Ireland's OWN: Celtic Symbols

The Crane
—by Míchealín Ní Dhochartaigh

In Celtic lore, Fionn has the task of reclaiming the Crane Bag, an Otherworldly treasure of great power.
The Crane bag is similar to the Holy Grail, in that it is searched for and disappears and appears without explanation.
Manannán, the god of the sea, and the Underworld was known to change into a crane.
In The Boyhood of Finn, Aoife, the lover of Ilbrec, is transformed into a crane.
In China, cranes are symbols of longevity; and are often seen embroidered on robes. At one time, it was believed that cranes lived for 1,000 years. Cranes do live a long time, however, they live about 30 years.
Also in China, the spirits of warriors slain in battle are believed to be carried on the backs of cranes.
In Japan, cranes are symbols of marital fidelity and happiness because they mate for life. Japanese wedding gifts are often garnished with an origami crane rather than a bow.
In the Koran, cranes are the "good birds" who go to Mecca when they disappear to fly north.
To Northern Europeans, cranes were known as the "messengers beyond the north winds" as to Northern Europeans they were harbingers of Spring.
Because migrating cranes often fly at night, by the light of the moon, they are also associated with the Moon Goddess Artemis. The Crane is sacred to Apollo, the Greek Sun God and twin to Artemis.
Hermes, the Greek Messenger God, was inspired to invent writing by watching the flight patterns of cranes; and Thoth, the Egyptian counterpart to Hermes is depicted with the head of an Ibis. Thoth is the Egyptian god of writing.
In Russian and Eastern European folklore, soldiers killed in battle were believed to be transformed in cranes.
The earliest images of herons or cranes in Europe appeared in Eastern European countries. Clay figures dating as far back as 5000-7000 BCE, that are part-woman / part-crane or heron, have been found in Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Ukraine and the former Yugoslavia (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina). In these countries, this bird was associated with sacred bread making and with rain. Woman-Cranes or -Herons are often depicted with hands to their breasts, suggesting a connection between life-giving rain and the life-giving milk of the Goddess.
See also: Birds.

Sources include:

Campanelli, P and Campanelli, D: Ancient Ways: Reclaiming Pagan Traditions; Conway, D.J.: Celtic Magic; Matthews, C: The Celtic Book of the Dead; Matthews, C and Matthews J: Celtic Wisdom; McCoy, E: Celtic Myth and Magick; Orr, A and Clark, L: Celtic Cross Stitch; and Personal knowledge / traditions,