland when she was about 14 or so. I used to spend summers at their second home in Donegal. I also spent 2 Christmases there... a magical place. |
| Posted by: Guest_Outlander 13-Nov-2003, 05:26 PM |
| I really envy you being able to go so far back in your family history! My grandparents were immigrants. My Ukrainian/Polish grandparents couldn't speak English. My Irish Granny didn't read or write very well.She came from Northern Ireland. My Ukrainian Grandmother died before I was born. The thing was they just didn't speak about their life in the old country. They came to Canada to start a new life and left the old one behind. Such a shame really. I never got to learn Polish or Ukrainian. I'm trying to learn some Ukrainian now,on my own,at the ripe old age of 49! I doubt I'll get too far,but it's fun! Polish is just impossible! I'm also trying to learn some Scottish Gaelic. I wanted to learn Irish Gaelic,but I came across some fun lessons on Scottish Internet Radio and started with those. My problem, as I'm sure you can figure out, is that the two languages are not the same. I had no idea. Oh well,live and learn. That's the main thing. |
| Posted by: Aaediwen 13-Nov-2003, 06:35 PM |
| I kindof have the idea of learning one form of Gaelic, and using it as a stepping stone to learn the other. Sure the languages have their diffrences, but I'm banking on them being similar enough to complement each other and for one to help in learning the other. |
| Posted by: Outlander 14-Nov-2003, 10:35 AM |
You could be right. I hope so anyway. But I've never considered myself very good with languages. After all I was born and raised in Quebec and still can't speak French very well. Here that's pretty much a mortal sin!!  |
| Posted by: Keltic 14-Nov-2003, 11:17 AM | ||
That can be said about many francophones including our soon to be ex-prime minister. |
| Posted by: barddas 14-Nov-2003, 12:52 PM | ||
I believe if I remember correctly that the two can be understood basically by the other. But Scottish and Welsh From what I am to understand is impossible to speak native tounges to one another and understand. The languages evolved in different ways and with the 400 yr seperation due to Hadrians wall..... They are now two totally different languages all together.... I have looked at the Welsh language..it made me shudder.....TOUGH! |
| Posted by: barddas 14-Nov-2003, 12:54 PM | ||
At least Northern Ireland and Scotland... Because of the possible trade by sea... it's only about 70 miles between N. Ireland and Scotland.... |
| Posted by: RavenWing 14-Nov-2003, 01:23 PM |
| Hey Jason, Isn't "barddas" basically a Welsh word? |
| Posted by: barddas 14-Nov-2003, 01:48 PM | ||
That is what the title of the text about Welsh Druidism, and Bardism was/is called. So technically yes. It would be associated with being a Welsh word. Here is a link to a bit of that book and more on welsh paganism, and so on.... http://www.tylwythteg.com/Barddas/barddas.html |
| Posted by: Siusaidh Blues 25-Nov-2003, 10:22 AM | ||
Oh I wish I could visit Ireland during the Christmas season! You are fortunate to have been able to visit often... I've been only once, but it was for an entire week and the memories are etched into my consciousness forever. May I ask where you visited? I was in the south, having landed in Dun Laoighaire & headed west to Ennis, then spent the following week traveling along the coast down to Kerry and back up to Dun Laoghaire Regarding Irish language, I remember as we travelled our friends found for us a local radio station broadcasting in Irish exclusively... what a beautiful sound, it was captivating! |
| Posted by: Catriona 25-Nov-2003, 10:40 AM |
| My friend's family were from Dublin, but had a summer home in Donegal in a small village outside the town of Letterkenny. Well, when I say 'town' - back in those days it had 2 sets of traffic lights! BUT we travelled all over - we usually spent nearly the whole of the 6 week summer holiday from school over there. We visited her family who were dotted all over Ireland - North and South. One of my favourite places is Cork and a smaller place outside it call Cobh (Cove). I love Dublin - and have visited it often to do with my work. I also like Belfast. Oh and the ring of Kerry is wonderful. so is Blarney Castle. BUT the beaches of Donegal are probably amongst my favourite places in Ireland. They remind me so much of beaches at home. Oh and County Mayo was another favourite - one of her Aunts had married a farmer from there. Brigid, my schoolfriend, now shares that summer home with her siblings - so I don't go there very often - they have a veritable tribe of children between them all! |
| Posted by: Raven 25-Nov-2003, 12:21 PM |
| My wife and I are planning a small tour to the British Isles next summer and hearing your descriptions is very exciting Catriona. My Great, Great Grandfather was from Belfast. Peace Mikel |
| Posted by: Arianrhod 25-Nov-2003, 12:30 PM |
| Outlander.. I love what you are doing with your Christmas cards.. that is one of the most lovley, and unique ideas ! I'm first generation Italian and Greek.. In Service to the Dream, Paula |
| Posted by: tartangal 25-Nov-2003, 02:13 PM | ||
Catriona, where was it? My parents have a holiday house near Letterkenny in a wee town called Rathmullan. The beaches there are spectacular! I have been there on holiday almost every year of my life and have loads of relatives around there and in Falcarragh. |
| Posted by: Siusaidh Blues 01-Dec-2003, 10:32 AM | ||
Cobh! Yes, I've been there! Lovely - wish we could have stayed longer rather than just passing through. My dear friend Seamus is from Donegal; he and his family live here now, but he speaks of it as tho its the most beautiful place on earth. Recently he saw a drawing I'd done of a thatched cottage, and bought it on the spot - he said he grew up in a home exactly like it. What a wonderful feeling I got, watching him respond to my work like that - those kinds of reactions make it all worth while. Someday I hope to visit Donegal myself! |
| Posted by: tartangal 01-Dec-2003, 11:05 AM |
| Siusaidh, It is a beautiful area, very wild, almost like part of the Scottish highlands. When I was young my grandparents lived in a thatched cottage with the open fire and food cooked over the top of it . There was also an oven at the side which was heated by the fire. It was so warm and homely. There was also a bed recessed into the wall of the kitchen, almost like a cupboard where all us weans used to play. |
| Posted by: Siusaidh Blues 01-Dec-2003, 12:20 PM |
| Wow... what a vivid mental image I am getting after reading your post. Thank you so much for sharing, my new friend! |
| Posted by: JW 03-Dec-2003, 05:30 AM |
| Yes: go to www.google.com and in the search box type "merry christmas" +Irish gaelic |