Christmas and New Year are just around the corner. To help you get in the mood, and providing an excellent Christmas present opportunity, Berneray Historical Society is delighted to announce that its Oidhche Challuinn DVD is now available for sale.

This has been a major project this year for Berneray Historical Society, working in partnership with Taigh Chearsabhagh Arts Centre in Lochmaddy. The end-result is a 20-minute DVD which sets out both to describe and to preserve the old Gaelic new year – Oidhche Challuinn – which is still celebrated on the Isle of Berneray on 12 January each year.

The film centres around interviews with Berneray folk of various ages, in which they pass on their recollections of Oidhche Challuinn in years gone by. It also includes footage from the Calluinn night in January 2007. This is the night when the children of the island go around the houses wearing traditional masks which they make themselves. They recite in each home in turn the duan, the traditional Gaelic rhyme, and collect their bags of ‘goodies’ in return. A number of different versions of the duan are featured in the film, and an important aim of the project has been to preserve these traditional rhymes for posterity.

The film is entirely in Gaelic with the option of English subtitles and it also features scenes from the ceilidh dance which was held as part of the Caluinn celebrations in 2007, as well as performances from local musicians. The DVD is supplied in an attractive full-colour sleeve.

This project was supported by Berneray Community Association, Berneray Community Council, Berneray Development Group, Ardmaree Stores, Highland 2007, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar and HIE Innse Gall.

The DVD ‘The Old New Year – a living tradition on the Isle of Berneray’ is available from Ardmaree Stores, Berneray, at a cost of £7. For postal applications please send cheque for £8.50 (to include £1.50 P&P) to Ardmaree Stores, Berneray, HS6 5BJ. Please make cheques payable to ‘Berneray Historical Society’.