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Druids (Draoi in Ireland) were the religious caste in Goidelic and Brythionic Celtic society.
Celtic societies varied a great deal from place to place, even within the British Isles, but they typically had clergy who studied from a fairly young age, usually with their parents or other family members.
A few things about Celtic society in general:
-Women were rulers, religious leaders, and warriors
-Local leaders were usually democratically elected, though had no term limits
-The Celts once were found all over Europe and Western Asia, having councils in Turkey to keep peace between the various tribes.
-The religion was polytheistic, centering around a female and male deity and their descendants. The female was usually Danu, Ana, or such. The name of the major male deity actually varied a bit more, from region to region.
-Most Celtic societies believe that music was a gift given by the gods. In Ireland, the Dagda (the good god) was able to use harp music to cause three different emotions in people and skilled musicians could emulate this effect. The three emotions were joy, sadness, and sleepiness. Most Celtic societies had some similar story.
Some specifics:
Celtic holidays usually centered around seasons. In early February, every 19 years, the Irish would have 19 virgin women start a fire and then take turns, each taking one day every 19 days to keep the fire going, for a year.
Lughnasadh (LOO-nah-saw) was traditionally a several week harvest festival in August for Goidelic Celts.
In the 14Th century, Goidelic Celts were practicing same-sex marriage. It was rare, but accepted.
The Druids of Wales used to (some still do) begin a summer harvest festival by passing a large cup of fermented elderberry juice and each taking a sip.
Swiss/Italian Celts moved their entire society from Switzerland to Italy, crossing the alps, because they liked figs.
As for modern beliefs, most of them are pretty much the same as historical ones. The ancient Celts actually have had values that fit fairly well into to days society. Democracy, equal rights, avoidance of violence unless absolutely necessary (and some Celtic stories even suggest that a true hero will not fight, even if it means his/her own life), charity, monogamy, community, etc.
The value of chastity has been somewhat lost by some modern practitioners, but I think that is true of all religions these days. The feast and fast cycles have been given up by most as well. In Gaul, the Celts had just about every day of the year denoted as a fast or feast day.
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What is druidism and celticism?
