{"id":5565,"date":"2013-10-26T18:18:00","date_gmt":"2013-10-26T18:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/?p=5565"},"modified":"2026-01-15T18:31:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T18:31:24","slug":"hiraeth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/?p=5565","title":{"rendered":"Hiraeth…"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes, I have to see “something” several times before a pattern emerges and I get an idea for a post. Recently, I have had two feeds to my FB wall, one from highexistence.com<\/a> and another from wordporn<\/a>, both defining the word, Hiraeth (he-writhe). In Welsh it means homesickness. However, in a broader sense, it also means a longing for places to which we may never return.<\/p>\n

We may never return to the past, for example, to re-visit our youth, or meet with people we once knew, or go to places that have changed so dramatically, that they are no longer what they were.<\/p>\n

It’s a word that is often said very softly. It moans a little and catches at the back of the throat in a slight guttural rush. Half sob, half sigh, it lingers in the air for a moment, before it fades like the memories it hopes to revive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Steps Back in Time<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

It’s a word that I heard often during my time in Wales. The phrase, “Oh the Hiraeth,” would generally end a story, as “Amen” would end a prayer.<\/p>\n

You have to wonder about cultures that have a single word for this angst. Are they people who cling to the past? Or have they, like the Welsh, been subjected to such a violent wrenching away of their language and customs, that the keening never stops.<\/p>\n

I don’t know the answer. All I know is that both the Irish and the Welsh and possibly other cultures have turned this Hiraeth into music that moves the soul. If a song has the power to pull back the curtain of time and draw from oblivion the people and places we need to see again, then let it be heard.<\/p>\n

Hiraeth<\/a> – sorry I couldn’t embed it.<\/p>\n

Have a memorable day!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes, I have to see “something” several times before a pattern emerges and I get an idea for a post. Recently, I have had two feeds to my FB wall, one from highexistence.com and another from wordporn, both defining the word, Hiraeth (he-writhe). In Welsh it means homesickness. However, in a broader sense, it also means […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1066,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-unicorns","category-words"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5565"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5565\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5566,"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5565\/revisions\/5566"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifeiswhathappens.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}