Ireland is catching up with the UK and surrounding areas of Europe in its percentage of active Facebook users. Nearly half of the country’s entire population now sport a Facebook profile and make regular status updates, and most of them are 25 to 34 years of age.

Celtic music blends well with the Christmas spirit. Many of the most cherished Christmas traditions in the West are derived from a combination of European and native Celtic ones, such as the German tradition of a lighted Christmas tree, hand made lace decorations, the preparation of certain cakes and sweets, and the giving of gifts to represent the gift God gave to the world in the birth of his Son Jesus, the Savior and Lord of all creation.

Irish rock band U2 recently announcd it is providing five million euros between now and 2015 to help fund music education for children in Ireland amid sweeping budget cuts that would normally rule out arts education.  In Ireland as well as here in the United States, when education faces monetary cuts, the arts are the first so-called “extra” to lose funding.

This sizable donation will pay for musical equipment  teachers to tutor the nation’s students.  An additional two million euro  is being provided by Ireland Funds, an international charitable organization supported by people of Irish ancestry all around the world.  These combined funds hope to bridge a gap between now and 2015, with the ultimate goal of government taking over by then.

Many of the Celtic people from Scotland have scattered themselves around the world. As early as the 1600′s, Scots were migrating to parts of North America, including Canada. By the early 1900s, a significant number of Scots from the Highlands and Hebrides had settled in the United States, many of them around the Carolinas and Appalachian mountains. As a result, there are lots of Scottish Celts around the globe who have a healthy curiosity about the origins of their clans.

In ancient times, many historians and writers were able to document their experiences of dining among the Celts.  One in particular describes the rather informal feasting habits of the Celts this way: ‘the Celts place dried grass on the floor when they eat their meals, using tables which are raised slightly off the ground  The writings, mostly attributed to the Classical era, suggest that a Celtic feast was centered around a cauldron and several roasting spits.