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The Celtic festival Halloween is celebrated on the night of 31st October and 1st November every year and is associated with the Celtic feast of Kala-Goañv (Breton), Calan Gwaf (Cornish), Samhain (Irish), Sauin (Manx Gaelic), Samhuinn (Scottish Gaelic) and Calan Gaeaf (Welsh). In the Isle of Man it is the date of the celebration known as Hop tu Naa. Traditionally it is a time of year when the worlds of the living and the dead were seen to be at their closest.

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

The Manx Museum and National Trust (aka Manx National Heritage) publicised the opening of a new ‘Kingdom of Man’ gallery at the House of Manannan in Peel.

However it’s not what is on display that’s significant it’s what is missing. The Museums blurb accompanying the launch says:

What would the Druids think of this?  The Otherworld is opening tonight in Japan.

Halloween, the modern celebration of the Celtic new year of Samhain, has taken hold in Japan and according to multiple media reports is now experiencing explosive growth expecting to generate the equivalent of over 1 Billion dollars in related sales in 2015.

As the celebration of Hop tu Naa looms on the horizon, celebrated academic Professor Ronald Hutton returned to the Isle of Man to speak about his extensive research on the subject to a packed auditorium at the Manx Museum lecture theatre.

Delving into his own studies from the early 1990s, Professor Hutton spoke eloquently about this subject and his understanding of its development over time, but remaining sensitive to his Manx audience.

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

To mark the 150th anniversary since Welsh settlements were established in Patagonia both the BBC National Orchestra Wales (BBC NOW) and the National Youth Choir of Wales (NYCW) is currently touring Patagonia.

The National Orchestra Wales has this week been working with communities throughout Patagonia, in a week-long residency marking the establishment of Y Wladfa, the Welsh settlement in the Province.

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

With concerns being voiced about the amount of air time being given to Allan Bell (Manx Chief Minister) virtually on a daily basis on the National Radio station rumours abound that MTTV Manx Telecom TV) may be trying to recruit redoubtable North Korean TV anchorwoman Ri Chun Hui who recently retired (see her in action in the Youtube video below).

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

British Prime Ministers are always apologizing. In the past few years they have gone on the record to express regret for issues as diverse as the Irish Famine and Section 28.

However it seems it’s a step to far for David Cameron to apologize for the destruction of the Welsh speaking community in the Tryweryn Valley evicted despite protest across Wales to make way for a dam to supply water to Merseyside.

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

Well Joint Warrior (JW 15/2) seemed to pass of without incident but this week a piece of ‘military kit’ drifted ashore in the Western Isles.

The large Mirach 100/5 military target drone which was found on a beach on North Uist may well have been associated with the exercise but is more likely connected to the ‘QuinteQ’ missile testing range on nearby South Uist.

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

The Isle of Man Chief Minister, Allan Bell MHK, has been waxing lyrical about the Isle of Man’s economic future and chose to highlight how it was ‘essential to support our efforts to strengthen relations with economic superpowers such as China, a country we visited again this year’.

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

‘Islanders are a proud people it is likely that some feeling the strain are suffering in silence’.

The Isle of Man, says the Chief Minister (CM) Allan Bell MHK, ‘remains an outstanding place to live, work and do business’.

Well it depends what standpoint you are viewing it from.