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www.celtic-connection.com
DECEMBER 2013/JANUARY 2014
The light of Winter Solstice brings renewed hope
here are few to whom hope has not visited in their lifetime. Solstice, Christmas and the winter festivals celebrate light, quiet newborn light. And to those who celebrate or revere that light in any way, it brings hope.
Despite cutting edge technology, fast-paced digital discussions and artistic endeavors that endure ages, humans are fragile.
We are no more resilient to injury, poverty and war than we were a thousand years ago. While blood courses our veins we live, when it does not, we die.
By CYNTHIA AUSTIN
From birth, every living thing faces those bare terms. In the winter of the year the brittle arms of naked trees and windswept ground recall the bargain. It is solstice that stands to answer.
Solstice this year is on Saturday, December 21 at 9:11 AM PST. Though only a moment, it marks the end of lengthening darkness. The illumination is weak, showing us images of what is to come, without understanding and without word.
It is an enduring truth that image precedes form. A gut feeling, a sudden worry or a particularly warm feeling for a person, place or thing - these images presage life to come.
Like seeds still sleeping in the underground, images and half-feelings take form, growing slowly with our awareness until the day we can articulate an idea, a relationship, or the end of one.
Almost everyone understands hope, too
many are crushed by the lack of it. The coming of the winter solstice delivers on the primitive promise of better days ahead.
In ages gone, this was a time of sympathetic magic, of bonfires at night and ornaments that reflect back the light of the struggling, newborn sun.
Now, like then, newborn hope is fragile, needing the support and effort of the one and the many. Once grown, hope offers salvation on the darkest days and during the coldest nights.
Samhain has passed. By winter solstice the solar world is on return. May you ever have hope, may you always have light. Blessed Be.
SUNLIGHT illuminates the chamber at Newgrange in Co. Meath, Ireland on the morning of the winter solstice. Each yearthousands ■apply for a lottery to be one [of the chosen few to watch jthe first rays of the mid-winter sun shine through the stone window at the front of the Neolithictomb, where it will pass down the 60-foot long passage before illuminating the inner chamber.
ABOUT OUR COVER ARTIST
Born in 1980, Esther Remmington began drawing at an early age and she has pursued her dream of a career as an artist ever since.
In 2006, she launched her first website and began offering prints of her images for sale.
Over the years, her work has gained interest and evolved in style and quality. Her subject matter expanded beyond fairies and now includes a wide variety of fantasy, myth, magic and wildlife.
Inspiration for Esther's art comes from the beauty of nature, her spiritual beliefs
and her interest in fairytales, folklore and mythology.
Esther mainly likes to work with wa-tercolours, acrylics or colour pencils but always enjoys experimenting with new media and techniques to further develop her art.
She currently lives in Essex, England, with her husband, leather craftsman Martin (EBG Leather). They spend their time working together in their home studio and exhibiting at festivals around the UK.
To learn more about Esther and her work, visit her website at: www.esther remmington.com.
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Celebrate An Irish Christmas in B.C.
VANCOUVER - Everyone is invited to a festive evening of 'An Irish Christmas' celebration on Friday, December 13.
All proceeds will go to a cause which supports local Irish in need of emergency assistance - the Irish benevolent fund, administered by the Irish Benevolent Society of B.C.
Blake Williams, manager of the Irish Wakers Celtic band, is planning this magical traditional Irish Christmas concert at St. James Hall, located at 3214 West 10th Avenue in Vancouver.
Blake said, "It will be an interesting evening with a mixture of live music, storytelling, Irish dancers, harp and
songs, with the proceeds in aid of the Irish Benevolent Society.
"The purpose is also to recognize all the new Irish people we have in the Lower Mainland who have either immigrated or just visiting British Columbia. We want to extend to them a warm welcome and a very happy Christmas." •
For more information, call Michelle Stuart (604) 802-2704 or Blake Williams (604)671-3365.
Tickets can also be purchased online at: Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite .ca/e/an-irish-christmas-tickets-9506796083, or The Rogue Folk Club: http://www.roguefolk.bc.ca/concerts/ evl3121319.
DO YOU OWN
A PENSION IN THE UNITED KINGDOM?
Recent changes in pension legislation now allows for a smooth and tax-efficient transfer of foreign pension assets to Canada.
The Canadian government has recently updated its policy regarding the transfer of UK-based pensions into the Canadian retirement system.
These changes now provide the most tax-efficient opportunity for individuals to consolidate their assets into the Canadian retirement system if they qualify based on certain tax variables.
Should you integrate your foreign pension into Canada? Are there risks for leaving it in the UK? Are there risks moving it to Canada? What are the advantages of integrating it into Canada? What variables do you need to consider? And do you qualify for the new tax-efficient transfer options?
OUR TEAM IS UNIQUE. BRYN HAMILTON, CFP & CHRISTIAN WHITE, CFP
We specialize in advising individuals on the advantages and disadvantages of consolidating foreign pension plans to Canada. These types of transfer require an advance knowledge base of the pension systems both foreign and domestic. To request a free no-obligation review of your current foreign pension accounts please contact
Joey Basque at 778-886-7040 or joey.basque@investorsgroup.com
The Plan
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THE CELTIC CONNECTION
ISSUE 22 VOLUME 10 - Established in 1991
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