Galiza is one of the seven Celtic countries, lying in the NW corner of the Celto-Iberian peninsula, and to who historically belongs a larger area. The national language is the Galizan or Galeg, best know as the Galego-Portuguese to make clear that, even if a variant, it is the same language, no more different that the American's English from the Great Britain's English.
Galiza has conserved the most purest and oldest of the Celtic traditions of all the Celtic countries, even when its goidelic Celtic language has had it last speaker in the XVI century. This rainy and mountain country has conserved, by its geographic isolation and remoteness , in its culture , traditions and costumes of the most purest Celtic soul. You are invited to visit this country, and as you will visit it, you will notice the contrast with the rest of the peninsula from its fair-skinned people, from its greenness , from its Atlantic shores and green seas, from its mountains and green fields, from its mist and fog, from the pleasure of its rain and snow ... that have shaped this country and its Celtic people, ... till the warm hospitality of the Galegs, that still folow the old celtic rule of the hospitality , you will remember always Galiza and its old Celtic culture.
Galiza is a country in the actual Spanish State with very dependent rule to the central government. Galiza was the first, the oldest independent kingdom of Europe. Its beginnings can be placed in the Old Kingdom of Galiza created by the Germanic people of the suave that in 409 came to the them roman province of Galleacia, ( were the romans had convinced them to come , believing they will left quit the rest of the empire that they use to put to sack ). In two years they put out all that was left from the roman empire : people, administration, ... and they unified the different Celtic tribes -the Galizian Trebas- to form the first kingdom of Europe, under Hermerico, making the beginning of the fall of the roman empire. Only in 410 the germanic tribes take Roma.
In the high Middle age period and thereafter, the kingdom of Galiza stand alone. In times, royal heritages, kings and queens marriages, make two o more kingdom to fusion or change owners. But in all circumstances, Galiza has always conserved its own language costumes and differentiated culture. The inaccessibility , by land, of the West side of the Celto-iberian peninsula is the result of a natural mountain chain formation that isolated Galiza and also Portugal from Spain. In fact the Spanish-Portugal border is the oldest of Europe.
Galiza is the most forgotten of the seven Celtic countries. Even so, she has the most pure and oldest Celtic tradition, going back more that 2000 years, without any medieval influence The stone and water crazy galizans only have equals in its Celtic brothers of Eire and Breizh. The similarities of tradition and costumes, between galizans, Irish and Bretons ... and this philosophy of life that characterized the Galizian people, the Celtic people, has nothing to do with the Spanish way of life, where galizans are not part.
As the galizans honor the old Celtic cult to the horse in the Galizian known "curros das bestas", the Spaniards , from the North shores of the 'Cantabrico' sea till the pillars of Hercules in the south, feast the Iberian cult to the 'Iberian bull'. The San Fermin, in the heart of the Basque country of Navarra , the 'encierro' , till the south "Spanish corridas" are the attachment of the Iberian people. When the Spaniards kill the beast, the bull, on the contrary, the Galizian take care of they own horses of the hole Nature to whom they have herded the love of the Celtic people. Two people , two cultures.
Even when they share the Celto-iberian peninsula, ( two sides , de Celtic Atlantic and Iberiam meseta North to South ) the culture of the west side and the North-West Galiza in particular, has an origin very different. The subtract people are goidelic Celts in the historical Galiza ( including North of Portugal ) with inluency zone going back well south in today Portugal, the Iberians the rest of the peninsula. The natural frontier between what is Portugal and Spain, who is naturally prolonged to all the Galiza East side, is the most oldest frontier in all Europe.
Geography has helped to maintained , purest , the Celtic tradition of Galiza. They have the same Celtic spirituality as 20 centuries ago, today the names have changed, no more names of Celtic gods and goddesses , the names have today references only to the Christian fact, however it can be said that galizans pursue yet now they druidic religion under Christian names, rock, waters, ...are still holy. Living in this contry, Galiza, living with this people, the galizans, you could sense this Celtic feeling coming back from the times.
The name "galegs' and "gaelics' ,oldest "gaels" , have similarities that can be explained. On this point gaelic and 'galeg' 's - Galizan - tradition count the same history, two thousands years apart, 450 miles directly north and south, the sons of Breogam sail to Eire, the green land, as the Galizans have named it, so the Irish book of the invasion said also. Add that, a Gaelic dictionary can be used to translated all the pre-roman Galiza's place-names ... you will found that the coincidences and similarities can easily be explain.
