DASG Blog

Faclan agus Abairtean a’ Gheamhraidh

Christmas and Hogmanay is happening very soon and we have many words and phrases that are connected to this time of the year. Although this many not be a full blog, we have some words and phrases for you from “Faclan bhon t-Sluagh” and other books:

“Am fear nach dèan Nollaig, nì e trasg a dh’aindheoin”. – Port Charlotte, Islay. (“One who doesn’t take part in Christmas, they will fast to spite it.”)
“’S blianach Nollaig gun sneachda” – Tigharry, North Uist. (“A Christmas without snow is a bleak one”.)
 
These are sayings from “Aithris is Oideas” that is connected to winter:
“Gaoth a deas na Callainn, teas is toradh,
Gaoth an iar na Callainn, iasg gu carraig,
Gaoth a tuath na Callainn, fuachd is feannadh,
Gaoth an ear na Callainn, meas air crannaibh”.
[“South wind of Hogmanay, heat and produce, Western wind of Hogmanay, fish to the rock, Northern wind of Hogmanay, cold and fleecing, Eastern wind of Hogmanay, fruit on the trees”.]
 
“Gaoth an iar iasg is bainne,
Gaoth tuath fuachd is gailleann,
Gaoth deas teas is toradh,
Gaoth an ear do fhearaibh a’ chuain”.
[“Wind of the west, fish and milk, Wind of the North, cold and gales, Wind of the South, heat and produce, Wind of the East to the fellows of the ocean”.]
 
“Cha robh samhradh riamh gun ghrian,
Cha robh geamhradh riamh gun sneachd,
Cha robh Nollaig mhòr gun fheòil,
No bean òg le deòin gun fhear”.
[“There was never a summer without sun, There was never a winter without snow, There was never a Hogmanay(?) without meat, Or a willing woman without a man”.]
 
Riddles have been written about this time of year as well. Do you know the answers for them all? (The answers will be at the end of the blog):
 
“Cailleach bheag a’ chòta bhàin,
Mar is tighe thig i bhàn,
’S ann as fhèarr a laigheas i.” (1).
[“A small, old woman of the white coat, As thick as she comes down, It’s best when she lies [down]”.]
 
“Chì mi, chì mi, fada bhuam,
Trì mìle thar a’ chuain,
Fir gun fhuil, gun fheòil, gun anam,
A’ dannsa’ air an talamh chruaidh” (2).
[“I see, I see, far from me, Three thousand over the ocean, Men without blood, without flesh, without a soul, Dancing on the hard ground”.]
 
“Thànaig fear a-nall thar barraibh nan tonn,
Fear buidhe fionn, fear tana, caol, donn,
Fear bhualadh na sùiste, fear rùsgaidh nan crann” (3).
[“A man came over the tops of the waves, A fair, yellow-haired man, a thin, slender brown-haired man, A man threshing the flail, A man who strips the trunks”.]
 
“Drochaid air loch,
Gun mhaide gun chloich” (4).
[“A bridge over the loch, Without wood or stone”.]
 
I will finish this blog with “Duan na Collainn” (The Hogmanay Rhyme” that I read from the book “Gàidhlig Dùthaich Mhic Aoidh” [“The Gaelic of the MacKay Country”] with Seumas Grannd. The children used to deliver this rhyme in order to get a bannock at Hogmanay.
 
“Thànaig mi le mo dhuan,
’N oidhche mus do ghluais a’ Chollainn -
Carson a leiginn dhe mo chuimhne,
Rud a bh’ ann ri linn mo sheanair?
Ithidh mi na mìrean bruith,
Bruithidh mi na mìrean iamh,
Òlaidh mi an deoch fhuar,
Fuairidh mi an deoch theth:
Neach nach toir dhòmhs am bonnach,
Cuiridh mi an caolan aig’ a-mach an fhàirleas.”
 
[“I came with my rhyme,
The night before Hogmanay came in,
Why would I forget something that existed in my Grandfather’s time?
I shall eat the cooked fragments,
I shall cook the raw fragments,
I will drink the cold drink,
I shall cool the heated drink:
Whoever does not give me the bannock,
I shall put their entrails out through the smoke-hole”.]
 
I hope you all have a Merry Christmas, happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!
 
 

1. – Sneachda [Snow]
2. – Clachan-meallain [Hail-stones]
3. – Na ràithean [The Seasons]
4. – An deigh [The Ice]