Welcome to the June 2025 edition of Anglo&Celtic magazine. You can read or download the magazine free of charge at the link.
We are all rugged up here in Australia and celebrating the short, winter days with a vast array of winter and solstice celebrations.
The Celtic bonfire traditions from back home came across the seas with waves of immigrants and have mixed with other traditions across Australia to form unique and thrilling winter festivities.
It’s great to see Cracker Day making a comeback. It’s a community celebration based on British and Celtic traditions that had been widespread at one time but was cancelled due to fire and safety issues. Totally understandable too with the local climate. Aussies would speak with nostalgia about their great childhood memories of this community celebration. But now, it’s being brought back under more controlled conditions and expanding to become a festival of light and of communal fireworks and bonfires. It’s wonderful to see how cultural traditions evolve.
It’s very sad to see the vibrant group Friends of Ireland Canberra winding up after 40 years. It serves as a reminder that we need to go out and support our cultural groups. Use them or lose them.
All the best, Mary.
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