Druids

Druids, pronounced droo ihdz, were priestly, learned class among the Celts, a people of ancient Europe.  The Druids were judges and lawmakers as well as priests.  They led religious ceremomies, settle legal disputes and served as leaders and advisers to their people.

Druidism, the religion of the druids, involved the worship of many gods.  The Druids regarded mistletoe and oak as sacred.  They believed the soul was immortal and entered a new body after death.  The Druids killed animals and people as sacrifices.  They studied the flights of birds and the remains of sacrificed animals to foretell the future.  The Romans, who conquered much of Europe between about 300 BC and AD 100, tried to stop druidism.  The religion died out after the Celts became Christians in the 400's and 500's.

During the 1600's, the descendants of the Celts became interested in their Druidic heritage.  Today, several groups in Great Britain and Ireland practice what they believe to be ancient Druidism.  They hold Druidic festivals at the beginning of spring, summer, autumn, and winter.  A major celebration takes place at Stonehenge, a monument near Salisbury, England, that the Druids are dais to have used.  In Wales, festivals of music and poetry called eisteddfods (pronounced ay STEHTH vahdz) include Druidic rites.

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