Á Pangea gu Ceap Breatainn / From Pangea to Cape Breton

Bho chionn bliadhnaichean gun àireamh cha robh ach aon tìr-mhór air an domhainn, air ainm "Pangea". 'Nuair nach robh ach Pangea air aghaidh an t-saoghail, bha Alba agus Alba Nuadh taobh ri taobh, còmhla ri chéile. Mar a thòisich an Cuan Siar ri leudachadh, rinn e dealachadh air an dà àite gus an diugh tha iad gu math fada far a chéile.

Fada an déidh dhaibh dealachadh, thàinig na Gàidheil gus fuireach ann an Alba, agus linntean an déidh sin, chaidh am fuadachadh gu àiteachan iomallach air feadh an t-saoghail.

Gu dé an t-àite dha 'n deach móran dhe na Gàidheil ach gu Alba Nuadh? Àite a bha cho coltach ris an dùthaich a dh' fhàg iad, air sgàth 's gu robh iad cha mhór 'nan aon àite bho chian nan cian? Cha neònach gun do ghabh na h-eilthirich gaol air an tìr ùr anns an d' rinn iad àiteachas!

Chan eil sin ri ràdh gu robh a h-uile sian coltach ri Alba, o 'n is cinnteach nach robh. Ged a thàinig an dà àite ás an aon cheàrnaidh, bha cuan farsuing eadorra aig àm nan eilthireach agus cha robh na h-aimsirean aca idir co-ionnanach.

A' bharrachd air a' sin, 'sann aig ceann na linn-eighe big' a thàinig iad, agus fhuair iad amach gu ro luath nach biodh na geamhraidhean idir cho goirid no cho blàth 's a bha iad an Alba. Chan fhada gus an do dh' ionnsaich 'ad gum biodh na samhraidhean na bu bhlàithe 's na bu ghrianaiche na na bh' air iad eòlach. Bha biastan diofaraichte neònach dhaibh ann agus biastagan nach fhac' iad roimhe, agus iomadh rud eile air am b' feudar dhaibh fiosrachadh fhaighinn.

An ceann ùine ghabh iad seilbh chomhfhurtail anns an tìr ùr agus leis cho coltach ris an t-Seann Dùthaich 's a bha i an déidh dhaibh bailtean-fearainn a thogail, bha iad toilichte gu leòir.

Ach is iongantach leam mar a chaidh uiread cho mór de dhaoine an aon dualchais a bhith fuireach ann an dà àite do 'm b' àbhaist a bhith guallann ri ghuallainn!

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Uncounted years ago there was only one continent in the world, named Pangea. When Pangea was the only land on the face of the earth, Scotland and Nova Scotia were side by side, together. As the Atlantic Ocean began to widen, it made a separation between the two lands until today they are quite far apart.

Long after they parted, the Gaels came to live in Scotland and centuries after that the Gaels were expelled to far away places throughout the world.

What place did many of the Gaels go to but Nova Scotia? A place so much like the country they left, since they were almost the same place in ancient times? It's no wonder the immigrants came to love the new land which they inhabited!

That's not to say that everything was the same as in Scotland, for it certainly wasn't. Although the two places came from one area, there was a wide ocean between them when the immigrants came and the climates were not similar at all.

Besides that, it was at the end of the Little Ice Age that they came and they found out very quickly that the winters would not be nearly so short nor so warm as they were in Scotland. It wasn't long before they learned that the summers would be warmer and sunnieer than what they were used to. There was different wildlife and insects they had never seen before, and many other things they had to learn about.

In time they were living comfortably in their new land and with how similar it was to the Old Country after they had built some farms, they were happy enough.

But it's amazing to me that so many people of the same culture came to be living in two places that used to be shoulder to shoulder!