Lughnasadh

"Then let us toast John Barleycorn, Each man a glass in hand; And may his great posterity Ne'er fail in old Scotland! "

Lughnasadh (pronouced loo'nass'ah) comes at the beginning of August. It is one of the Pagan festivals of Celtic origin which split the year into four.

Celts held the festival of the Irish god Lugh at this time and later, the Anglo-Saxons marked the festival of hlaefmass - loaf mass or Lammas - at this time.

For these agricultural communities this was the first day of the harvest, when the fields would be glowing with corn and reaping would begin. The harvest period would continue until Samhain when the last stores for the winter months would be put away.

Although farming is not an important part of modern life, Lughnasadh is still seen as a harvest festival by Pagans and symbols connected with the reaping of corn predominate in its rites.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/paganism/holydays/lughnasadh_print.html

Folklore

You are in: Wiltshire > Moonraking > Folklore > Lughnasadh/Lammas �?Celebrating the Harvest

Lammas Loaf Lughnasadh/Lammas �?Celebrating the Harvest Summer St John Lughnasadh (Loo-nah-sah), the third of our Earth festivals, is celebrated at the beginning of August �?a hot, delicious time of the year. (Although, here in Britain, the first half of the summer has been particularly ‘damp�?this year!).

Bees buzz, the air is still and the sun bathes us with his warmth even though he is now diminishing day by day up until the Winter Solstice. Get your baguettes here! Lughnasadh is named after the Celtic god, Lugh �?a name that means ‘light�?or ‘shining one�? But the main purpose of this festival is the honouring of the first harvest when the gorgeous, golden grains are gathered in and prepared for the making of bread. This is reflected in the Christianised name for this feast �?Lammas, which means ‘loaf mass�?and, even today, many churches are decorated with sheaves and loaves for the Lammas service. And have you ever wondered why we make corn dollies at this time of the year? This very old custom is done to ensure a good harvest for the following year - something terribly important to our ancestors. A doll is made by braiding together corn from the last harvested sheaf and she is saved until the following spring. It was believed that the dolly held the spirit of the corn so she would be ploughed into the fields along with the new seeds in the spring to bless the new planting. In Wiltshire, and around the British Isles today, country fairs were traditionally held at this time giving the community a chance to celebrate this abundance together. People would gather to sell their produce, crafts were displayed and sold and games were played. So how can you celebrate this time of year?  Look at what you have ‘harvested�?in your life since you ‘brushed out�?the old year in the spring and planted new ideas for the coming year. What has grown and come to fruit for you since then? Lughnasadh is also a good time for making preserves but what of your personal harvest do you want to preserve too? Enjoying a family picnic How about gathering family and friends and going on a magical picnic to really savour all this abundance of food! And when you take that first bite of bread, take a moment to remember the amazing journey that those little grains of wheat have made since the beginning of the year to provide nourishment for us to live. Happy picnicking! Summer St.John is a geomancer (somebody who works with the spirit of place) and a writer who lives in Wiltshire. It is her intention to work with the media to enable more people to know about and experience the joy of our wonderful history and landscape. http://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/content/articles/2004/07/29/moonraking_lammas_2004_feature.shtml