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Lughnasadh/Lammas

Harvest Holiday of Recognition & Reflection

The hot days of Summer have been present for some time now.  It is also the official beginning of the first harvest of the year!  There is an ancient holiday celebrated by pagans, Wiccans, and others of all faith backgrounds that recognize this special time of year called Lughnsadh (pronounced LOO-na-sa or LOO-nuh-suh) or Lammas (pronounced lah-MIS or luh-MAHS).  Every year it takes places from August 1st – 2nd in the Northern Hemisphere and February 1st – 2nd in the Southern Hemisphere.  It is considered a “cross-quarter” holiday because it falls between the Summer Solstice (Litha) and the Autumn Equinox (Mabon).  Lughnsadh represents the time where the Summer days are starting to end and all of our hard work (especially those of farmers!) will pay off in the upcoming harvest.  This is around the time when your local farmers’ market may be kicking into full gear!  So let’s have fun exploring Lughnsadh and see what we can learn!

Table of Contents

    What is Lughnasadh?

    For Wiccans, Lughnasadh recognizes the time when the God’s strength begins to wane and the Goddess is mourning his upcoming death, which happens in Samhain.  It is an old Gaelic holiday that honors Lugh, the Warrior God.  His name means “brightness” or “light” in Gaelic, and he represents the Sun and Light.  Not only was he a talented warrior, but he was also a gifted blacksmith, craftsman, sorcerer, poet, and more!  He can be compared to Mercury, the Gaulish God, and one running theory is that Lugh was the inspiration for the Christian Archangel Michael.  Lugh is the focal point of Lughnasadh (which literally means “gathering of Lugh” in Celtic).  This holiday is during the time when Lugh defeated the spirits of Tír na nÓg.  Many people play funeral games that involved skill and strength in his honor and in recognition of Tailte (or Tailtiu), Lugh’s mother, who, after clearing Ireland’s fields for agriculture, died from exhaustion.  These games are like the Ancient Olympic games which including weapon contests, horse racing, and other athletic competitions, which also reflected Lugh’s many abilities and skills. 

    For Lughnasadh activities, many gather berries, harvest grains, corn, and other foods.  As with most, if not all, Pagan Holidays, having a feast is common way to celebrate Lughnasadh.  Also, this time of year was one for Tailteann marriages!  These trial marriages were arranged, and the wedded couple would be given a provisional time period of 1 year and 1 day.  If the marriage was successful after that time, then all is well and the couple stay married!  If it was not successful, the couple’s marriage would be dissolved at the Hills of Separation and would be treated as if it never happened in the first place.  (Fun Fact: The Hills of Separation are actual hills that are located close to where the games of Lughnasadh took place!)  As far as common activities, many people nowadays may make loaves of bread and place them on altars to honor Lugh, the Green Man, or the Christian God, depending on the person, after all!

    Lughnasadh or Lammas?

    The terms “Ludhnasadh” and “Lammas” are used interchangeably nowadays.  Many, if not most people, call the festival holiday “Lammas” simply because it’s easier to spell and pronounce for those who are not familiar with the other’s pronunciation or the Gaelic language.  To be fair, “Ludhnasadh” can be intimidating by appearance when trying to write or say it.  Sometimes when people say Lammas, they are referring to a Christian holiday with a similar theme that also takes place on the same day.  Here, some Christians bake bread with the first harvested grain of the season and take it to the Church, where it is blessed.  (Thus, you can see the connection of bread and the Church in the name “Lammas,” which means “loaf mass”.)  From there, the bread may be used by the Church for services or the bread is taken back home.  If returned, Christians would then break the bread into 4 pieces and place each piece in a corner of their barn to protect their harvested grain.  Of course, it depends on the person how they celebrate Lammas, if at all, since some Christians do not really celebrate this time of year.  But for our purposes, even for non-Christians, Lammas is used most often when referring to this Pagan Holiday.

    Symbolism

    As with all Pagan Holidays, there are many symbols and lots of imagery surrounding Ludhnasadh.  Below is a chart that covers what we’ve learned plus some more fun info for your entertainment and convenience:

    How to Celebrate

    There are many, many ways to celebrate Ludhnasadh/Lammas!  You can celebrate it extravagantly with others or conservatively on your own.  It’s all personal preference and you can do whatever you feel comfortable doing.  Below is a list of some examples on what one can do to welcome in the first harvest of the year.  Have fun exploring and maybe you’ll enjoy doing some of these!

    • Reflect on the concept of Harvest.  If you had a goal to accomplish this year, reflect on how you’ve progressed and what your hard work has accomplished.  Write down how your goals that you set back in Imbolc (early February) to see how they have grown and taken shape.  Your goals were the seeds and now is the time to see if those goals have become abundant, ripe foods ready to Harvest the rewards.
    • Bake bread!  It can be fancy or simple.  You can offer your loaf to whomsoever you choose.  The bread is a reflection of the first harvest of wheat.
    • Start fermenting beers and wines so you can enjoy them later for Mabon, the Autumn Equinox Holiday!
    • Have a feast!  Try to add some grains and summer fruit to celebrate the season.
    • Practice your skills!  If you have a talent or gift in something, practice it.  If you want to learn or try something new, go for it and practice.
    • Play games!  Do some friendly competitions!  Try partaking in athletic feats of strength!  Of course, if you prefer, feel free to play card games, board games, or video games that test your skills!  Either way is fine if you’re in the spirit and reflect on the historical background meaning of the games.
    • Spend time with friends or family.  It’s the last heat of Summer before Autumn arrives.  So try to take advantage of the outdoors with your loved ones.  
    • Take a significant next step in a relationship or reflect on how your current relationships are going.
    • For crafts, make a Lammas doll or corn dolly!  Use corn husks or a sheaf of corn and use twine to give it shape.  Hang the doll somewhere in your home until the next year’s harvest, which is when you should plant the doll so it can grow again.
    • Create a Ludhnasadh Altar!  Use plants, greenery, flowers, and colors of the Summer season (i.e., sunflowers, marigolds, apples, wheat, orange, yellow, browns).  Yes, feel free to use bits of bread, corn husks, sheaves of grain, and images of harvesting (like an iron tool or ritual sickle) for your altar.  You can even add your Lammas doll to your altar, too!

    Wow!  I think that should about cover it!  So what are your thoughts on Ludhnasadh/Lammas?  Do you celebrate it and, if so, how?  If you don’t, could you see yourself trying anything in particular?  If you do not celebrate Ludhnasadh/Lammas, are there other ways you, your family, friends, or culture celebrate the beginning of the harvest?  Feel free to share in the comments for I would love to learn more about you, my dear friends!  As always, thank you for reading this post and I wish you all a Blessed Ludhnasadh!

    “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.” 

    – Maya Angelou
    • Image Captions (in order of appearance):
    • Symbols of the Celtic calendar, names in Celtic of the solstices. Image courtesy of Shutterstock user robin.ph; not for commercial use.  Signed property release on file with Shutterstock, Inc.
    • Symbols of the Celtic calendar, names in Celtic of the solstices. Image courtesy of Shutterstock user robin.ph; not for commercial use.  Signed property release on file with Shutterstock, Inc.
    • loughanavally, meath county/ireland – 11/10/2018: panoramic view of wood statue of Lugh, a harvest god, on the hill of uisneach, the navel of Ireland. Image courtesy of Shutterstock user Yingna Cai; not for commercial use.  Signed property release on file with Shutterstock, Inc.
    • Field of sunflowers. Image courtesy of Unsplash user Ivan Cabañas; not for commercial use. Signed property release on file with Unsplash Inc.
    • Bread and sunflower. Image courtesy of Unsplash user Artem Beliaikin; not for commercial use. Signed property release on file with Unsplash Inc.
    • Two Women Playing Video Games while Lying on the Sofa. Image courtesy of Pexels user Yan Krukov; not for commercial use. Signed property release on file with Pexels GmbH.
    • corn doll, candles, wheat ears, bread, apples, sunflowers. Magic ceremonial doll from corn leaves, symbol of celtic wiccan sabbath. Image courtesy of Shutterstock user ju_see; not for commercial use.  Signed property release on file with Shutterstock, Inc.

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