A kelták "Hat Nemzete"

It is these 'Six Nations' that (alone) are considered Celtic by the Celtic League, Celtic Congress, and various other pan-Celtic groups. Each of the six can boast a Celtic language of its own – the key criterion of Celticity for the organizations named.

Skót
Ír
Manx
Welsh
Cornish
Breton

Four of the 'Six Nations' (Brittany, Ireland, Scotland, Wales) contain areas where a Celtic language is still used in a community (see Gaeltacht, Gàidhealtachd, and compare also Breizh-Izel and areas by Welsh language known as Y Fro Cymraeg).[2] Generally these communities are in the west of the countries, in upland or island areas, and sometimes claim to be more Celtic than the anglicised/gallicised areas of the east, and big cities.

For certain purposes, such as the Festival Interceltique, Galicia and Asturias, Cantabria are considered three of the nine Celtic nations. It should also be remembered that Welsh and Scots Gaelic speaking minorities are still extant, respectively, in the Chubut valley region of Patagonia in Argentina, and Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada.



Celtic nations are areas of modern Europe inhabited by members of Celtic cultures, specifically speakers of Celtic languages. Since the mid-20th century, people of many nations and regions have used modern 'Celticity' to express their identity. Over time, these nations and regions have come to be widely labelled as Celtic. These areas of Europe are sometimes referred to as the "Celt belt" or "Celtic fringe" because of their location generally on the north-western edges of the continent, and of the nations they inhabit (e.g. Brittany is in the northwest of France, the Gaelic-speaking parts of Ireland and Scotland are in the northwest and west, respectively). However, these terms are sometimes viewed as derogatory, so residents of these areas tend to prefer the term "Celtic nations".

Until the expansions of the Roman Republic and Germanic tribes, the British Isles and much of continental Europe was predominantly Celtic.[1] Only extreme north-western regions retained their Celtic culture and language, because these expansions were halted and had little or no influence. In Britain for example, the expansions of the Roman Empire and then the Anglo-Saxons supplanted the Celtic Britons and the Brythonic languages in most of what is modern-day England.