| "the festival of lights" |
 |
| Lughnasadh |
| Date: August 1st or 2nd Other Names: Lammas, August Eve or Elembious Colors: Gray, Gold, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red Symbols: All grains, breads, threshing tools |
| Lughnasadh (Loo-NAHS-ah) is named for the Irish Sun God, Lugh, and is looked upon as the first of three harvest festivals. Lughnasadh is primarily a grain harvest in which corn, barley and grain products are prominently featured. Fruits and vegetables which commonly ripen in late summer are also part of the harvest feast. Lughnasadh celebrates the wedding of Lugh to Rosemerta, the Celtic Rose mother. Many games were held during the festival including those to commemorate the death of his Lugh's foster mother, Taillte. In Ireland, Lugnasadh is often called the "Tailltean Games". A common feature of the games were the "Tailltean marriages", rather informal and lasting only a year and a day or until next Lammas, at which time the couple would decide to continue the arrangement or stand back to back and walk away, thereby dissolving the marriage. Such ceremonies were usually performed by a poet, bard, priest or priestess of the Old Religion, or shanachie, and were very common into the 1500's. It is from this custom that our present-day Handfastings must come. Lugh was the last great leader of the mythical god-race, the Tuatha de Dannan. In one of the Tuatha�s victories over the Fomors, Lugh spared the life of Bres, a defeated enemy captain, in exchange for advice on ploughing, sowing, and reaping. He was seen as a multi-talented deity, being capable and quite good at all he undertook. The myths of Lugh include the prevalence of his many skills and the wedding of these skills to the potential or unrealized abundance of the land. According to the writing of Caesar, he was also regarded as the patron of all the arts, traveling, and influence in money and commerce. To the Romans, Lugh was seen as a counterpart to Mercury. Lugh is the son of Arianrhod, who is associated with sacred kingship and Three-fold Death. His wife�s name is Blodeuwedd, also known as the Flower Maiden. In some places Lughnasadh day was dedicated to horse and chariot. In addition to the games, there were recitations of poems, genealogies and romantic tales. Music was provided by �cruits� (harps), timpans, trumpets, horns and �cuisig� or �piob� (pipes). Feats of horsemanship were performed. There were also jugglers and clowns. It seems that there were usually three distinct market places; one for food and clothes, one for livestock and another for luxury goods. If it rained during this festival, it was believed that Lugh himself was present. Like the other fire festivals, this one too was once celebrated with great bonfires in every district. These fires lasted well into the nineteenth century in many places. In many places the elderly women would go to the cattle to tie red or blue threads onto their tails, while repeating incantations. For the milk to retain its goodness, a ball of cow's hair or 'ronag' was put into the milk pail on this day. Curds and cheese were specially prepared from that day's milk. With the harvest so prevalent, Pagans see the theme of the sacrificed god motif emerge. His death is necessary for rebirth of the land to take place. Called by many names, �Green Man,� �Wicker Man,� �Corn Man� or just the �Spirit of Vegetation,� his essence begins to merge with the harvested crops, a sacrifice that will be realized with the new growth in the spring. In old times, it was the duty of the King to sacrifice himself for the land, an idea that has been seen in the many legends of cultures both new and old, throughout recorded history. The gathering of the first crops of the year is also used to symbolize the success and extent of the power raised from the Beltane rites when the Sacred Marriage of the Lord and Lady took place. The theme of sexuality and reproduction is carried over into Lughnasadh as well to ensure the remainder of a good harvest. This sabbat is also known as the celebration of bread. As bread was one of the main staples of our ancestors, the ripening of the grain was the cause for great celebration. The reaping, threshing and preparation of these breads spawned great ritual and ceremony to ensure bounty for the following year. Ways in which you might celebrate Lughnasadh include: Sacrifice bad habits and unwanted things from your life by throwing symbols of them into the sabbat fire. * Bake a loaf of bread in the shape of a man and sacrifice him in your ritual. Make him a part of your feast but save a piece to offer the gods. * Take time to actually harvest fruits from your garden with your family. If you don�t have a garden, visit one of the pick-your-own farms in your area. * Include bilberries or blueberries in your feast; these were a traditional fruit, whose abundance was seen as an indicator of the harvest to come. * Gather the tools of your trade and bless them in order to bring a richer harvest next year. * Share your harvest with others who are less fortunate. * Decorate with sickles, scythes, fresh vegetables & fruits, grains, berries, corn dollies, bread. |
 |
 |