FESTIVAL OF LAMMAS AKA LUGHNASADH
Traditionally, August 1 and 2 mark the beginning of the harvest in Irish folklore with the celebration of the first wheat crop. Lammas is the celebration of high summer and the union of Sun (Apollo) and Earth (Demeter). It marks the halfway point between the Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox.
The world ‘Lammas’ is derived from ‘loaf mass.’ On Lammas Day, loaves of bread were baked from the first-ripened grain and brought to the churches to be consecrated. This is a sacred time of giving thanks for abundance by honouring the first grain and the first loaf of the harvesting cycle.
For the Celts this was a harvest festival known as Lughnasadh (pronounced loo-na-sa). It was a feast of the wedding of the Sun god and the Earth goddess. It is one of the four Gaelic seasonal festivals – Samhain (Nov 1), Imbolc (1 Feb), Beltane (1 May) and Lughnasadh (1 August).
This is the summit of summer when we begin to see autumn on the horizon. It is noticeable now that the Sun rises later and sets earlier. The light is dimming. The night is growing. But it’s still summer in the Northern Hemisphere, so let us continue to bask in the warmth of the Sun and the comfort that it brings.
Remember, that life is good! I hope that something very good happens to you today!
